We received the following report from a PWTorch reader who attended a focus group meeting on Friday, April 1 of WrestleMania Weekend to evaluate WWE's new marketing campaign and business expansion that was announced after WrestleMania.

There were 14 people from around the country in the focus group. A market research team and a few executives from WWE were present. The make-up was people who had watched wrestling as far back as Bruno Sammartino and others who were more recent fans.

The focus group leader asked the panel the following series of questions:

- What do you think of WWE reinventing themselves through other business ventures?

Most of the panel was not thrilled. WWE's past failures in ventures outside of WWE were mentioned. The discussion leader suggested that successful companies need to constantly reinvent themselves. It was brought up that when Nike reinvents itself, it creates an innovative shoe, and doesn't get into the toaster-making business; any business expansion should be closely related to the core product.

- What do you think of WWE expanding into movies?

Many panel members panned the recent ones. While some people didn't mind their action flicks (e.g. 12 Rounds), others thought they should concentrate on the product. The discussion leader asked why a "Superstar's" charisma and intensity in the ring couldn't translate to the big screen. The reasoning was that just because Triple H might be great in front of a crowd doesn't mean he should go into movies unrelated to the product.

- What do you think of the current state of the business?

Many panel members mentioned the product was at its best during the Attitude Era. Also mentioned was a lack of development of new talent, super-quick title pushes that failed miserably, and generally lackluster storylines. Specifically mentioned was that despite trying to shy away from their core product, WWE is still in the pro wrestling business.

- The focus leader ran some concepts by the group, including a commercial they were thinking of using to promote WWE.

The commercial was based on a pharmaceutical drug advertisement. It had a couple sitting on the couch holding hands with a voice narrating the lack of passion and excitement in their marriage. The camera then zoomed out and illustrated the reason for the lackluster relationship: three kids with tons of toys scattered around. The voice then stated that this condition, "lack of entertainment," could now be cured with a new product. This led to fast-action clips of WWE matches (Kofi, Cena), which was the "cure" for this condition. The "bigger, better, badder" slogan was utilized (this was before they revealed it). The ad then went into potential "side-effects," just like a drug advertisement.

Most of the panel panned it as awful. Some people found it mildly comedic. Another person stated that the slogan made it seem like the product is something that has an edge to it. However, they're promoting a PG product.

- The next question was whether a return to Saturday morning cartoons would be something for kids to watch.

- They asked for our opinion about a WWE Network and how much we would be willing to pay (most said up to $10).

- Later, one of the WWE executives asked whether a "rewards program" for fans might be something that could work.

- At the end, we met Natayla. Overall, the focus group session lasted about one hour.

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