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Home , 2012 NBA draft, 2013 NBA draft, Ben McLemore, Cody Zeller, Nerlens Noel, Otto Porter

NBA Provides National Exposure for Teams, Players, Marketing Partners

06.26.2013

The NBA Draft is all about which upstart college players will join the ranks of 's elite, but for nearly a dozen NBA media and marketing partners, the draft also serves as a branding showcase. Presenting partner State Farm as well as adidas, American Express, Cisco, Gatorade, SAP, Sears, Sprint and Taco Bell will see their  brands become part of the draft, which will be televised nationally by ESPN from the Barclays in Brooklyn, NY, on Thursday, June 27.

League marketing partners will activate via a variety of options, including in-arena, Web, digital and social media, branding, exclusive access and broadcast. In the latter, brands confirmed to run commercials during the ESPN telecast include State Farm, Gatorade, Sprint, Taco Bell, Kia, Nike, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures and Disney.

ESPN will air spots for current events being telecast on its broadcast roster (including Wimbledon), upcoming events (the MLB Home Run Derby as part of All-Star Game weekend in July) and for "SportsCenter."

The NBA also will run spots under its BIG umbrella campaign and for NBA Cares. The 2012 NBA Draft presented by State Farm attracted nearly three million viewers, the second-most since ESPN began to cover the event live in 2003, when the drafted current superstar LeBron James. Last year's tally was only beaten by 2011's 3.2 million viewers, according to ESPN). The 2013 NBA Draft will be televised in a record 205 countries and territories in 12 languages.

By comparison, the 2013 NFL Draft in April drew 7.7 million viewers during the first round, which was telecast on both ESPN and NFL Network.

State Farm, which ran four 30-second spots during the 2012 NBA Draft, hinted that new creative would be coming. The 2013 NBA Draft would be the ideal venue for State Farm to break a spot featuring , All-Star guard with the , and his fictitious brother, Cliff, both of whom have been the focus of State Farm NBA marketing since December. During the NBA Draft, fans in the will be able to take a photo with cutouts of Chris and Cliff Paul, and don one of 2,000 Cliff Paul disguises -- glasses and a mustache -- that will be handed out.

In addition to ESPN, State Farm will have significant exposure on NBA TV's coverage of the draft, on NBA.com, and on the NBA's Facebook and sites.Â

Adidas arguably will have the second greatest exposure among brands. Adidas will have co-branded NBA Draft baseball hats, which will be worn by the top picks when they are greeted by NBA Commissioner , who will be overseeing his last draft before retiring this February. Players will then wear their hats -- with their respective new team logo -- during an interview immediately following on ESPN.

American Express is using its sponsorship to host a pair of card-member experiences. The first is a VIP behind-the-scenes tour and a group photo on the NBA Draft stage. The second is exclusive access to a pre-draft reception that includes an appearance by , the Charlotte Bobcats' first-round pick in 2011. Card members also had the opportunity to score reserved seats in a dedicated American Express location.

Among the other partners, Gatorade products will be featured on-air throughout the draft; SAP will have the sole presenting sponsorship position around stats both in-arena and on NBA.com; Taco Bell will receive on-site signage and branding on LEDs, plasmas, concourse TVs, tickets, broadcast and digital media assets; and Cisco will host an exclusive tour of technology it has in place in the Barclays Center, led by Chip Foley, the venue's director of operations and  technology.

Sprint subscribers can view a live stream of the NBA Draft via the "NBA Game Time from Sprint" app, and Sprint will be presenting partner of the NBA Draft "Green Screen" activation, where fans can print -- and share via Facebook and Twitter -- a branded photo of them shaking hands with Commissioner Stern, whose image will be superimposed on the NBA Draft stage.

Among events that already have activated, the "Sears Shop Your Way Rewards NBA Draft Sweepstakes" offered the grand prize of an exclusive experience for two at the draft, including a behind-the-scenes tour, and a pre-draft reception. Â Â

The 2013 NBA Draft marks the third time in 11 years that the Cleveland Cavaliers will pick first overall (LeBron James in 2003, in 2011). The top five selections also include -- in order -- , , Charlotte Bobcats and . Among the players expected to go in the first round are , , , , , Ben McLemore and Michael Carter Williams.

Barry Janoff is director of sports media marketing initiatives for PromaxBDA. He also is the executive editor for  NYSportsJournalism.com which covers national sports marketing, business and media news; and a contributing writer for Yahoo! and MediaPost.