Posters are advertising tools. It’s their reason for being. They shouldn’t be taken for granted. A great poster can generate interest and curiosity in a particular product. They’re cheap to produce and can be plastered en masse pretty much anywhere.

A well designed TLC poster should create curiosity to lead a viewer to find out what it’s all about at the TLC website where they would see a highlight reel showcasing the most phenomenal spots in TLC matches. Then the TLC website should sell the viewer on the emotional drama of this CM Punk rebel (highlights of Punk running his mouth) having to overcome all these barriers to get a title shot until finally he gets his opportunity but…in this most brutal of matches. Can he survive it and finally win the championship (close with clips of the Money in the Bank crowd feverishly chanting his name)?

What you want is for someone to randomly stumble across the poster going “WTF is that? It’s cool/interesting/weird” and then a few hours later they again stumble across the poster and then again at the end of the day and they go “Okay I need to check out what this TLC business is about.”

The CM Punk “Best in the World” T-Shirt is an example of effective design. It has a powerful logo matched with basic yet striking colors. That T-Shirt will grab people’s attention on the street and many will want one. And in the end, that shirt will generate interest in Punk and WWE. It’s not surprising that particular design outsold Cena merch.
 
WWE has such a laissez-faire attitude with their marketing. They pimp twitter to the choir but they are really just going through the motions. They want mainstream viewership but when do they ever advertise outside of their WWE universe bubble? Pretty much never.

TNA had the right idea with their January 4th Hulk Hogan billboard on Times Square. However, once is not enough. Both wrestling PROMOTIONS need to devote a lot more thought and time to actually promote their product. They have the budget for it but surprisingly little is made in that area.