Digital Marketing Plan

World Wrestling Entertainment
Bryant Santos
Full Sail University
Entertainment Business
Author Note
This paper was prepared for Principles of Digital Marketing, a requirement in the
Entertainment Business program Full Sail University, in Winter Park, Florida.

DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN
1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................3
2. Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................3
3. Organisation Vision, Mission& Values ..................................................................................................................4
4. Marketing Vision & Mission.......................................................................................................................................4
5. Situation Analysis.........................................................................................................................................................5
6. Organisation& Marketing Objectives .................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
7. Strategy .......................................................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
8. Tactics...........................................................................................................................................................................14
9. Activity Plan.................................................................................................................................................................15
10. Control and Evaluation .......................................................................................................................................19
11. Appendix .................................................................................................................................................................20
12. Find Out More........................................................................................................................................................21

1. INTRODUCTION
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world.
In addition to professional wrestling, the company also excels in entertainment and media with its
television programming, digital content, subscription streaming network, live events, merchandise
sales, and more. Furthermore, the WWE is looking to broaden its already large global reach as
well as continue to grow its current digital presence, which is what will be addressed in this plan.
2. EXECUTIVE SUM M ARY
CURRENT POSITION
This proposal lays out the foundation for a digital marketing plan for the WWE. WWE is an
entertainment conglomerate that understands the importance of digital marketing. Additionally,
with a strong following across all social media platforms, WWE capitalizes on the power of social
media marketing. However, even with a strong presence in social media marketing, there is always
room for improvement and growth. Therefore, this plan outlines several digital marketing
campaigns planned for the WWE for the coming years.
The first campaign that will be covered will be an international language campaign. The goal of
this campaign would be to create digital content in languages other than English targeted to
specific audiences spanning across all of WWE’s social media channels.
The next campaign that will be discussed will be the superstar social media campaign. The goal
of this campaign is to ensure that all superstars are maximizing the use of their social media
accountsin order to reach as many differentaudiencesand markets as possible.Contentwill range
from current events to product/service promotion and will span across all social media channels.
In addition to these campaigns, this plan also outlines key aspects of WWE as an organization and
how their marketing team is crucial to the success of the company. We will be analyzing target
markets, internal/external forces, resources such as budgeting, objectives and strategies, and
more.
KEY ISSUES
Currently, the WWE is not faced with many key issues. As the largest and most globally known
wrestling promotion in the world, the WWE has a stronghold on many markets across the globe.
Furthermore, the company heavily invests in digital/social content and will hopefully expand in that
area with the help of this plan. The main area for improvement that WWE has will be that some of
its talent, known as WWE Superstars, are not maximizing the use of their social media accounts.
Therefore, that it is one of the key issues that will be addressed in this plan.

3. ORGANIZATION VISION, M ISSION & VALUES
M ISSION/VISION/VALUES
According to the company’s website, “The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that
create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to
family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and
publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 800 million homes worldwide in 25
languages. The award-winning WWE Network is the first-ever 24/7 direct-to-consumer premium
network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-
demand library, and is currently available in more than 180 countries. The company is
headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City,
Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo. WWE’s operations are organized
around the following four principal activities: Media Division (consisting of WWE Network and pay-
per-view, Television, Home Entertainment and Digital Media Segments), Live Events Segment,
Consumer Products Division (consisting of Licensing, Venue Merchandise and WWEShop
Segments) and WWE Studios Segment.” (WWE, 2018). The mission of the WWE is to provide
outstanding sports entertainment programming across all its publishing and broadcast platforms.
The company has a vision of continuousexpansion as it consistentlyentersnew emerging markets
and keeps its stronghold on the current markets it is now. The company values family-friendly
entertainment that is enjoyable for people of all ages and walks of life.
People – (marketing personnel values) Brand – (Family Friendly, Value)
In-the-know
Outgoing
Sociable
Dedicated
Sporty
Trendy
Fast-paced
Family Friendly
Athletic
Entertaining
Extravagant
Trendy
Engaging
Fun
4. M ARKETING VISION & M ISSION
M ISSION/VISION
The mission of the WWE’s marketing team is to continue to grow the WWE’s digital and social
presence and continue to expand the global reach of the WWE as a whole. The marketing team
drives merchandise and live event tickets sales as well as drives WWE’s social media content and
other digital services such as the WWE Network. Furthermore, WWE’s marketing team is

