IrishCanadian25
Going on 10 years with WrestleZone
Okay, ladies and gentlemen, please have a seat. Marketing 101 is in session. Professor IC25 will be leading this lecture and discussion.
Today's topic - Competition. There has been a great deal of discussion lately about WWE and it's "competition" as it pertains to TNA Wrestling and now Ultimate Fighting. We've discussed this before, but it bears going over again. This time, I hope to bring some new knowledge to a few of you.
Competition occurs in many forms, and it is not always bad. To claim that TNA is competition to the WWE and UFC is not is shockingly naive. To say that neither competes with WWE is elitest and foolish, not to mention arrogant. If the McMahon's aren't looking in their rear-view mirrors at all times, then they will get hunted down eventually, the way WCW did in the 90's.
The first form of competiton we will discuss is direct competition. Also known as brand competition, this occurs when two companies, brands, or products each have a product that competes directly with one another. The idea behind it, is that it's very difficult to have both - because there may be no need to have both. The most famous "direct competitors" or all time are probably Coca-Cola and Pepsi. These two companies are always trying to one-up each other, whether with bottled water, athletic beverages, etc. WWF Monday Night Raw and WCW Monday Nitro were an example of direct competition.
The other dynamic of direct competiton is that it is destructive competition in that for one to succeed, the other is likely harmed. That is why the "ratings war" was so critical on Monday Nights.
The second form of competition is indirect competition. This exists when companies, brands, or products that are close substitutes for one another compete. This tends to be a larger category. For example, which Coke and Pepsi are direct competitors because they are both colas, Coke considers Milk an indirect competition because they are both beverages. Believe me, when the "Got Milk?" campaign came out, Coke and Pepsi went straight into face plam, knowing that if milk sales increased, it would take some of the soda-drinkers away. WWE and TNA are an example of indirect competition. They compete for professional wrestling fans, but not directly, since their shows are on at different times and they don't go head to head over much. Maybe they compete for some talent, and it's totally possible for a big wrestling fan to watch both WWE's and TNA's shows, pay-per-views, etc.
This type of competition can be either destructive OR co-operative competition. Co-op competition doesn't suggest that WWE and TNA are colluding to help the other out, but rather that if TNA attracts a new fan to professional wrestling, there is a good chance they will also check out WWE, and vice versa.
Finally, we have market competition, also known as budget competition. This form of competition is especially important given today's economy. Each person, family, etc. has a set amount of money they are able / willing to spend. Obviously, the budget threshold for a car is greater than for cola, but the fact remains - ALL products compete for each patron's dollar. Since people allot only a certain amount of money for "entertainment," this is where WWE and UFC compete the most.
Entertainment is also one of the first places people cut while budgeting. So, where one person may have ordered both the WWE and UFC pay-per-views in a month a year ago, since they are budgeting less money to entertainment now, they say to themselves "if I get this show, I won't get that show." As a result, WWE and UFC are competing for that consumer's entertainment dollar. Thus is the basis for marketing.
So, to recap:
Direct Competition - Raw and Nitro
Indirect Competition - WWE and TNA
Market Competition - WWE and UFC
Today's topic - Competition. There has been a great deal of discussion lately about WWE and it's "competition" as it pertains to TNA Wrestling and now Ultimate Fighting. We've discussed this before, but it bears going over again. This time, I hope to bring some new knowledge to a few of you.
Competition occurs in many forms, and it is not always bad. To claim that TNA is competition to the WWE and UFC is not is shockingly naive. To say that neither competes with WWE is elitest and foolish, not to mention arrogant. If the McMahon's aren't looking in their rear-view mirrors at all times, then they will get hunted down eventually, the way WCW did in the 90's.
The first form of competiton we will discuss is direct competition. Also known as brand competition, this occurs when two companies, brands, or products each have a product that competes directly with one another. The idea behind it, is that it's very difficult to have both - because there may be no need to have both. The most famous "direct competitors" or all time are probably Coca-Cola and Pepsi. These two companies are always trying to one-up each other, whether with bottled water, athletic beverages, etc. WWF Monday Night Raw and WCW Monday Nitro were an example of direct competition.
The other dynamic of direct competiton is that it is destructive competition in that for one to succeed, the other is likely harmed. That is why the "ratings war" was so critical on Monday Nights.
The second form of competition is indirect competition. This exists when companies, brands, or products that are close substitutes for one another compete. This tends to be a larger category. For example, which Coke and Pepsi are direct competitors because they are both colas, Coke considers Milk an indirect competition because they are both beverages. Believe me, when the "Got Milk?" campaign came out, Coke and Pepsi went straight into face plam, knowing that if milk sales increased, it would take some of the soda-drinkers away. WWE and TNA are an example of indirect competition. They compete for professional wrestling fans, but not directly, since their shows are on at different times and they don't go head to head over much. Maybe they compete for some talent, and it's totally possible for a big wrestling fan to watch both WWE's and TNA's shows, pay-per-views, etc.
This type of competition can be either destructive OR co-operative competition. Co-op competition doesn't suggest that WWE and TNA are colluding to help the other out, but rather that if TNA attracts a new fan to professional wrestling, there is a good chance they will also check out WWE, and vice versa.
Finally, we have market competition, also known as budget competition. This form of competition is especially important given today's economy. Each person, family, etc. has a set amount of money they are able / willing to spend. Obviously, the budget threshold for a car is greater than for cola, but the fact remains - ALL products compete for each patron's dollar. Since people allot only a certain amount of money for "entertainment," this is where WWE and UFC compete the most.
Entertainment is also one of the first places people cut while budgeting. So, where one person may have ordered both the WWE and UFC pay-per-views in a month a year ago, since they are budgeting less money to entertainment now, they say to themselves "if I get this show, I won't get that show." As a result, WWE and UFC are competing for that consumer's entertainment dollar. Thus is the basis for marketing.
So, to recap:
Direct Competition - Raw and Nitro
Indirect Competition - WWE and TNA
Market Competition - WWE and UFC
