Why Nestle Waters chose WWE for a family-focused campaign

Last week, in a new campaign for Nestle Pure Life called “Choose Water,” Nestle Waters launched a series of social videos with World Wrestling Entertainment. The videos feature WWE wrestlers talking about staying hydrated and are being shared on Nestle and WWE social channels. People who use the hashtag #ChooseWater to say why they choose water over other beverages will get a chance to win a trip to WWE’s pay-per-view SummerSlam event.

Watching professional wrestlers tackle each other may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of family-friendly entertainment. But Tara Carraro, chief corporate affairs officer at Nestle Waters North America, worked as the svp of global communications for WWE, and based on that experience, said more families watch WWE programming together than any sports league in the U.S. except the NFL.

WWE’s SmackDown Live alone averages 2.59 million viewers a week, according to WWE. The network has over 850 million followers across social channels, including 38.4 million followers on Facebook.

Promotional image for Nestle Pure Life’s campaign with WWE stars

WWE has tried to restyle itself as family-friendly for the past decade. In the past, WWE, formerly called WWF (World Wrestling Federation), was known for its brash characters and abrasive language, when blood, scantily clad women and profanity was common in the ring and in its marketing. It’s since covered up women more and invited kids into the ring to meet star wrestlers. WWE has also sponsored do-good organizations like Make-A-Wish and Susan G. Komen to burnish its image.

Carraro said WWE reaches the type of consumers that Nestle Waters wants to reach: families. Nestle Waters has its own battle ahead of it. Although consumers are moving away from sugary beverages, generic store brands are often the top sellers in the water category because they tend to be cheaper. The hope is that tying itself to WWE will help Nestle Waters stand out.

Image courtesy of WWE

https://digiday.com/?p=289804

More in Marketing

Ahead of its January launch, brands line up to get involved with new ESPN golf league TGL

The organizers behind futuristic golf tournament Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) believe they can reach a generation of golfers that don’t play, or watch, the sport in the same way their predecessors did.

Buoyed by Roblox’s rise, agency holdcos express confidence in gaming for 2025

Across the board, representatives of the holdcos and the agencies that comprise them said that their gaming business had grown over the past year, both through interest from new clients and via increased spend in the space on the part of pre-existing clients. 

Creator agencies have embraced AI, but is the tech changing marketers’ minds?

Leading influencer shops believe AI is key for clients to scale creator campaigns. Clients aren’t sure.