WrestleMania Is Sponsorship Heaven
There is no dispute that WWE WrestleMania is the most significant and impressive event in the world of sports entertainment. Everyone, including fans, celebrities, and athletes, aspires to have their moment at the prestigious event. The event included a significant narrative involving Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins facing off against The Bloodline’s Roman Reigns, The Rock, and their allies Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa. Following a highly charged and captivating event, Cody Rhodes concluded the narrative by becoming the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. However, it is impossible to overlook the significant presence of sponsored elements throughout the event.
A new level of sports marketing and branding displayed the lengths the WWE is willing to go in order to garner more eyes on their product. What better way to do that than at the ‘Show of Shows’, where two nights of fan engagement mean millions, if not billions, of dollars and discussions for the global showcase of WrestleMania?
During WrestleMania 40’s second night’s post-show press conference, Triple H affirmed that the event was, in fact, the largest in the company’s history and that several records were broken in a couple of hours throughout the week of WrestleMania:
“You hear a lot of hyperbole coming into these things. ‘Greatest WrestleMania of all time, biggest WrestleMania of all time.’ A lot of the times, that stuff is said, and you move on. But I do feel like this was the biggest WrestleMania of all time. I really do. And when you break it down, I have spent the last 4 days getting text messages saying, ‘Here’s where we’re at 12 o’clock for the ‘World’ or merch sales or anything.
Let’s say that was at 12 o’clock. At 3 o’clock, I get a message saying we just blew that number out of the water. We set records this week for social media by far; we set records for merchandise by far; we set records for sponsorship by far; we just destroyed records for gate. This was legitimately, on every metric, the biggest WrestleMania of all time.”
Paul “Triple H” Levesque, April 7th, 2024 at the WrestleMania XL Press Conference
WWE Superstar Affiliation with Sponsors
The WWE is no stranger when it comes to sponsorships, as they’ve been partnering with multiple brands for the better part of three decades, from Macho Man’s famous Slim Jim commercial to Bianca Belair’s C4 partnership, which features her as a brand ambassador for the products that are run during WWE Premium Live Events. The WWE has struck a record-setting global partnership with Logan Paul and KSI’s widely popular beverage brand PRIME, becoming the official hydration drink of the company and the first partner to ever appear at the center of the WWE ring. Cody Rhodes was even featured in an advertisement for a limited-edition WrestleMania version of PRIME alongside Logan Paul as the first PRIME Athlete.
However, the age of familiarity has become something of the past, as TKO is spearheading these major sponsorships for the WWE along with executives in Titan Towers. According to the Sports Business Journal (2024), under TKO, new sponsorship deals are no longer short-term as WWE’s parent company is looking to include live-event brand integrations that were featured on both nights of WrestleMania XL (40), which spans the show and the Kickoff Show, social and digital media executions, and a sweepstakes promo. That deal would be forming a partnership with Sazerac Brands’ Wheatley Vodka, which was featured this past weekend at Lincoln Financial Field for WrestleMania. The deal also covers the fact that it will also be featured at a handful of other events in the future.
In addition to expressing their pride in their partnership, the sponsors also offered several means of communicating with the audience, both those present at the event and those watching from home. Before the LA Knight vs. AJ Styles bout, Knight made his entrance to the arena in a customized Nissan Z car featuring a distinctive design that prominently displayed the Slim Jim emblem. Upon entering, LA Knight proceeded to the ring and presented the keys to the car to the fortunate winner of the sweepstakes. This type of exposure allows the brand to interact with the public to potentially reach a broader demographic.
Criticisms
While there are several advantages to incorporating brand presences throughout the program from a marketing perspective, there are also some criticisms and disadvantages associated with the placement or visibility of such sponsorships. Over-commercialization poses a threat to the integrity and appeal of a wrestling event such as WrestleMania, potentially resulting in the estrangement of certain supporters, due to the excessive presence of sponsorships. Regarding the audience, several significant observations raised concerns regarding the extent of sponsorships featured in the program;
Over time, this development has the potential to desensitize audiences, thereby diminishing the efficacy of sponsor messages due to increased viewer indifference. Through the careful oversight of sponsor integrations and the guarantee that they augment the viewer experience rather than diminish it, event organizers can sustain a favorable rapport with attendees while efficiently providing value to sponsors.
The Takeaways
WWE’s WrestleMania is an incredible marketing powerhouse for sponsors, with well-thought-out tactics that blend in perfectly with the spectacle of the event. Brands like Snickers and Minute Maid Aguas Frescas use match sponsorships and brand integration as different sponsorship strategies to attract a large demographic. With well-planned product placements and unique promos, WWE is adept at appealing to a wide range of consumer demographics and guaranteeing sponsor awareness. Brand exposure is enhanced during crucial moments via the event’s ring-side branding and creative advertising placements, like LED screens, and distinctive sponsor activations, like the Hydration Station. By creating engaging experiences through iconic matches and innovative technology integrations, sponsors like PRIME benefit from heightened visibility and audience engagement.
References:
Dhanagaran, A. (2024, April 7). WWE WrestleMania 40: List of all sponsors. Khel Now. https://khelnow.com/wwe/wrestlemania-40-list-of-all-sponsors-202404
Gaydos, R. (2024, April 3). WWE makes C4 Energy its first energy-drink partner, will sponsor WrestleMania 40 skycam. Fox Business. https://www.foxbusiness.com/sports/wwe-makes-c4-energy-first-energy-drink-partner-will-sponsor-wrestlemania-40-skycam
Harris, R. (2019, April 12). WWE marketing strategies – marketing strategies I learned by watching wrestling. Linkedin.com. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wwe-marketing-strategies-i-learned-watching-wrestling-rashod-harris
Hunt, A. (2024, April 8). Triple H touts the success of WWE WrestleMania 40. Inside The Ropes. https://itrwrestling.com/news/triple-h-touts-the-success-of-wwe-wrestlemania-40/
iHeart. (n.d.). WrestleMania XL 40 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Iheart.com. [Photograph.] Retrieved April 9, 2024, from https://i.iheart.com/v3/re/new_assets/6612e20198c815652d322f67?ops=gravity(%22north%22),fit(1200,675),quality(65)
Lefton, T. (2024, March 6). SBJ Marketing: TKO broadens WWE’s sponsorship horizons. Sports Business Journal. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/Newsletter-Marketing/2024/03/06.aspx
Metro. (2024, April 7). Cody Rhodes at the WrestleMania XL Press Conference. Metro.co.uk. [Photograph.] https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Cody-Rhodes-WWE-WrestleMania-40-press-conference-0423_1712644677.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200&h=630&crop=1
Wheatley vodka – WWE sweeps. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2024, from https://www.wheatleywrestles.com/
WWE. (2024a, March 8). Wwe ® & prime hydration strike record-setting global partnership featuring first-ever ring mat branding. Wwe.com. https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2024/03-08-2024b
WWE. (2024b, March 21). Wheatley American Vodka named official vodka of wrestlemania XL, becomes first official spirit partner of wrestlemania. Wwe.com. https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2024/03-21-2024
WWE. (2024c, April 3). C4® energy named first-ever official energy drink partner of wwe®. Wwe.com. https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2024/04-03-2024
WWE. (2024d, April 9). Wrestlemania XL becomes most successful event in wwe history. Wwe.com. https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2024/09-04-2024
DeShawn Ellis 
