The days when marketers could strike the viral lode with their latest Facebook post, YouTube video or "tweet in the dark" are yesterday's success stories. Today, viral happens when marketing dollars are invested in social platforms as media outlets.

What do entertainment marketers get when they cross video marketing with user-generated content? An audience full of social stars just dying for their next close-up.

Last week, soccer fans around the world cheered on their favorite North and South American teams as Copa America Centenario kicked off in Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium. Played for the first time ever in the United States, the centennial anniversary edition of Copa America is not only the biggest soccer event happening this year-it's one of the biggest soccer events to hit the country in more than two decades.

In the past week, I've been talking with a lot of my marketer and ad-tech friends across Silicon Valley and Madison Ave. Much of the conversation starts with, "Did you see Mary Meeker's 2016 Internet Trends Report?" "What do you think?" Of course, I've seen it! My hunch is that nearly everyone reading this post has seen it, at least in some part. Meeker's annual report is akin to everyone waiting eagerly to see if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow every year. Of course, Meeker's report has much more accurate prognostications than the weather predictions of a furry rodent.

Facebook and Twitter have been pounding the pavement in Hollywood in an arms race to acquire rights to stream live television programming.

After a few decades in the marketing and PR business, I thought I had seen every imaginable technique for getting consumer and media attention. But I hadn't considered corn. (Corn-y, yes, but that's not what I'm talking about.) For sheer visual delight and true consumer interaction, you really cannot beat a 40-acre, custom-designed maze created in a giant cornfield. And The MAiZE, based in Spanish Fork, Utah, is the world's largest maze consulting and design company, having helped connect farmers and sponsors to create unique mazes for such brands and organizations as American Idol, the Super Bowl, the Obama presidential …