WWE SUPERSTARS STAR IN GAMBLEAWARE’S SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
LICENSING WWE WRESTLERS FOR A SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTING THE DANGERS OF GAMBLING
BACKGROUND:
GambleAware, an independent charity whose mission is to highlight the potential dangers of gambling, launched a new campaign to encourage people to pause and reconsider before placing a bet they may regret. Timed to coincide with the start of the UK football season, the multi-channel campaign launched with two films: featuring people about to place ill-considered bets, the films showed a wrestler interrupting the gamblers and pinning them down until they ‘tap out’ of their betting apps, saving them from “Bet Regret”.
THE CALL TO BORN:
GambleAware’s creative agency, M&C Saatchi, who Born Licensing have worked with on a number of occasions, reached out to us with an idea to incorporate real wrestlers into the campaign. They wanted to feature WWE superstars to get their message across impactfully on social media, and asked us for our help. We were given sample scripts, involving wrestlers filming selfie-style video messages, and were asked to scope out potential WWE wrestlers to come on board.
WHERE BORN LICENSING ADDED VALUE:
From our shortlist, M&C Saatchi and GambleAware chose the legendary wrestlers Big Show and Kurt Angle. Thanks to our hard work behind the scenes, all parties involved were managed efficiently and were all agreed on the commercial terms and virtual shooting process from the outset.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT:
Thanks to strong relationships with all major studios and entertainment Rights Holders across the world, we were able to reach out to contacts at WWE to begin discussions and shortlist suitable wrestlers. The wrestlers needed to appeal to an older demographic, so we focused on securing licenses with WWE legends rather than current stars. Both WWE and the wrestlers themselves needed to be comfortable with the campaign and their representation in it, as well as with the fees involved. We quickly came back to M&C Saatchi with a strong list of options that suited the brief.
THE SHOOT:
The final content for this social media campaign was to be two separate selfie videos, one from each wrestler, with the wrestlers warning people to tap out to avoid “Bet Regret”. The videos needed to be humorous and on-message, making the most of each wrestler’s most recognizable traits. Born Licensing arranged video conferencing calls with WWE, the wrestlers, and M&C Saatchi to facilitate the remote shooting process. M&C Saatchi directed the WWE superstars remotely to record the content needed.
THE APPROVAL PROCESS:
After shooting and editing, WWE reviewed and approved the final edits and were closely involved throughout the development of the campaign. With experience handling complex projects, Born Licensing managed the entire approval process, start to finish, ensuring logistical and administrative issues were overcome efficiently to allow each party to focus on their roles.
THE LAUNCH:
The 30-second selfie videos went live on Big Show and Kurt Angle’s own Facebook pages, to a combined total of over 8.25 million fans. The videos were also shared on GambleAware’s own social media channels, and was picked up by the hugely popular online publisher LADbible and shared with their 40 million followers.
THE EXPERIENCE
Thanks to strong relationships with all major studios and entertainment Rights Holders across the world, we were able to reach out to contacts at WWE with ease and handle all negotiations and commercial licensing terms on behalf of GambleAware, as well as playing a crucial role in the virtual shoot process.
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