Background: As a challenger brand to the legacied WWE, AEW was under constant scrutiny from wrestling fans for its wrestlers’ storylines, especially the female wrestlers. Marks for WWE (loyal WWE fans/critics of AEW) marred AEW’s reputation by claiming the women’s storylines were an afterthought and were not getting the spotlight.

Strategy: Bring a spotlight to the incredible talent and athleticism of the AEW women’s roster by collaborating with one of the most iconic sounds in pop culture in 2023: Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red”. We partnered with Doja Cat ahead of her world tour to make a custom AEW-themed music video with her global hit song “Paint The Town Red”. The video debuted on the first stop of her “Scarlet Tour” on Halloween night, stirring rumors about who might be the new AEW Women’s Champion.

Responsibilities: I did outreach and bartered the deal terms with the tour management company and DojaCat, navigated the legal/licensing agreements with all rights holders to the music and video, and developed the creative approach with our production/creative teams to shoot the custom music video with our wrestlers. I acted as project manager and was responsible for overall integration into the ongoing AEW campaign.

Results: This post was the highest performing social post for our networks to-date with over 1 million completed views in 24 hours. Narratives about the AEW women’s locker room shifted positive and AEW has seen a notable increase in pickup from publications about its women’s matches.