7 Lessons Any Marketer Can Learn From the Enduring Success of WrestleMania – Adweek
In 1985, Vince McMahon created WrestleMania, a sports and pop-culture extravaganza—including the likes of Muhammad Ali, Billy Martin, Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper, The Rockettes and Liberace. It all took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,000 fans at Madison Square Garden and aired on closed-circuit television.
Fast forward to Sunday’s WrestleMania 33, which will take place in front of a sold-out crowd at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., while streaming live on WWE Network (our direct-to-consumer streaming service), where it can be seen worldwide on virtually any device.
WrestleMania has constantly evolved over the past three decades. In fact, Forbes ranked WrestleMania as one of the top five most valuable sports brands for the second year in a row alongside the Super Bowl, the Summer and Winter Olympics, and the World Cup.
Even if you don’t work in the worlds of sports or entertainment, marketers in any industry can learn from the ongoing growth, fan engagement and sponsor integrations that have made WrestleMania an enduring phenomenon.