With the U.S. seeking to host the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022, the battle to protect marketing rights and to gain rights to visual branding being seen by hundreds of millions of people worldwide will only intensify.

If you are going to invest in sponsorship rights, you need to make sure they are optimally activated. In order to do that, you need to measure your sponsorship ROI. There is clear evidence of upside potential.

At the risk of further propagating the sound byte society, I'd maintain that social media, in concert with formal research, is a conversation that sports marketers should be paying attention to.

There's way too much gloom and doom around, not to mention a little bit of schadenfreude from those in other sports. Let's look at some of the claims and try to put an objective lens on them.

The men's grooming category has long been dominated by shaving cream and razor blades. But Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Beiersdorf, Dial and other major players on the health and grooming landscape have devoted time, energy, dollars and marketing to convince men that even tough guys need to pay attention to their hair and skin.

Time and again, celebrity scandals show the risks associated with having stars take on too broad of a brand endorsement role. Just because somebody is a top athlete or an amazing singer or actor, it doesn't necessarily mean he or she can be a moral values role model.

For today's fans, guarantees mean providing a welcome and consistent escape from outside distractions. They mean embracing what our recent research shows to be a "re-cocooning" of society around communities that share a commonality of values and an appreciation and respect for a heightened family focus.

It may happen sooner than you think. My bet is that it starts this summer as a storm of soccer is coming our way -- and it's only going to increase from here. With the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicking off in June in South Africa, all signs point to soccer fever spreading throughout 2010 and beyond. Our coveted American sports should stand up and take notice. Why? Here are 10 compelling reasons.

To be successful in this digital media age, you need to be as much a quick-to-learn, creative marketer as a highly experienced editorial mind. Go get 'em.

If you are a company not officially affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, be very careful what you say in marketing campaigns. Now that NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament is underway, watchdogs at the NCAA are being especially vigilant in how marketers are trying to crash what has become one of the most-watched, and most-financially seductive, sports parties of the year.