It's not the Super Bowl, but it seems close, at least for marketers. Saturday was draft day in the National Football League, in which top college players were picked by pro teams to join their roster
next season. The event is televised, and is eagerly anticipated and avidly watched by fans nationwide. As such, marketers wasted no time in trying to take advantage of the show. The NFL is also well
aware of the draft's appeal, and markets the event as the kickoff on the road to the Super Bowl, the single largest advertising event of the year. This year, the draft had particularly high media
exposure, with 17 hours of coverage by ESPN on the league's cable channel and Web site, Sprint phones, and Sirius Satellite Radio. The lineup of blue-chip advertisers who signed on included Coors,
Visa, Pepsi, and General Motors. "This is a hot property," says Ed Erhardt, who heads sports ad sales for ABC and ESPN. "It's a rifle shot into an avid fan base that cares deeply about their team and
their sport and advertiser's ability to reach them. People sit in front of the TV for the whole weekend." Marketers not only run traditional commercials during the rounds of player picks, but they
also mount special Web promotions, sponsored parties and sweepstakes--promotions more typical of the Super Bowl than an off-season event.
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