TNA & Marketting

[CobraStarship]

Hey guys,
I've been thinking last few weeks, how does TNA get bigger and better... they have a roster full of Talent... they have big names like the Hardyz, Anderson, Flair, AJ, Kurt etc...

Why doesn't TNA run for some more big name companies, get the faces of AJ Styles and the face of Jeff Hardy and the face of Mr Anderson and the face of Kurt Angle on products...

2 years ago Jeff Hardy was almost as hot property as John Cena, yes he is going through shitty stuff with the courts and his personal drug crap, But his face would still sell so would Kurt Angle, so would Motor City, so would Jay Lethal...

What i'm asking you guys is this...

How do you think TNA could market their brand better?
Who do you think could promote TNA's products?

Hopefully i made sense lol !

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Why do fans discuss marketing strategies these days? Seriously, it blows my mind. I even find it laughable when fans say that they should do this, shouldn't do that, and basically try to be smart-asses about something that they can't do better than the people in charge.

But on topic ...

How could TNA market their brand better? - I have no freaking clue.
Who do you think could promote TNA's products? - I have no freaking clue.

 

[wrestlemaniac]

Well they partnered with tom snacks...it's a chip brand. Problem is tom snacks is mostly sold in southern state corner stores/gas stations, maybe at the line when you're headed out the store. They need to get their wrestlers on like lays chip, dorito bags, pringles, ect. I remember back in the day wwe did this and not just with chips, I seem to recall chef boyardee commercials with foley and stuff like that. I'd like seeing them on slupees or energy drinks. I know angle did stacker 8 commercials like 2 or 3 years ago....but since then tna hasn't done much for marketing

 

[ABMorales787]

I'll answer that while I eat my box of Cena-O's. They have action figures. They released a few video games. They have a webshop run by an expert salesman. Maybe I should make a petition for oficial TNA underwear. Or the official TNA condom. Bad joke aside, there really all that much to gain. WWE, now has a line of backpacks and bedsheets, but that because of who they aim their product to. Although it would be funny to see an 8 year old with a Mr. Anderson "Asshole" lunchbox. There isn't much ground for TNA to cover here at this point. A magazine, maybe, but how well would that do?

This really isn't much of a concern. More important things should be addressed, like taking tappings and PPV's on the road and getting more programming.

 

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

Simple answer. Hardy was huge in WWE...he is no longer huge in TNA. Even if he were the star he was in WWE no sponsor would touch him with his drugs and legal issues. Anderson is not a huge name at all. AJ is not a huge name. Hogan is shilling for Rent-a-Center and Flair doesn't draw when it comes to products. Let's not even get into Matt Hardy, who probably have zero marketing value without Jeff.

Why would any company want to associate themselves with these guys? Why would they pay for it? If argue TNA should do it for exposure, why would they give away their guys for free?

I'm pretty sure a few years back some of the Knockouts were on some beverage brand, but I don't know what it is/was. If TNA can get on something like Pepsi, or Slurpees, or Lays or batteries, sure it would put faces out there, but it all comes down to money. And the question is, Is what they would have to pay for that exposure going to increase ratings and revenue? Probably not.

I can guarantee you that they have been and are exploring these possibilities (as others have pointed out above).

There's your answer regarding products.

 

[MoizH28]

TNA has been advertised on Blue Mountain State for the last 3 weeks. That is a start. I think if they can get Aj Styles on like an energy drink or Kurt Angle on like Muscle Milk it would help get the name out more.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When it comes to marketing your product, I think that this is an area where, as fans, the VAST majority of us don't have a clue. You'll read occassional columns, blogs or articles posted by wrestling reporters offering marketing advice but I doubt the vast majority of them legitimately have the first clue as to what they're talking about.

TNA has supposedly done some case studies, asking fans what they like, what they don't like, polling them on their opinion of this or that, etc. and TNA hasn't gotten any bigger in terms of its audience size.

I think that wrestling fans in general have to accept the possibility that there's not really anything else that TNA or WWE can do to increase the size of their audiences here in the states. The WWE spent a lot of time in 2010 creating and closing several deals that expanded their programming overseas, including putting their programming into certain overseas markets for the first time. I don't know how many viewers WWE Raw or SmackDown! has on a worldwide basis each week but I'd assume that it has to be substantial enough for them to work so hard about promoting their product in the international market. Maybe that's an avenue that TNA could explore at some point.

 

[dman1373]

Why do fans discuss marketing strategies these days? Seriously, it blows my mind. I even find it laughable when fans say that they should do this, shouldn't do that, and basically try to be smart-asses about something that they can't do better than the people in charge.

But on topic ...

How could TNA market their brand better? - I have no freaking clue.
Who do you think could promote TNA's products? - I have no freaking clue.

