possible product , no matter what your brand is , it ' s got to be a great , incredible product first . The second piece is a content ecosystem , which is what we were talking about before , leveraging and utilizing as many different platforms as you possibly can to continue to drive the conversation so people have the opportunity to enter your brand from different ways .
Third , mostly importantly really , is to have a brand that has purpose and value . Our company ' s mission is to put smiles on people ' s faces the world over . Whether that ' s through our entertainment programming or if that ' s by giving back to the community .
O ' Reilly : What do you mean by " giving back to the community "?
McMahon : For example , we have four key pillars of our community relations opportunities . They are : diversity and inclusion , education , hope , and military .
For example , we visit US bases all over the world . We go to visit our troops to say thank you for their service . We ' ll visit hospitals . We put on a show every single year called Tribute to the Troops , which is a show that is just for our servicemen and women and their families . It ' s a whole big pop culture extravaganza .
We also provide free tickets to military personnel with a military ID to our live events .
For diversity and inclusion , we have partnerships with Special Olympics , we also have an anti-bullying program called Be A Star , and " star " stands for " show tolerance and respect " and I ' ve had the opportunity to participate in a lot of these .
That ' s an opportunity to give back to the local community . We never want to be carpet-baggers , we never just want to come in and take your money , we want to give back . So we will speak at schools with our literacy campaign .
With our Be A Star program , we have a partnership with Boys and Girls Club of America , so we will go in and often I will ask the audience , these kids : " How many of you have been bullied ?" And unfortunately almost all of them raise their hands . Then I turn to the stage of superstars and ask : " How many of you have been bullied ?" And we all raise our hands . There ' s always a gasp in the room . The message is : " You ' re not alone ."
We ' re here to give you the tools you need to stand up and end bullying in your community .
In the hope bucket , we ' ve had a partnership with Make A Wish Foundation , which is similar to Starlight Foundation and others , granting wishes to terminally ill children . We ' ve had that partnership for over 30 years and it is one of the most rewarding things we can do . John Cena has granted more wishes than any other celebrity , athlete , entertainer , singer / songwriter , etc .
We also have Connor ' s Cure which is a fund that my husband and I founded in honor of an 8-year-old fan named Connor Michalek who lost his life to pediatric cancer . Cancer awareness has become a huge focus for WWE and now , we were originally founded with Children ' s Hospital Pittsburgh Foundation , where Connor was treated and now we are amplifying that partnership with V Foundation . We are growing that opportunity , which is something that is obviously really near and dear to my heart , very personal , as is all of it , but Connor was special .
Then in terms of education , really literacy is our key pillar and we do a WrestleMania reading challenge every year . It ' s a digital proposition : you have the opportunity to interact and read with your favorite superstars and I can ' t tell you how many moms have come up to me and said : " Gosh my child hates to read but suddenly now I find them reading and engaged because their hero is reading with them online ." I ' ve even had moms say that their kids have learning difficulties like dyslexia and challenges reading and how the program is really helping inspire their kids .
That ' s the most important part of what we do . I think it ' s a responsibility for any brand , any media company especially that has such a wide reach , such a broad scale
ADVERTISEMENT
Page | 7
Lawless Entertainment Magazine – www . llemag . com