The NFL is estimating more than 200,000 fans will move through its Draft Town in and around Grant Park this week as Chicago hosts the NFL draft for the second straight season, and the league’s business partners are finalizing their activation playbooks.
Tracie Rodburg, NFL vice president of sponsorships and partnership management, said 36 brands from the league’s sponsor roster are activating this year, two more than 2015. Many returning sponsors, like Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi and Marriott, have larger footprints since Draft Town has grown from the equivalent of 15 to 20 football fields.
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Draftees will don New Era caps onstage. New Era also is a lead licensee at NFL Shop at Draft.
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Among the activation highlights: Dannon’s Oikos Triple Zero brand of Greek yogurt is presenting sponsor of Draft Town and will offer sampling. A Ferris wheel in the middle of Draft Town will carry Oikos branding, while the Danimals kids yogurt brand is underwriting NFL Play 60 clinics.
Hyundai, activating at the draft for the first time, will have vehicle displays and be presenting sponsor of Selection Square in Draft Town (Selection Square, Driven by Hyundai), and its activation zone will feature NFL combine challenges with kids prepping for the 2031 draft, which can be shared socially. Players arriving at the draft will be dropped off on the red carpet in a Hyundai Genesis sedan.
At the draft itself, Round 2 will be presented by Bud Light, while draft day three will be presented by Pepsi.
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Hyundai will have vehicles on display, and Pepsi returns to Draft Town in Grant Park.
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PepsiCo’s activations will include a Tostitos SiriusXM radio interview setup. The beverage side of the house will be sampling its original formula, or something close to it, from 1893. Mountain Dew Kickstart and “blue can” Pepsi also will get exposure. Gatorade is doing a Peyton Manning tribute that will air within the draft broadcasts.
Bud Light again has a Draft Tavern on site, along with many of its pop-up Build a Bars.
Procter & Gamble will leverage many of its healthy and beauty aid brands, including Head & Shoulders, Braun, Gillette, CoverGirl and Pantene with a VIP Style Lounge at the Palmer Hotel, where players and their families will be staying. P&G’s Tide brand is signing draft prospects for a social media campaign in which they will tweet a photo of themselves with their new hat and jersey, using the hashtag #OurColors.
With sales of licensed products at last year’s draft exceeding expectations, the league has five times the amount of space dedicated to retail this year. MainGate will administer a 14,000-square-foot NFL Shop at Draft Presented by Visa within a tent at Draft City. Nike, Outerstuff and New Era will be lead licensees.
“We’re looking to double sales from last year and get more licensees activating,” said Chris Halpin, NFL consumer products chief. “We all saw the energy, demand and potential last year.”
Meanwhile, Fanatics is operating a 7,000-square-foot pop-up draft store at the corner of Michigan and Van Buren, which will be open from April 23 through May 1. There will be more retail within the Auditorium Theater, where the draft will be held.
Panini, now the NFL’s exclusive trading-card licensee, will sponsor an autograph stage in Draft Town.
Sponsor integration within NFL Network’s coverage includes Hyundai’s Path to the Draft sponsorship and Verizon’s presenting sponsorship of the draft. Within ESPN’s wall-to-wall coverage, GMC, Fidelity, Speed Stick, Nationwide, Jaguar and Booking.com are among the larger sponsors.