committed to breaking down barriers for the brand. The team has a vision to enter new markets
across the globe and capitalize on its current stronghold in the U.S. as the premier sports
entertainment conglomerate.
5. SITUATION ANALYSIS
The following is an analysis of the current situation the WWE is in within its current market. This
area discusses an external environmental analysis as well as analyzes WWE’s current target
market and audiences and how it reaches those audiences.
EXTERNAL ENVIRONM ENT ANALYSIS
FORCE WHAT’S HAPPENING? PRESSURE IMPACT
Competitive rivalry Current competition: Impact!
Wrestling, Lucha
Underground, New Japan Pro
Wrestling
High WWE is the most
popular and
successful of
these
competitors but if
these
competitors
become more
successful,
WWE could lose
their place at the
top.
Bargaining power of
customers
WWE’s strong social media
presence allows customers to
voice their opinions about
products and services offered.
Medium This can be
positive when
customers voice
their praise
resulting in them
willing to pay
more or negative
when customers
air grievances
and force prices
down.

Bargaining power of
suppliers
WWE’s suppliers such as NBC
Universal, which houses most
WWE programming, can
increase prices such as
television contracts.
Low WWE has had a
strong
relationship with
NBC Universal
for several years
but there has
been talk that
NBC will
relinquish the
rights to WWE’s
Smackdown
Live. This will
impact the
company by
them having to
find another
home for their
second most-
popular wrestling
promotion.
Threat of new entrants Although there is already the
threat of current competition in
other large-scale wrestling
promotions, smaller
promotions such as Progress
Wrestling and Ring of Honor,
are also present in the market.
Low While these
promotions are
still smaller in
scale compared
to WWE or
Impact!, they
could potentially
grow and pose a
threat to WWE.
Threat of substitute
products
Competition is present, but
WWE is still the #1 choice of
sports entertainment among
many viewers.
Very Low WWE has
competition, but
they are not
immediately
substitutable to
the WWE
product and do

not pose a major
threat currently.
CURRENT TARGET M ARKETS/AUDIENCES
The current market of the WWE is aimed to be family-friendly but definitely impacts two main
categories.These categoriesare young adults and adults. The table outlines who these audiences
are and how we are targeting them.
Young Adults Adults
Age range of 13-17 Mostly males ages 18-35
Usually interested in sports and physical
activities
Many are Blue Collar workers with families
On many social media platforms often Most use social media but some still rely on
traditional channels such as news networks
or word-of-mouth
In school Lower to moderate education levels with a
lower middle-class income
CUSTOM ER TOUCH POINTS
These touch points are extremely important because they are how we reach our customer. The
table provided outlinesour use of the WWE.com website, the WWE Facebookpage,and the WWE
Instagram page. We can see how the company is currently doing a good job of maintaining these
touch points but there is always room for improvement and expansion.
Touch Point Department Does it meet their
expectation/need?
Competitive
Edge
Website Marketing Extremely up-to-date
Displays everything from
programming to event ticket
sales to merchandise sales.
Good use of
images and
video to display
content
Very chic and
modern design
that is extremely
easy to navigate
Facebook Marketing Very engaging social media
platform with lots of quality
content, such as links to other
Updated very
often

social media sites, job
postings, community outreach
programs and more
Strong following
with close to 40
million likes and
close to 40
million followers
Instagram Marketing Quality photos and images
that highlights current news
and programming
Diversified content ranging
from programming
(Raw/Smackdown Live) to
community outreach programs
to superstar merchandise and
more
Updated often
with no less than
five posts a day
Strong following
with close to 15
million followers
and at least
50,000 likes per
post

COM PETITION
Who are they? Brand Marketing Mix Potential competitive advantage on
us
Impact!
Wrestling
IMPACT Wrestling
specializes in events,
products, merchandise
and music, as well as the
management and
promotion of professional
wrestlers. (Anthem Sports
& Entertainment, 2018).
IMPACT Wrestling is one
of the world’s largest
wrestling entertainment
properties, creating more
than 200 hours of original
content annually across
television and other digital
platforms. (Anthem Sports
& Entertainment, 2018).
Product- Wrestling events
and wrestling merchandise
Price- Similar price points
as WWE; average
merchandise shirt cost:
$20, average ticket sale
cost: $100
Placement-
“Digital and social reach of
over 16M+ monthly
Over 1M subscribers and
1B views on YouTube”
(Anthem Sports &
Entertainment, 2018).
Promotion- Small sales on
merchandise and ticket
sales throughout the year
with an average discount of
15% off.
Many top wrestling talent that have left
WWE have gone to Impact!. These
include talent such as Austin Aries, Gail
Kim, and more.
Impact! has smaller-scale live events,
which makes for a more interactive and
intimate fan experience.

