By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The following press release was issued on Monday to announce the extension of the agreement between WWE and Mars.
HACKETTSTOWN, NJ, and STAMFORD, CT, March 9, 2020 – Mars, Incorporated and WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced an expansion of their long-standing partnership for 2020 in which SNICKERS® will once again serve as the exclusive presenting partner of WrestleMania, one of the largest sports and entertainment events in the world. The partnership marks the brand’s fifth consecutive year as presenting sponsor of WrestleMania, which takes place Sunday, April 5, 2020, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and will stream live around the world at 7 p.m. Eastern on WWE Network, WWE’s award-winning streaming service.
The expanded partnership will include three pieces of custom creative featuring WWE Superstars promoting the new SNICKERS “Fix the World” campaign. In the videos, the Superstars find their unique daily annoyances are solved after SNICKERS has fixed the world. The spots will air in WWE’s flagship TV programs beginning March 23 on “Monday Night Raw” on USA Network and March 27 during “Friday Night SmackDown” on FOX. The third spot will air during WrestleMania on WWE Network.
“Our partnership has historically shown the power of SNICKERS to satisfy when WWE Superstars are hungry, and now we’re taking it to the next level by fixing things in their daily lives that are out of sorts,” said Josh Olken, Brand Director, SNICKERS. “We’re excited to be back for the fifth year as the presenting sponsor of WrestleMania as we find new and relevant ways to provide satisfaction to the WWE’s passionate fan base.”
“We are proud to partner with Mars Wrigley for the fifth consecutive year and incorporate WWE Superstars’ larger-than-life personalities into the next evolution of the popular SNICKERS campaign,” said John Brody, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Head of Sales & Partnerships. “Our long-term partnership illustrates WWE’s unique ability to connect with fans across our global platforms and deliver valuable exposure for blue-chip brands.”
The partnership includes SNICKERS brand presence at WrestleMania Axxess, WWE’s five-day, interactive fan festival at the Tampa Convention Center, plus custom digital and social content sponsorships on WWE.com and WWE’s YouTube channel, which is the No. 1 most-viewed sports channel and No. 5 most-viewed channel in the world. SNICKERS will also serve as a promotional partner of WWE’s “Extreme Rules” pay-per-view event in July 2020, and for the third consecutive year will be supported by a nationwide retail program available at all Dollar General stores to support the sale of co-branded WWE SNICKERS bars. The bars will be available mid-March through mid-April, while supplies last.
WWE’s expanded partnership with Mars will also highlight SKITTLES® as the presenting partner of WWE’s “Hell in a Cell” pay-per-view event in October 2020. SKITTLES will be prominently featured as part of cross-platform media assets promoting “Hell in a Cell” and will collaborate with WWE on production of a co-branded custom integration that will air in the telecast. Additional partnership activations will be unveiled in the coming months.
Powell’s POV: Because nothing says Hell in a Cell quite like Skittles.
So I guess this also means WrestleMania will in fact be on the network per the press release.
Yes, I addressed that last night in the Chamber review and/or Kickoff Show. It was confirmed once they said the 30-day window for new network subscribers includes WM.