Because some people enjoy being creative and coming up with ideas. Thats why people you know write storylines, write books, make music, and make art. Maybe its just because it tickles their fancy. And yeas I know what i JUST WROTE.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

My buddy has this great band here in town... In Oregon, so a good majority of you guys won't know them. But they have a good local following.

They mostly play in bars, and always want to be thought of... The guys you want for a party.

So they invested in cool shot glasses, sexy women's underwear, even got themselves a nice logo. It really works for them. Helps them establish a decent local name, and they build a brand.

Now, am I saying that TNA should invest in drinking games, and shot glasses a go after that older wrestling audience. Well, yea it would be cool to have a TNA impact party, with Slamming Beer Pong, and have to take shot every time out of a Mr. Anderson Asshole shot glass (When he calls someone an asshole).

That would be kind of cool, but doesn't get them over as well as they want.

Advertising on other networks is always a good idea. But, like we have stated before, the Impact Zone doesn't help them reach more viewers.

Having Impact go on location, getting decent size venues, they promote the hell out of that card week in and week out could do a lot. 50 plus shows a year are in one location, doesn't help them out. You can advertise, and market all you want. But if your in one spot, the chance of them getting more viewers doesn't help.

 

[klunderbunker]

Something else that's being overlooked here: getting merchandising deals with major companies isn't exactly something that you can just say you want to do and then do it. Let's take for example Doritos. As I look at this bag of them that I have here, I see a contest for winning Super Bowl tickets. You know, as in the National Football League. As in the biggest and most popular sports league in this country. Doritos is a popular product and they have a popular league advertising on their packaging.

Now tell me: why in the world would Doritos want AJ Styles on their packaging when they could have say Ray Lewis? A football player is far better known, far more famous, a legitimate competitor (as in not scripted), works for an organization that sets records for TV audiences, and is something that let's say half of the country has at least a tiny interest in.

Looking for instance at say last week's TNA ratings: 1.25 and #24 in the 18-34 male demographic which is a very solid week for them. By comparison, according to NFL.com, through the first four weeks of this season over 150 MILLION people watched at least part of an NFL game. In other words, half the country watched part of a game and that was less than 1/4 of the way through the year.

TNA is a small company in Orlando that goes out of their home base maybe once a year, has a bunch of past their prime wrestlers and gets average at best ratings on a cable network in prime time. For example, for the last two shows of 2010, TNA averaged roughly 1.4 million viewers. In other words, they got less than 1% of what the NFL had in four weeks. There is no comparison there at all.

So why in the world would a major company want them on their products? Almost no one knows what TNA is, odds are TNA can't afford to compete with major sports companies for advertising budgets, and again it's not like a TNA logo is going to attract people since most people don't know who they are. Getting some big merchandising deal isn't something you can easily do. Why do you think the NFL gets on things like Doritos or some other major product? It's profitable and they as a major sports league want to reap some of those profits. It's basic business.

Now, as for what TNA CAN do, maybe try some commercials. People watch TV right? Even a late night airing commercial is going to ahve some kind of an audience. Get someone to know that your product is out there. The next thing after that is to KEEP that audience that you get watching you. If a company gets me to watch their show and their show is awful, I'm going to watch something else. Getting an audience is one thing. You need to maintain it though.

 

[Simmo]

Now, am I saying that TNA should invest in drinking games, and shot glasses a go after that older wrestling audience. Well, yea it would be cool to have a TNA impact party, with Slamming Beer Pong, and have to take shot every time out of a Mr. Anderson Asshole shot glass (When he calls someone an asshole)..

I used to do this back in the day every time Stone Cold got the crowd to say WHAT? I think one RAW I was almost passed out by the first 30 minutes....

Anywho back on topic, marketing can be a hard thing to do. Especially when your main competitior is the biggest name in town (kind of like the Nets trying to win over Knicks fans...)

Best thing TNA can do is go for brands WWE don't use and build on what they already have. I think if they moved around a bit and got out of the Impact Zone even if only once a month, that would build their national and global exposure...

 

[DangerousDave]

Instead of TNA getting their name on a bag of chips, they need to advertise on TV networks other than Spike. They especially need to put ads on channels that carry WWE programming. 30 seconds of the MCM, Styles, Angle, Hardy, ect., with a voice over promoting Impact. If they can't afford a national ad campaign, they can target some larger cities with cable company advertising which is cheap. One way to make TNA a household name is to splatter it all over TV, if the local car dealer can do it so can TNA.

 

[multiverseman.com]

"Why do fans discuss marketing strategies these days? Seriously, it blows my mind. I even find it laughable when fans say that they should do this, shouldn't do that, and basically try to be smart-asses about something that they can't do better than the people in charge."

How do you know they can't do it better? In all likelihood SOME fan CAN do it better.

