Rather than simply highlighting the wrestler’s return, WWE arranged an elaborate campaign that paid off in audience and social engagement.
WWE’s “Friday Night SmackDown” continues to smash the coveted 18-49 demographic during primetime, gaining 0.5 last week. Nearly 2.3 million people tuned in for the event on Fox, which saw the much-anticipated return of Bray Wyatt.
The event continues to grow in viewership even after managing its largest audience in more than two years on 23 September. The record high viewership was driven by a complex social campaign that WWE was running, which led to “Extreme Rules” on October 10, when the organization confirmed that Wyatt would return after a 14-month absence.
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Rather than simply highlighting the wrestler’s return, the organization marked the return of a so-called “white rabbit” by showing images of a white rabbit on “SmackDown” as well as “Monday Night Raw” and integrating QR codes within the broadcast. started teasing. Due to which the audience got strange clues.
Clue confirmed Wyatt’s return during September 23’s “SmackDown” and, eventually, Peacock’s “Extreme Rules”—which saw a 30 percent year-on-year increase in overall viewership and the most-watched “Extreme Rules”. ” in the history.
The following episode of “Monday Night Raw” on USA Network also benefited, attracting 1.8 million viewers, a 14 percent increase week-on-week.
“We asked ourselves how we could bring back Bray Wyatt in the most appealing way. That’s why we created ‘The White Rabbit Project’, which aimed to take our audience down this literal rabbit hole of content to help anticipate Wyatt’s return to ‘Extreme Rules’ on Peacock,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Chief Content Officer, told TheWrap. “It began with flickering lights in arenas and continued with the release of other Easter eggs, such as QR codes hidden within episodes of ‘SmackDown’ and ‘Raw’, allowing viewers to Found more clues that kept them guessing, and tuning in every week. This resulted in our view of a massive payoff for our fans and for WWE. ,
The creative strategy paid off in terms of social engagement, too. Running against an MLB playoff game in primetime, “Extreme Rules” was the most social event of Saturday, October 10. The event generated 2.7 million social media interactions in-air.
The QR code was interacted with by over a million users, and a TikTok page dedicated to a clue garnered over 10,000 followers in less than 12 hours.
Levesque said, “This is a great example of how WWE uniquely has been using the power of our show as a sports and entertainment asset and for our social following to develop a multimedia, long-term story. Saying that can help produce a meaningful gathering audience.”
