Body Slams and Branding: Marketing Lessons From Pro Wrestling
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John Cena. Hulk Hogan. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Whether leaping from the ropes or pitching products from TV, there’s no denying these athletes’ charisma and star power. They draw us in. They entertain us. They know how to speak and keep a crowd.
On the surface, it might seem like the spectacle is the leading factor of their appeal. But there’s more to success than meets the eye. Like any successful venture, the world of professional wrestling is built on “brands.” And those brands (i.e. its athletes), have made World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) a household name for more than 40 years–in 2023, WWE brought in $1.32 billion in revenue.
What started as a sideshow at traveling carnivals has now become a billion-dollar industry, selling out football stadiums with millions of eyes on it every year. (WrestleMania 40 in 2024 brought in over 660 million viewers alone!)
WWE has mastered it, and its performers embody marketing lessons many can learn from.
Ring The Bell: Find Your “Gimmick”
Wrestlers are more than athletes. Like any pop culture icon, they’re masters of branding. Just like any brand, their stories and uniqueness are what capture audiences. A good wrestler needs a good backstory and motivation as to why they behave the way they do. In wrestling terms: a good gimmick. In marketing terms, your brand’s uniques.
A great gimmick can define a wrestler’s career and crowd reception even more than their athletic abilities. Why is that? Because the WWE knows that an authentic, believable connection takes precedence over showmanship. The same is true for any business or nonprofit.
Consider that when crafting your websites, redefining your values or planning your creative campaigns. Flash and creativity are great, but without substance, it can be hard to maintain the audience you want.
Take Roman Reigns, for example. He’s been in the WWE since 2012, quickly rising to prominence in 2015. He became a multi-time world champion and cemented his main event talent with victories over legends like The Undertaker, John Cena and Triple H. Promoted as a babyface (wrestling talk for a hero), a careful approach helped him strategically transition into one of the most hated (and recognizable) wrestlers.
Formerly part of a three-man stable called “The Shield,” Reigns and co. donned riot gear and labeled themselves as the “Hounds of Justice.” After the group broke up, his former stablemates Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose shined with new character arcs, music and motivations. Reigns shifted into “The Big Dog” and kept the group’s old gear and entrance music six years after the breakup.
After returning from time off in 2020, “The Big Dog” was no more. Reigns would debut a new gimmick that would be known as the “Tribal Chief” playing off of his Samoan heritage. With this gimmick, he’d be a merciless heel (wrestling talk for villain) who would do anything to protect his new group (and family) The Bloodline and his WWE championship.
That simple development captivated crowds, and Reigns held the company’s top title from August 2020 until April 2024, the fourth-longest championship reign ever.
So, what can we copy from Reigns? Don’t just aim for gimmicks; find your narrative and commit. Using market segmentation and audience targeting, you can figure out what your audience wants, where you align within that market and how to tailor your brand to those wants and needs.
Speaking of audience targeting…
Grab The Mic: Find Your Audience
Another major key to WWE’s continued success is its ability to understand and evolve with its target audience’s needs. In the wrestling biz, we call these new directions “eras.”
In the 1980s, the target audience was kids. So, babyface and heel character dynamics were largely exaggerated, with the “Real American” Hulk Hogan reminding all of his Hulkamaniacs to “eat your vitamins, say your prayers and believe in yourself, brother!”
Once the 90s hit, those kids had grown into teenagers and young adults. So naturally, the product changed to the “Attitude Era” with more hardcore characters questioning any and all authority. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was at the forefront, with his signature shattered glass entrance music, throwing up middle fingers and smashing beer cans together.
Your business can pivot in just the same way…though if you’re a nonprofit or family business, you might want to try a different approach. To truly connect with your audience, you have to grow and adapt with them as people as well.
Growing with the audience is the pivotal pillar of WWE’s success. Hence, their tagline, “WWE: Then, Now, Forever, Together.”
Bring that approach to your target audience.
Pose For The Camera: Someone is Always Watching
Wrestling will always be a spectacle. Whether you’re a diehard fan like me who’s been watching since you were a kid or a first-time viewer just looking for something to do, the company understands how to reach as many people as possible.
Someone is always watching the “product.” In WWE’s case, this means three weekly televised shows and at least one “premium live event” each month broadcasted through Peacock, which is a pivot itself as just a decade ago these events were pay-per-view exclusive. (It seems like they know the audience is mostly on streaming services these days).
But in between all of these events are “house shows” which are non-televised events.
Even though these shows aren’t on-air and don’t usually progress the story, the performers still take them very seriously as it gives them a chance to appeal to what could be a first-time viewer. Oftentimes, these house shows involve competitors who are in a rivalry with each other to give them time to establish in-ring chemistry before the live shows.
How does that apply to marketing? You should always hold your business to a certain standard. Whether you’re creating content for your loyal customers or trying to appeal to a first-time consumer, you should tackle them with the same care and intent, even if the approaches differ.
Leniency isn’t an option if you want to reach as many people as possible. Give them a reason to say, “This is when I became a supporter.”
Kayfabe Isn’t Dead: Keep the Audience Hooked
The average naysayer against WWE is quick to dismiss it as “fake.” But the company doesn’t promote itself as a competitive sport; it promotes itself as entertainment—a scripted production. And this reigns true, even when wrestlers make a one-off appearance on a talk show or podcast.
In the wrestling world, there’s a term known as “kayfabe” which is essentially the act of keeping the story looking authentic at all times.
As a kid, hearing that wrestling was predetermined blew my mind, as it was hard to believe that 25 people just let The Undertaker beat them at WrestleMania. As I grew older, I started to realize that the wins and losses didn’t really matter to me anymore, at least not as much as the story being told.
And that’s the biggest key for the WWE’s brand, keeping the audience hooked. Keeping that kayfabe alive.
When second-generation wrestler Cody Rhodes was unsuccessful against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, the next logical question was, “What’s next?”
That’s what keeps viewership and audience engagement high. That feeling of anticipation for the next piece of content. In marketing, that can be something like creating a recurring segment on social media using audience participation or an annual giveaway. Anything that encourages your audience to continue tuning in.
In the WWE’s case with Cody Rhodes, his story found him back against Roman Reigns in the same position a year later, only this time Roman was aided by his real-life cousin, The Rock. Rhodes, outnumbered, turned to his old enemy (and Reigns’ old partner from The Shield) Seth Rollins to serve as an equalizer.
Fans had so many questions. Could two enemies coexist? Is The Rock going to outshine his partner, even without a title? Does Reigns still harbor feelings towards Rollins from their Shield days? Would Cody Rhodes get his redemption?
All of these are just some variation of, what’s next?
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