Ultimate
Fighting
Championship
(UFC)
“The fastest growing
sports organization in the
world, the Ultimate
Fighting Championship®
(UFC®), started in 1993
as a professional mixed
martial arts (MMA)
organization. UFC has
revolutionized the fight
business, and today
stands as the world's
leading MMA promoter,
offering the premier series
of MMA sports events that
have sold out some of the
biggest arenas and
stadiums across the
globe.” (UFC, 2018).
“The UFC organization
follows a rich history and
tradition of competitive
MMA dating back to the
Olympic Games in
Athens. About 80 years
ago, a Brazilian form of
MMA known as Vale Tudo
(anything goes) sparked
local interest in the sport.
Today, the UFC has
evolved into an
organization where hybrid
athletes are required to
know various disciplines
in order to compete at an
elite level in a regulated
environment where safety
is paramount. UFC
athletes are skilled in
many forms of martial
arts, including karate, jiu-
jitsu, boxing, kickboxing,
grappling, wrestling, sumo
Product- Mixed Martial
Arts (MMA) Events, MMA
Merchandise
Price- Similar price points
as WWE; average
merchandise shirt cost:
$25, average ticket sale
cost: $100
Placement- “The UFC’s
success on social media
has been evident in its
numbers. For a relatively
niche sport to have 20
million followers across its
different social media
channels, with 80 brand
accounts, is seriously
impressive given that it has
only been around for 24
years. Last year, UFC 200
was one of the most
successful events in the
competition’s history.
According to Forbes, it
UFC can be considered more of an
indirect competitor because it is not a
professional wrestling promotion, but
rather, an MMA promotion. WWE and
UFC can be considered competitors
because they are both combat sports
promotions.
UFC has the advantage of being the
most dominant and well-known MMA
promotion and can drive viewers and
fans of the WWE to their sport.
Many fans of UFC are hesitant to view
WWE because WWE is scripted, and
outcomes of matches are pre-
determined. The pure sports aspect of
UFC is something they have over
WWE.

and other combat sports.”
(UFC, 2018).
made ‘over 13 billion
impressions, 3.2 million
engagements on
Facebook, 246 million
impressions on Vine, their
custom UFC 200 emoji was
used over one million
times, their Instagram had
4.3 million engagements,
and they gained over
270,000 new fans across
Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram during the
event.’” (Lane, 2018).
Promotion- Very rare
promotions on merchandise
and ticket sales

INTERNAL ENVIRONM ENTAL ANALYSIS
This table provides an analysis of WWE’s internal environment. The table shows different areas
ranging from structure to staff and explains the currentstate the company is in, where the company
wants to be, and how to get there. This table shows us that WWE is a well-versed company with
many strengths, and once these “gaps” are filled, the company will only continue to grow.
Element Where you are now Where you want to
be
The gaps
Strategy Strong foothold in U.S.
market with strengths in
certain markets around
the world
Enter new markets
such as Africa and
The Middle East and
expand on growing
markets such as
Australia, Europe,
and Asia
Need to get over
political/social
hurdles in areas
like Africa or The
Middle East
Structure Headquartersin the U.S,
with offices in London,
Mexico, Singapore and
more
Create an office in a
new market such as
Sydney
Research need in
this area and
ensure that there is
enough to support
another office
Systems Strong technological
advantage with
strengths in new media
and digital content
Create new live
events sets and
digital content with
the help of newmedia
Budget
Style/Values Family-friendly Family-friendly with
an edge
Trying to find the
balance between
the two
Staff Thousands of staff
across several
continents
Hire new staff and
specialists to help
break into new
markets
Political/Social
restrictions
Skills Event management,
merchandise sales,
social media
Stronger in social
media management
Reaching more
audiences in
different markets

management, among
others
INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS
Department Emphasis Marketing
Emphasis
Relationship/Link
Sales Team Selling to current
audiences and
ensuring repeat
business
Ensuring that our
current customers
stay loyal and
continue to enjoy
our
products/services
Pricing,
merchandising,
promotions
Television/Production
Team
Creating
content/programming
for television and/or
digital media
Know how to
market for
television and
social media to
ensure audiences
are aware of and
interested in
content
Promotion, social
media marketing
6. OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY
For this area, the company is looking at both short-term and long-term objectives and the strategy
in place to reach those objectives. Some of the objectives detailed include creating and enforcing
a talent social media campaign, increasing weekly viewers, and reaching a certain number of
followers by a certain time frame.
Tactic Objective Strategy
Short-Term
2018-2020
1. Increase the number of
weekly viewers across
all content categories at
a continuous rate of
100,000 viewers per
month
2. Reach more than 20
million followers on all
1. Continue publishing content
frequently and leveraging the
use of talent social media
accounts
2. Create content curated to
new markets that will bring in
more viewers/followers
3. Enforce a talent policy that
all talent must actively post

