When you’re running a promotion for three consecutive years, it’s got to incorporate some freshness.
And that is the plan for WWE and 7-Eleven as the convenience stores began a month-long promotion this month marking the first time 7-Eleven has partnered with an entertainment property for a summer promotion for three straight years.
The brands don’t share sales data, but as an indicator of the power of the promotion, “in 2010 WWE.com was the No. 1 driver in upstream traffic to 7-Eleven.com and Slurpee.com during the durations of the campaign, ahead of Google and Facebook,” Beth Davis, vice president of partner marketing at WWE, said.
For WWE, its fans are wildly passionate and will purchase with gusto commemorative items, in this case Slurpee and Super Big Gulp cups and straws branded with the property’s talent. On the 7-Eleven side, the promotion draws more people into its stores, including new customers that will hopefully return again and again.
“The promotion has delivered increasing positive results year over year for us,” 7-Eleven spokesperson Margaret Chabris added. “Before the promotion even starts, customers begin asking about the new cups because there are so many WWE fans. Each year there is an increasing amount of interest.”
WWE has gone all out to market the promotion, tapping into its vast array of media, from messaging in ads featuring WWE Superstar “The Miz” during its popular TV programs, “Monday Night Raw” and “Friday Night Smack Down, to live events. Ads also appear in WWE Magazine, and on the WWE Web site. Social media plays a big role, including disseminating weekly Facebook alerts.
“Virtually every media platform that we have available we are taking advantage of,” Davis said. What will be interesting this year is that we’ve seen tremendous growth in our social media network and to watch how that performs.”
The marketing homes in on the “freshness” of this third program, the incorporation of action shots of WWE legends (retired talent), including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Shawn Michaels. Also appearing as they have in the prior years are superstars (current talent) such as John Cena, The Rock, The Miz, Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton.
“The idea for this version of the promotion was inspired by our WWE All Stars game, so for the first time we’re featuring top legends in addition to superstars,” Davis said. “It’s a new twist on the promotion that has the opportunity to bring in a broader group of fans; fans who may have been more avid back in the era when “Stone Cold,” Steve Austin and “The Rock” were performing. WWE is multigenerational and this promotion takes advantage of that fact.”
Adding another layer of freshness, WWE has pulled in Twix as a partner. Customers who buy both a Twix candy bar and a Slurpee beverage have a chance to win a trip to WrestleMania XXVIII live in Miami, FL, April 1, 2012. The main event is “The Rock” vs. John Cena, both featured during the August promotion. WrestleMania is WWE’s biggest pay-per-view event and takes place at the beginning of April.
Consumers register for the sweepstakes at Slurpee.com, where they enter their Slurpee Nation reward points and Twix game code found under the wrapper. Slurpee cup codes may also be entered online or via text for a chance to win WWE merchandise including WrestleMania XXVII DVD’s and branded T-shirts, action figures, baseball caps, videogames, sweatbands and other items.
All 7,400 7-Eleven retail locations in the U.S. and Canada are participating in the promotion, handled by FreshWorks. As an extension of the promotion, 7-Eleven is the presenting sponsor of “Summer Slam,” and Twix is the promotional sponsor. “SummerSlam” is WWE’s second largest pay-per-view event, to be held Aug. 14 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.
"SummerSlam" creative features a QR code on posters sent to WWE our cable partners and Hot Topic retail outlets selling WWE merchandise. A print ad with the code runs in WWE Magazine and wild postings will be found throughout Los Angeles. The code links to a "SummerSlam" landing page.
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