Professional wrestling, sports entertainment, whatever you wish to call it, wrestling has made a huge impact on popular culture over the last 30 years, with a reach that has made household names of the likes of John Cena, The Rock, Ric Flair and many more.
Sitting somewhere in between sports, theatre and pop culture, professional wrestling has created an empire around broadcasting, pay per view events and merchandise.
Sometimes marketing lessons can be found in the most unlikely places and while wrestling might seem a strange place to learn from, there’s plenty that the world of professional wrestling can teach digital marketers and brands looking to take their campaigns to another level.
By looking at the professional wrestling industry from a new perspective, you’re likely to uncover new ideas that you can apply to your business and your marketing strategy.
Storytelling Is Key
Wrestling relies heavily on storytelling, with all matches driven by predetermined storylines. The business spends plenty of time developing personas for each wrestling, crafting unique and entertaining stories that are likely to keep the audience interested. Each element of a wrestlers aesthetic, from their clothing, their entrance music and even their signature moves is developed as part of their character, keeping everything consistent and in keeping with their story.
By telling your audience an authentic story you can truly make them care about your product or your brand. Give meaning to every factor of your business and everything you do, this not only gives your audience a reason to invest emotionally in your brand but can be an effective way to differentiate yourself from your competition.
Listen To Your Audience
If there’s anything I know about wrestling fans it’s that they’re passionate about the sport and they often aren’t shy when it comes to airing an opinion, often never hesitating to boo or create chants when they aren’t enjoying a match. Listening to the fans allows professional wrestling brands to figure out what works and what needs improving next time round and whilst it’s arguable how much the heads of these brands actually listen, this feedback is still necessary.
If there’s anything you should learn from this, it’s that your business needs to listen to your audience. If you’re lucky to have an audience that is passionate about what you do then encourage it, letting you develop a long-term and honest relationship with your target audience.
Long Term Sequences
Professional wrestling has mastered the art of deliberately setting up a future event in a coordinated and integrated way. Whether it’s a promo, a match, social media updates or appearances on talk shows, these stories are often weaved into life both inside the ring and out, creating hype around upcoming events. This often occurs over a length of time, creating more anticipation but also developing a relationship with the audience.
Marketing teams can take note of how powerful long-term marketing can be, helping create strategic campaigns that can create suspense around a new product, service or even new additions to your business.
These days businesses are always looking for new ways to generate attention and develop their brand. In order to thrive in your industry, it’s important to do something different and stand out from your competitors. So why not look for inspiration in unexpected places? You might find the gems you need to make your business the real champion of your field.
