“A magazine and one of its biggest advertisers will sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ together, spending New Year’s Eve in Times Square in a sponsorship deal that speaks to the increasing importance of live events for marketers,” reports our good friend Stuart Elliott in The New York Times.

The article continues, “Cosmopolitan magazine and the CoverGirl line of cosmetics … will share the presenting sponsorship of the celebration in an agreement with the two organizers of the annual event: the nonprofit organization known as the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, which represents the owners of the New Year’s Eve ball and the building from which it is dropped, 1 Times Square.

Elliott notes that as part of the deal a “live webcast of the celebration will be streamed on the Cosmopolitan website, which will also carry three live skits or vignettes featuring the Cosmopolitan and CoverGirl brands. The moments, which could include crowd participation or demonstrations of CoverGirl products, will also be presented on giant screens in Times Square. The goal is to have them picked up by the many broadcast and cable networks covering the festivities. Logos of both brands will appear on two stages from which bands will perform and on the button that is pushed to begin the ball’s drop from 1 Times Square.”

New Year’s Ball Drops in New York’s Times Square