Being a web developer, I am regularly a spectator in conversations about branding. During these conversations I always get the temptation to compare some of the ideas I’m hearing to famous wrestlers. Well here’s my white trash, redneck chance!
I think businesses can learn a lot from the wrestling world. Wrestlers develop a persona (brand) that gets reflected in every facet of their performance. It is an intentional process of defining who they want to be and getting the audience (market) to receive them in that way. Let’s take a look at one of my favorite wrestlers, a wrestler that has maintained (with a short detour) a sellable persona for over 20 years – The Undertaker!
The Man
Known as the Deadman, he is billed from Death Valley, California as the son of Paul Bearer.
Entrance
The gongs, the music, the dark presence rising from the smoke – Undertaker’s menacing entrance is enough to make anyone get goosebumps the first time they see it.
Music – Rest in Peace
In the ring
One nuance that I love about wrestling is how they actualy wrestle in a way that reinforces their character (the best with this in the ring right now is the showoff Dolph Ziggler).
Undertaker sold his “Deadman” persona by not selling the hits he received from his opponents. It made him seem invincible, no one could hurt him!
Signature Moves – Tombstone Piledriver, Hell’s Gate
Inspired Matches – Casket Match, Buried Alive, Hell in a Cell
The Streak
The Undertaker currently has a 20-0 winning streak at Wrestlemania. I don’t see this as a facet of his brand but more of a benefit of being well branded.
Even after those 20 years, the audience still believes he is the “Deadman”, that he is invincible. We don’t roll our eyes and say “oh, the Undertaker’s gonna win again”… No! We think, “man! does that other guy even have a chance of beating the Undertaker”.
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