The WWE and Blue Ocean Strategy

The amount of innovation and creativity coming out of the WWE continues to amaze me. Thinking back to the groundbreaking book Blue Ocean Strategy, I think the WWE has found a “blue ocean” in the area between sports and entertainment, similar to how Cirque du Soleil (the classic blue ocean strategy company) found a “blue ocean” in the area between Broadway entertainment and the circus. On Monday – just hours before the all-important Pennsylvania primary – the WWE somehow arranged for all three Presidential candidates to give a big shout to their fans:

“The night before the Pennsylvania primary, presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton,

Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain made a very special appearance

on a three-hour edition of Raw on USA Network Monday night. This appearance sent media outlets around the globe – from The New York Times to CNN – into a frenzy. Tapping into Monday Night Raw’s viewership of more than five million

viewers, Democratic senators Clinton and Obama appealed for votes from WWE fans in Pennsylvania, where they are locked in a tight primary

battle…”

At one time, the very thought of presidential candidates appearing on a show like WWE would have been unimaginable. Now, it just seems like savvy political positioning. This story was picked up by nearly every major media outlet, meaning that the WWE scored an unprecedented, huge PR breakthrough. A big hat tip to my colleagues at Electric Artists who continue to roll out interesting new promotions for the WWE!

[video: WWE Clinton/Obama/McCain]