Spring Break
Laying the smackdown on your career
WWE recruits students to be their corporate 'superstars'
Erika Sawyer
Issue date: 3/22/07 Section: News
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Their motive: to bring students "ringside" to the inner workings of the international corporation.
Guest Speaker and Executive Vice President of Consumer Products at WWE , Donna Goldsmith, gave students the inside scoop on the renowned wrestling federation.
A large portion of the crowd was comprimised of Media Studies, Marketing and Art majors who filled the Edgerton Center for Performing Arts to nearly half its capacity.
Students seemed particularly responsive to Goldsmith's enthusiastic introduction to the company which specializes in live and televised entertainment.
"As a media studies major it was interesting to hear how the representative started out and what their backgrounds were before working for WWE," said Matt Brucato, senior, Westport.
Through integrated media, the WWE has a number of enterprises ranging from pay-per-view specials and feature films to video games and action figures.
Feature films include See no Evil a horror flick featuring the notorious wrestler Kane, The Marine starring John Cena, and The Condemned starring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, which will hit theaters soon.
Goldsmith announced the company's recent expansion to Europe and other countries. She explained that the company's key initiative is to be a growing and expanding global corporation.
"It's all about the superstars," said Goldsmith. "The industry of sports entertainment is as much about the celebrity personalities as it is about the action.
"What we do is develop a story around a superstar, which is why some have called it 'a soap opera for guys.'"
Although Goldsmith explained that the company has a growing female fan-base, the demographic is comprised of men ages 15-35.
But apart from the company's fan-base, the WWE is one of the most successful franchises in the entertainment and sports genres.
Goldsmith said, "at a typical event, the WWE makes an average of eleven dollars per cap [per person] while professional sports teams make about three.
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