social media platforms
by early 2019
3. Ensure that all talent is
maximizing the use of
their social media
platforms to create more
engagement with
audiences
relevant content at least
once a week and this will be
in effect by end of 2018
Long-Term
2020 and Beyond
1. Enter new global
markets (especially in
the realm of digital
marketing) such as
Africa and The Middle
East by early 2020
2. Hire more global talent
to cater to these new
markets
1. Research means to enter
those markets and figure out
how to lock in this target
market
2. Scout talent regularly,
especially during overseas
tours, and try to hire at least
five new talent from these
new markets by 2021
7. TACTICS
RESOURCES
Title Occupant Responsibilities
Social Media Manager Works on the road mostly
and out of Stamford
Headquarters occasionally
Oversee all social media
channels and campaigns as
well as lead social media
executives that report to this
manager
Marketing Manager Works on the road mostly
and out of Stamford
Oversee all current
marketing efforts from print
to digital and spearhead the
entrance into emerging
markets listed above
Talent Manager Works on the road mostly
and out of Stamford
Oversees all talent and
ensures that they are
adhering to the new social
media policy
BUDGET

Annual costs Annum Quarter Month
Facebook Ads $600,000 $150,000 $5,000 (ten
times a
month)
Instagram Ad (Calculated by cost per mille) $600,000 $150,000 $10,000 (five
times a
month)
Twitter Trends (Promoted Tweets) $2,000,000 $800,000 $200,000
Sub Total $3,200,000 $1,100,000 $300,000
8. ACTIVITY PLAN
M ARKETING M IX
Objective Strategy
Place- Globally 1. Reach more global
audiences and attract more
social media followers
1. Post content in different
languages to encourage more
visitors and followers from
outside of the U.S.
Product – Live event ticket
sales and merchandise
sales
2. Enter new markets such as
Africa and The Middle East
in regard to live events and
merchandise sales by 2020.
2. Plan at least five additional tour
dates for live events in these
areas as well as ensure that the
WWE Shop ships globally to
these markets
Price/Promotion 1. Offer more competitive
pricing in areas that support
other wrestling
promotions/competition
1. Offer lower prices/promotions on
ticket sales during Japan tours to
compensate for New Japan Pro
Wrestling, offer lower
prices/promotions on Mexican
tours to compensate for Lucha
Underground; Ensure that these
prices are promoted and
advertised properly across all
social media platforms
People- Existing and New
Customers. Targeting
new markets such as
1. Create a strong, loyal
fanbase in these areas to
compensate for entering
1. Target these audiences with
social media content such as

Middle East and
competitive markets such
as Japan
into a new market or a
market riddled with
competition
creating posts in specific
languages
Processes 2. Create and enforce talent
social media policy
2. Create a policy that requires
talent to actively use social
media platforms to engage with
audiences and reach more
viewers; this plan will be in effect
by end of 2018
Physical Evidence 3. Monitor progress of social
media campaigns and
digital marketing efforts
3. Analyze daily metrics such as
views, impressions, likes, and
follower count as well as
responses to digital marketing
efforts such as e-mail
CAM PAIGNS
Campaign Line of
business
Strategy
International Language
Posts
New &
Current
Goals
- To create a campaign that will include
posts in different languages to capitalize
on WWE’s existing global market and
expand that market even further.
Target
- Current followers and new audiences
from new markets such as Africa and
The Middle East
Key messages
- Posts will be targeted to specific
audiences that will capitalize on the
global reach of WWE. Content will range
from promotions of live events to
updates on current WWE product
knowledge. These posts are intended to
resonate even further with new
audiences. Additionally, to continue to
reach our current English-speaking
market, we will also post the same
content in English.

