ORLANDO, FL: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is successfully leveraging the power of storytelling across multiple platforms to engage consumers around the world.
Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer of WWE, discussed this subject at the Association of National Advertisers' (ANA) 2016 Masters of Marketing Conference.
"It's all about your consumers," she said. "Let them know you care about them. Provide relatable content that resonates with them emotionally. Give them a reason to care." (For more details, read Warc's exclusive report: How WWE acts like a Fortune 500 marketer.)
"We provide content that's relatable, genuine and authentic. It resonates with consumers because they have to have a reason to care."
Such a strategy is supported by a powerful narrative that flows seamlessly through from one WWE event to the next, and thus keeps the audience truly invested over time.
"We are storytellers at our heart. Whether it's a great commercial or a great, insightful video, we tell stories to engage people in ways that they understand messaging the most," said McMahon.
This storytelling process is organically aided by the conflict arising in the ring, and a cast of wrestlers with personalities even bigger than their biceps.
"If we're doing our jobs right, people become invested in these characters' tragedies and their triumphs. And when our characters overcome adversity, they become heroes in the eyes of our audience," said McMahon.
And in reflection of consumers' increasingly varied media consumption habits, WWE ensures these compelling stories can be accessed in a diverse range of ways.
"You need to utilise and leverage all the different distribution platforms available to you. For WWE, we want to keep our audience engaged so they can enjoy our content anytime, anywhere, on any device," she said.
"You need to look at your distribution ecosystem, or your content ecosystem. For WWE, our distribution ecosystem includes TV programming, social, digital, mobile, and our network, as well as our live events.
"We are platform-agnostic. We utilise and leverage all of these different platforms, because that's where the audience is … So, at a time when television viewing is slipping, WWE is holding their own."
Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer of WWE, discussed this subject at the Association of National Advertisers' (ANA) 2016 Masters of Marketing Conference.
"It's all about your consumers," she said. "Let them know you care about them. Provide relatable content that resonates with them emotionally. Give them a reason to care." (For more details, read Warc's exclusive report: How WWE acts like a Fortune 500 marketer.)
"We provide content that's relatable, genuine and authentic. It resonates with consumers because they have to have a reason to care."
Such a strategy is supported by a powerful narrative that flows seamlessly through from one WWE event to the next, and thus keeps the audience truly invested over time.
"We are storytellers at our heart. Whether it's a great commercial or a great, insightful video, we tell stories to engage people in ways that they understand messaging the most," said McMahon.
This storytelling process is organically aided by the conflict arising in the ring, and a cast of wrestlers with personalities even bigger than their biceps.
"If we're doing our jobs right, people become invested in these characters' tragedies and their triumphs. And when our characters overcome adversity, they become heroes in the eyes of our audience," said McMahon.
And in reflection of consumers' increasingly varied media consumption habits, WWE ensures these compelling stories can be accessed in a diverse range of ways.
"You need to utilise and leverage all the different distribution platforms available to you. For WWE, we want to keep our audience engaged so they can enjoy our content anytime, anywhere, on any device," she said.
"You need to look at your distribution ecosystem, or your content ecosystem. For WWE, our distribution ecosystem includes TV programming, social, digital, mobile, and our network, as well as our live events.
"We are platform-agnostic. We utilise and leverage all of these different platforms, because that's where the audience is … So, at a time when television viewing is slipping, WWE is holding their own."
Data sourced from Warc
