On a Roll: Eric Bechtel

Eric Bechtel, 35, spent several years in marketing roles at the World Wrestling Federation, Integrated Sports International and SFX Sports Group before joining BigBallot.com in August as chief marketing officer. The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company (recently merged with the Marketing Center, Brookfield, Conn.) creates offline and online promotions and sweepstakes including balloting for the NBA all-star team. Insight: For a lot less money than banner advertising, online sweepstakes can drive brand recognition and give you details about your online customers. Contests can be fun and unobtrusive, vs. interruptive online ads. Opinion: Most advertisers are still not sure why they're spending money on the Web. Internet sites that pay people to surf the Web are going at it wrong. Tip: Be the title sponsor of an online sweepstakes promoted both online and offline. It can cost you less than an advertising campaign and deliver measurable results, provided you target your audience precisely. Sports sites are rich with such opportunity. Prediction: The XFL [extreme football league] will absolutely succeed. [WWF and XFL founder] Vince McMahon is a visionary who knows what TV viewers want next.

On a Roll: Eric Bechtel

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