Placement
- This campaign will span across all of
WWE’s social media channels, including
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat,
and more. For Facebook, we will
capitalize on Facebook Ads to reach
more audiences. We will also do this
with boosted/promoted posts on
Instagram, and promoted tweets on
Twitter. We can also capitalize on our
partnership with Snapchat to create
stories in specific languages that will be
promoted on Snapchat’s discover page.
Evaluate
- The main way that we will evaluate the
success of this campaign will be by the
number of new followers from these new
targeted audiences. We hope to reach at
least 1 million new followers from Africa
and/or The Middle East by the end of
this campaign.
Superstar (Talent)
Social Media
Campaigns
Current Goals
- To create a campaign that will promote
superstar social media accounts and
gain each superstar at least 100,000
more followers
Target
- Current followers and new audiences
from new markets such as Africa and
The Middle East
Key messages
- Posts will range from a variety of content
including current WWE events,
promotion of superstar merchandise or
other products/services like the WWE
Network.
Placement

This campaign will span across all of
WWE’s social media channels, including
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat,
and more. For Facebook, we will
capitalize on Facebook Ads to reach
more audiences. We will also do this
with boosted/promoted posts on
Instagram, and promoted tweets on
Twitter. We can also capitalize on our
partnership with Snapchat to create
stories in specific languages that will be
promoted on Snapchat’s discover page.
Evaluate
- We will evaluate the success of the
campaign by seeing If we met our goal
of increasing superstar following by
100,000 followers.
DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Placement Target Actions
Google AdWords Adults ages 26-35
Established career people
who frequent Google
Utilize Google Adwords to
reach new audiences; for
example, if someone
searches up wrestling, the
first page they will see
advertised will be wwe.com
YouTube Young adults ages 18-25
Usually just beginning
college and/or careers
Utilize different types of
display ads including overlay
ads, video ads, bumper ads,
and sponsored cards to
promote different content.
SOCIAL M EDIA
Tool Target Actions
Snapchat Teenagers ages 13-17
Still in school; lots of free
time
Capitalize on WWE’s
partnership with Snapchat to
create content for the
Snapchat Discover Page

Facebook Adults ages 30-50
Usually parents or
grandparents using
Facebook on their small
window of free time
Utilize Facebook Business
page to post relevant content
ranging from current events
to product/service promotion;
can also use Facebook Ads
to reach new audiences
Instagram Young adults ages 18-25
More drawn to
visuals/images as opposed
to too many words
Continue posting about
current events and
product/service promotions
as well as begin posting in
different languages to reach
new audiences; we can also
capitalize on promoted posts
as well
Twitter Young adults ages 18-25
Usually like to get
information very quickly
Live tweet during WWE
programming to directly
engage with audiences
EM AIL M ARKETING
Emails Timing Frequency
Products/Services Promotions During promotions/sales of
WWE Shop merchandise
and/or WWE Network
subscriptions
Minimum monthly, but also
dependent on promotions
running
“We’re coming to your town!” Utilize demographic
information to target specific
cities/countries WWE is
traveling to, to ensure that
new and current audiences
are aware
Based on individual
segments
9. CONTROL AND EVALUATION
This section explains how all of these campaigns and digital marketing efforts will be measured.
These four main areas of evaluation include, but are not limited to: follower count, entering new
markets, maximizing use of superstar social media accounts, and hiring talent to drive digital

marketing efforts. Many social media and digital channels will be used to aid in reaching and
evaluating these objectives and they will be quantifiably measured accordingly.
Evaluate Measure Tools
Follower Count Achieve 20 million
followers across all social
media platforms by 2020
Social Media (Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram,
Snapchat)
Entering New Markets Add at least five new stops
on African and Middle
Eastern tours by 2021
Social Media, E-Mail, Display
Ads
Maximize Use of Superstar
Social Media Accounts
Enforce social media
usage policy of one post
per week for each
Superstar and ensure that
each superstar has no
less than 1 million
followers by 2020
Use tools across all social
media platforms such as
Promoted Posts on
Instagram, Facebook Ads,
Promoted Tweets on Twitter,
and Snapchat Discover Page
Hire Talent to Drive Digital
Marketing Efforts
Hire a Social Media
Manager, Marketing
Manager, and Talent
Manager by end of 2018
to ensure that we
maximize digital marketing
efforts
Utilize hiring agencies as
well as job search websites
such as Indeed
11. APPENDIX
References:
Anthem Sports & Entertainment (2018). Impact Wrestling. Retrieved on June 6, 2018 from
https://anthemse.com/colleague/impact-wrestling/
Lane, A. (2018). How UFC Got Social Media Right. Retrieved on June 6, 2018 from
https://channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/articles/how-ufc-got-social-media-right
UFC (2018). The UFC. Retrieved on June 6, 2018 from http://www.ufc.com/discover/ufc
World Wrestling Entertainment (2018). Company Overview. Retrieved on June 18, 2018 from
http://corporate.wwe.com/who-we-are/company-overview

World Wrestling Entertainment (2018). Who We Are. Retrieved on June 18, 2018 from
http://corporate.wwe.com
12. FIND OUT M ORE

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