8. Cross-Branding Opportunities
WWE superstars have been expanding into becoming non-WWE affiliated YouTube superstars for a few years now. Zack Ryder famously used his "Z True Long Island Story" show to crown himself Internet champion as well as book his own non-televised feud with Dolph Ziggler. As well, performers like Xavier Woods' "UpUpDownDown" gaming show is quite popular, too. YouTube is doing a great job of locating and promoting its own celebrity hosts. If WWE were to actively integrate their own performers' exploits into their programming, link them with advertising muscle, and then split proceeds with talent, it's something mind-blowing to consider. Imagine a cross-promotion of WWE 2K17 that involved Xavier's show, Raw and Smackdown, IGN, Acclaim, Universal and say, YouTube themselves? That's a whole other way at looking at content and income that WWE should be already getting into.
Marcus K. Dowling
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Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
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