How do you help your sports event make an impact at a time when fans, consumers and media are being hit with messages about NCAA March Madness Final Four and championship games, MLB season openers, NBA, NHL, MLS, The Masters golf tournament and the upcoming NFL Draft?

This year, we saw a continuing trend in TV advertising: teaser commercials leading up to the Super Bowl. Similar to movie trailers, these 15- to 30-second teasers by brands (like Mr. Clean, Snickers, and Febreze) hinted at their much-anticipated full-length commercials in hopes of building viewer anticipation. But unlike movie trailers, these mini-commercials account for nearly half of the featured spot. Depending on who you ask, these teasers either spoiled the fun or kept viewers wanting more.

As marketing researchers, a good portion of our work involves being "informed pragmatists." By definition, we are tasked with questioning things, being skeptics and trying to separate fact from conjecture.

There is an understandable frenzy of media buzz every January about Super Bowl commercials. This is mostly driven by gimmicks and celebrities rather than advertising that pulls its weight for brands. But one sporting event is often overlooked and actually does deliver an excellent opportunity to advertisers: the NCAA's March Madness.

Three summers ago, the U.S. Men's National Team had something of a coming-out party. They were drawn into that year's Group of Death with sneaky-deadly Ghana, early contending favorites Portugal and eventual champions Germany. Hopes of their advancement were low, outside of the truest of believers. Of course, they did advance, and in doing so triggered another round of "here comes soccer, finally" speculation.