HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. & STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
About Mars, Incorporated
Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With more than $35 billion in sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands: M&M's®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, IAMS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN'S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Alongside our consumer brands, we proudly take care of half of the world's pets through our nutrition, health and services businesses such as Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, AniCura, VCA™ and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG, family-friendly programming can be seen in more than 800 million homes worldwide in 28 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 180 countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to: entering, maintaining and renewing major distribution and event agreements; WWE Network (including the risk that we are unable to attract, retain and renew subscribers); our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; the possibility of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets including possible disruptions and reputational risks; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events including, without limitation, claims alleging traumatic brain injury; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations; privacy norms and regulations; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets; our accounts receivable; our indebtedness including our convertible notes; litigation; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance, which could adversely affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercises control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; a substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the volatility of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made and are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them. Undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
