WWE Extends Role in Habbo
In January, Millions of Us helped take World Wrestling Entertainment into Habbo Hotel to promote the Royal Rumble. Now that the contest is wrapped up, the three have come together again to promote WrestleMania XXIV. Beginning March 24, The Road to WrestleMania XXIV will allow Habbo users to send their avatars into the ring in matches themed around the actual WWE contests. "WWE's fanbase is young, tech-savvy and hyper-social – the ideal target for the rich, multilayered campaigns we are executing with Habbo," Geof Rochester, WWE's Executive Vice President, Marketing, said in a statement. "These promotions are proving to be the perfect conduit for expanding our brand and digital footprint to the virtual world."
The campaign has users competing in place of their favorite superstars, earning points for them along the way and also picking up a variety of WWE-branded virtual goods.
Right now that's free swag, but in an interview with AdWeek, Rochester talks about the need to monetize its digital strategies, creating merchandise to sell. It's not clear when that will be or if it would happen in Habbo, but the virtual world has already seen old media giant Paramount branching out into virtual goods as sources of revenue.
But even though the WWE has extended its partnership with Habbo, Rochester is always looking for options in various markets. Towards that end, the organization is trying to create assets that can work in multiple venues.
"I don't want to assume that because we do a deal with Habbo or YouTube or Facebook that that brand is the best Web partner for [places like] India or China. We are trying to figure out that alphabet soup," he said.
Ed. Note: Habbo executives will be speaking at Virtual Worlds 2008 in 2 weeks (April 3-4) in NYC.
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