Lots of interesting things for Brand Managers and Marketers to keep an eye on these days in the world of digital.  Here are just a few of things that I found interesting in recent weeks:

Massive teams with ComScore to verify how well in-game ads work: Now can argue that gaming is big business.  And in recent years, advertising in video games has started to become big business as well.  Now two of the industry leaders will try to fuel that growth by connecting the ads that consumers see in games with the actions they take to buy or view products and services afterward.

Location is everything – Foursquare API is proof: API is a term that is often misunderstood in marketing circles.  But you can make the case that a large part of Twitter’s success was because it opened up its API.  The same could soon be true for Foursquare, especially for businesses & brands where location has always been extremely important.

25 things you need to know to become a New Media Mogul: Great points from Ken Auletta, author of “Googled: The End of the World As We Know It.”  I’m personally trying to take these points to heart, especially my favorites of:

• #1 – Passion Wins
• #14 – Digital is Different
• #19 – Paradox: The web forges both niche communities and large communities

The future of gaming – 5 social predictions: After Electronic Arts (EA) purchased social gaming company Playfish, Mashable took a stab at predicting what the combination of video gaming and social gaming might mean.

1. There Will Be More Social Gaming Acquisitions
2. EA Will Find New Ways to Monetize Social Gaming
3. Virtual Goods Will Become Even Bigger Business
4. You Will See a Wave of Social Gaming on the Console
5. EA and Others Will Make Even Stronger Moves on Mobile

Gillette announced yesterday they are teaming up with video game maker EA Sports to launch the Gillette-EA Sports Champions of Gaming competition that will match gamers against some of the top athletes in sports including Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Derek Jeter

The Gillette — EA Sports Champions of Gaming — the world’s largest multi-sport gaming tournament — will officially launch in late October and provide gamers the opportunity to compete against others from around the world for the chance to be named a Global Champion of Gaming. The live global finals will be conducted in Tampa, Florida, in January 2009, with the Global Champions in each gaming category competing against one of the Gillette Champions — Gillette’s group of global sports superstars that includes Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Derek Jeter. Gamers will be able to play via Xbox 360 Live on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, NASCAR 09, Madden NFL 09, NBA Live 09 and EA Sports FIFA Soccer 09. More information about the Gillette — EA Sports Champions of Gaming will be available after October 15, 2008, at www.gillette.com.

The official press release had this to say about the partnership:

“Gillette and EA Sports represent the best in grooming and gaming, and this partnership is a natural extension of our ongoing efforts to engage guys through their competitive nature and their passions, including sports,” said Peter Clay. “We’ll be working together to reach consumers with unique programs such as the Gillette-EA Sports Champions of Gaming, a global tournament that will offer gamers the opportunity to compete against the best in the world and then take on the Gillette Champions and other sports legends to see if they have what it takes to be the best.”

Not enough brands are leveraging the tremendous power of gaming to connect with their consumers.  Personally I am really excited to get involved with this.  I doubt P&G employees will be eligible to win (usual rules for promotions), but I’ll still be taking my shot on the Xbox 360 in Madden 09 just for the fun of it [btw, my Xbox 360 Live handle is DKnoxMU if want to play a game].

The Wii Fit is going to be a game changer.  Mine arrived last week and already I can see that this little game has the potential to change how people view staying fit and healthy.  The reasons are simple:

1. Fun…Easy as that:  Motivation to keep going has always been the biggest barrier to overcome with exercise.  Wii Fit takes care of that hurdle by making exercise not seem like exercise at all (kinda like Dance Dance Revolution a few years ago). 
2. Measureability and Accountability:  The key to a good exercise routine is tracking your progress.  I’ve never been able to get myself to do that.  But Wii Fit takes care of it for me with the Daily Body Tests.  Now I know how I am doing and it calls me out if I skip a day
3. Education:  When most of us start exercising, we don’t consult a personal trainer (or even a doctor for that matter).  Wii Fit recognizes that and builds education and correction into the game.  It tells you that your body weight can fluctuate throughout the day so you should do your test at the same time.  And it corrects your posture in yoga so you are doing the exercises the way you were meant to (a real yoga teacher cant even do that!).
4. Challenges:  Humans are competitive by nature, especially anyone that grew up playing video games.  We want to get the high score, unlock the next game, etc.  Wii Fit recognizes this and rewards you by giving you new games and workouts the more you play.  I watched my girlfiend play it for over 2 hours the other night just because she was getting so excited about each game she unlocked.  That is real motivation for exercise!

I just wonder how long it will be before people recognize this potential.  When will the first school order a few Wii Fits for their PE class?  Or when will the first gym create a Wii Fit class (or even, when will the first Wii Fit gym open)?  And will brands try to leverage the power of Wii Fit like Nike did with the iPod for Nike +?  The opportunities are endless.  The trend of consumers wanting a healthy lifestyle isnt going away and Nintendo of all people just made it that much easier for them to live just a little bit better.

Ever since I got it last week, I have been spending way too much time on Grand Theft Auto IV (thanks in large part to my girlfriend being out of town).  In fact, the playing time counter in the game just makes me feel guilty whenever I look at it.  But all kidding aside, I just stumbled across this amazing side by side comparison on Flickr of pictures from the game and real life pictures of New York City.  I knew the guys at Rockstar were damn impressive…I just didnt full appreciate it till i saw these pics.  No wonder the game did over $500MM in sales in the first week.