Source: Boston Herald
The WWE is ready to rumble in the marketing ring.
Stamford, Conn.-based World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. is expected to announce today that it’s shifting the focus of its marketing as it attempts to entice year-round sponsors for its television shows, pay-per-view events and online offerings.
With an eye toward big brands, WWE is pushing to create exclusive partnerships with advertisers that would include branding rights, product placement and ads on its Web site and magazine, said Ethan Green, vice president of sponsorship.
“I think the proof is right there in the pudding, that we can be competitive with major sports leagues,” he said.
The goal is to elevate corporate sponsorships from a secondary money-maker to a primary source of revenue.
Particularly popular among young males, the WWE has transformed in recent years from a fringe buy for advertisers to a more mainstream option. And well-known brands, like AT&T and Subway have gotten in the ring with wrestling and its stars.
“It’s about as mainstream as you can get,” said Chad Caufield, managing director of Boston ad agency MMB, which created a commercial for Subway featuring WWE star John Cena.
But in the past, advertisers have mostly bought piecemeal placement rather than big sponsorships that would give them the exclusive “official” tag, such as those auctioned off by professional sports’ Major League Baseball and the National Football League.
Green wants to change that, with a shift to exclusive deals in categories like automotive, electronics and even retail banking. To make official-status packages worthwhile for the WWE, they would likely have to sell for a minimum of seven figures, he said.
Green plans to start seeking out Fortune 500 companies in the coming month in hopes of lining up about six official sponsors going into 2008. (The cable and broadcasting companies that run WWE’s TV programs have all the rights to sell ads in between the shows.)
It won’t be a cakewalk. With so many professional sports seeking sponsors, the WWE faces a lot of competition.
The WWE’s blended elements of athleticism and circus-style theatrics makes it unique, Green said.
“We don’t consider ourselves sports, and we don’t consider ourselves entertainment. We’re somewhere in the middle,” he said.
Most marketing experts agree that the WWE is a mainstream hit and advertisers could be convinced to take a slot as a full-time sponsor.
“To just count them out because it’s not a quote-unquote traditional sport I think would be a big mistake,” said Doug Shabelman, president of Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing in Chicago.
cw3Sports once considered extreme, like skateboarding and BMX, have captured the attention of big name marketers as they look to spread their advertising dollars out to various niches, Shabelman said.
Reaching young male viewers through TV has become more of a challenge, but WWE’s programs like “Raw” and “Smack Down” frequently deliver those demographics, said Ellen Comley, managing director of media buyer MPG. Whether professional wrestling has the staying power of baseball or football is yet to be seen, she said.
But Green believes he can convince brands that WWE is here to stay. “We are an absolutely compelling story and something that they should be buying into,” he said.
