WWE + KFC = Content Marketing Gold

This post was originally published on TheBusinessOfSports.com (Sept. 5, 2017)

In an era where brands are looking for the most creative ways to integrate their products what a sports property creates, I HIGHLY encourage you to watch some of the various ways that KFC has spliced themselves into original WWE content. They've been working closely together for quite a while now, but they hit another high note at SummerSlam event, one of WWE's marquee shows of the year.

Here is a spot that ran during the live broadcast on the WWE Network with several WWE superstars auditioning and fighting over the change to be Colonel Sanders:

There here is the appearance of the "new" Colonel Sanders, played by Shawn Michaels, a WWE Hall of Famer:

They had a similar, Colonel Sanders focused campaign last summer as well involving other WWE superstars:

Here's another from earlier this year around their Royal Rumble event featuring two of their most popular characters at the time:

Finally, last year they created an entire web series around a parody 80's-style regional wrestling show called "Southpaw Regional Wrestling," which if you are a wrestling fan at all is just a joy to watch. Here's is episode one from last season, and you can see the KFC integration right around the six-minute mark. (Note: they brought this series back for another round this year, but working with Old Spice as the integrated partner).

What do these all have in common? KFC is completely tied into the content, leveraging the humor and personality of the WWE superstars and creating a fun experience for the viewer. If you are a brand looking for new approaches to video, or a property trying to pitch new ways to integrate your partners into content, use these videos as inspiration!