The reason we critique is because we care. Any true wrestling fan wants TNA to succeed.

That being said, why are people so intent on TNA competing neck and neck with WWE? Why can't they just be the best TNA they can be? What's wrong with being a very different kind of company with a different goal?

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

As gloriously as our HOF'er put it, the simple fact is this: TNA is not mainstream. Not wrestling company is truly mainstream. Not even WWE. Thus the shit buyrates compared to MMA.

The problem isn't marketing it's getting people to buy your product and TNA hasn't even done that efficiently at this point. To be more technical...

Product must have demand.
Demand=Money
Money=Advertising
Advertising=Product reaching out


And the cycle continues. The fixed area of this cycle is the product. But TNA changes it's product every week. Matt Hardy's not the top of the world. A week later it'll be Jeff Jarrett. TNA needs a stable person who can carry this company that WASN'T in WWE. Because the first face of that wrestler will reming them of WWE. Which means TNA needs home grown talent and the best one they have (to my knowledge) is AJ.

 

[Calderownz]

How do you think TNA could market their brand better?
Who do you think could promote TNA's products?

1. They need to find a direction and stick with it, good or bad. If fans don't know what to expect, they will only be interested in the brand for that moment. The fans need to know what to expect to a certain extent, otherwise your base continues to switch. I'm not talking about in terms of storylines, I'm talking about in terms of content.

They need to continue to work closely with SpikeTV obviously but they would benefit from keeping their talent out there in other mediums as much as possible.

Also, one thing that would help is doing the opposite of whatever WWE is doing. Not necessarily for the sake of it, simply because it means they are different but it could also help them find their strides. Attack the online fanbase, as well as WWE lcks in that department in my opinion.

2. SpikeTV. Heavy online activity. So on and so forth. Also, they need to improve their DVDs. Too cliche, in my opinion.

 

[SpecialFNK]

TNA needs to get its name out to more general wrestling fans. but as some have pointed out as much as TNA wants to do that, why do companies want TNA when they could have someone else.

TNA did a good thing not too long ago when they were on Family Feud. no clue to how those ratings went, but that was a start. personally as much as I think that could have been good, not sure that was/is the audience TNA should be going for as Family Feud is on lunch/afternoons. maybe TNA should have wrestlers on some show that is on during prime time. there are enough reality TV shows where they could be on as contestants. I don't watch that much reality TV so not sure what all shows there are. there used to be shows like Fear Factor, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, stuff like that.
AJ Styles not that long ago was on MTV Made. TNA should get onto some show that airs on MTV.

 

[itssoeasy123]

What they need to do is move away from the 18-35 demogrpahic and try to gear the biggest demographic today of wrestling fans, the kids.

If they want to compete with the WWE, the only way they can do that is by gearing away kids to their show. Becuae it's obvious that the older demogrpahic is'nt growing but getting smaller. Kids are the future of wrestling and TNA need to realize that.

Going PG or being atleast a bit more family-oriented would help out TNA. TNA won't grow with the attitude era smarks who can't move on. They won't grow with the drunken redneck fans and they sure as hell will not grow with guys in their 50's.

They need to find their own identity, becuase right now it's Thursday Night Thunder. They need to evolve, but they seemingly cannot. They continue to hire old WWE talent just to gain exposer, but they had Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, RVD, for over a year and their highest rating was a 1.45. Last year.

They've had the same rating's for the last 5 years they've been on television.

Unless they can turn to a logical wrestling corporation and not a corporation for old washed-up men to get a paycheck, their not going anywhere.

 

[itssoeasy123]

TNA can only help themselves.

What they need to do is move away from the 18-35 demogrpahic and try to gear the biggest demogrpahic today of wrestling fans, the kids.

If they want to compete with the WWE, the only way they ca do that is by gearing away kids to their show. Becuae it's obvious that the older demogrpahic is'nt growing but getting smaller. Kids are the future of wrestling and TNA need to realize that.

They all think their right with the "We won't go PG, that's what WWE did, were smarter than them." Busllshit.

They need to evolve and created their own identitiy, becuase right now it's Thursday Night Thunder. They need to stop signing the old WWE stars for exposer, becuase it's obviously not working.

They have:

Hulk Hogan (biggest name in wreslting history)
Ric Flair (one of the biggest legends in history)
Kurt Angle (one of the top guy's in the last decade)
Jeff Hardy (Hugely over in 2009)
RVD
Mr. Anderson
Mick Foley

And their higest rating for 8 years was a 1.45.

They need to realize that gearing towards a bunch of attitude era rednecks won't cut it anymore in this generation of wrestling fans. The kids and their family's is what's keeping WWE alive, and it's keeping them mainstream. TNA want to be the competition, but it's obviously gearing towards another demogrpahic opposite of WWE's isn't gonna make the WWE fans watch your show.