Aside from being a time to shake off the crusties from New Year's Eve, New Year's Day traditionally has been a time devoted to college football. But in 2008, just a few ice chips removed from its 2004-05 shutdown, the NHL took a slap shot at an attempt to attract not just loyalists but fringe and even non-hockey fans and marketers.

At age 10, I was on a baseball team that was behind by 17 runs in the last inning. Yes, we won. But more importantly, I was the only guy in the dugout who was trying to fire up my teammates. Sometimes, when I get pessimistic about something, I think back on that game. My first thought, is, geez, I was an idealistic, and silly little kid ... this situation is different. Then I stop feeling sorry for myself, and do something. We all can.

How many times over the past few years have we seen athletes implode on the world stage? Kobe Bryant and his chambermaid, Michael Phelps and his bong, Tiger and his harem, Michael Vick and his dogs and now Tony Parker and his own teammate's wife. Every time it happens, all you ever hear in the media is gloom and doom. Experts will say, "He's finished with sponsors," or "He'll never recover," etc. Well, consider the facts.

Can leagues, advertisers and fans all embrace sponsored uniforms?

Given the breadth and width of college football, why would a company opt out of a high-profile bowl pact? In the case of Papa John's, it was a business decision to move its resources to pro football, where the company is in its rookie season as the official pizza sponsor of the NFL, a deal that also includes the next three Super Bowls.

As for the logos on the players, well, I think she sees that happening already now and that it's not far off to see them on jerseys and helmets. Maybe, say, by the time she enters the NFL draft? Heck, anything that makes it cost her a little less to watch that Cal Bears game on her iPhone will be good by her.

Regardless of the specifics of your own marketing efforts towards best customers, or the breadth of loyalty research that you conduct, remembering the principles of 2C2R and incorporating them into your program can be a valuable first step in differentiating your brand from competitors and breaking through the clutter of too many look-alike programs.

With broadcast media rights in sports at all-time highs, evolving technology and savvy brands have a lower barrier of entrance to utilize the world's greatest communication device -- sports. The time is ripe for brands to authentically engage in the exploding sports digital landscape.

For title sponsor ING; principal sponsors including Asics, Continental Airlines, Foot Locker, The New York Times and Timex; and such signature and supporting sponsors as Coors Light, Dunkin' Donuts, Emerald Nuts, Gatorade, Nissan, Poland Spring, PowerBar, Subway, Tiffany and UPS, it is not just launching a marathon marketing campaign, but actually being part of the marathon nation.

Ultimately, the success of the collaboration between a brand and publisher -- and the effectiveness of any sponsorship -- is measured on multiple levels, but none more important than whether brand equity increases in the minds of a publisher's audience.