Marketing Strategies: What CEOs and CMOs can Learn from Shark Week

Last year, Discovery Channel’s Shark Week drew a record breaking 30.8 million viewers for the week.  My guess is this year the viewership will come close if not shatter that number.  Everywhere I go people are talking about Shark Week (myself included).  I just can’t help but watch night after night.  As I watched last night, I got to thinking…

What can CEOs and CMOs take away from Shark Week?

There are several marketing strategies and lessons that can be learned from the 24 year old series.  Here are my favorite bites:

• Plan calculated attacks against your target segment. During Shark Week you are bound to see countless great whites breaching as they attempt to dine on a seal or two.  It amazing to see the 15-18 foot creatures propel their massive bodies out of the water.  It may look like luck if the shark actually snags the seal, but the successful capture is all based on the approach.  Similarly, sharks can quickly tell when they bite into something that is not food (think seal decoys and humans).  Now I am not recommending that you spring up out of the blue on potential prospects.  Instead think about this:  Ensure you always understand the behaviors and preferences of your targeted persona.  What are their interests and pain points?  What keeps them up at night?  Once you really get inside your persona’s mind, you can execute focused and targeted campaigns like the sharks and avoid marketing or selling to the decoys.
• Create custom landing pages or microsites to promote your message.  Discovery Channel has built out an extremely interactive microsite for Shark Week targeted for its viewers (aka personas).  Fans can watch clips from the best shows, upload pictures, and vote on their favorite shark video.  And there seems to be a good level of engagement.  When I checked out the site this morning, over 900 pictures have already been uploaded and we are only halfway through Shark Week 2011!  So what can CEOs and CMOs take away from this? B2C companies should take note and think about mimicking this approach for a new product launch.  B2B companies should also develop microsites and landing pages with targeted messaging and content for their buyer personas.
• Utilize social media to promote your message. The hashtag #sharkweek has taken over Twitter by storm.  Fans have been super engaged and are willing to share their thoughts with the world.  This takeaway is simple: create hashtags for your attention-grabbing news and be sure to promote them!
• Tap into content marketing and influencer marketing to magnify the impact. Shark Week is full of great content marketing examples: the microsite, numerous videos, photos, fun shark facts, and games.  This year, Discovery has taken its influencer program to the next level and is using SNL’s Andy Samberg as CSO or Chief Shark Officer.  I couldn’t find data to support what I am about to say, but I imagine that some folks are tuning in just to see what Andy is up to.  What lessons can you bring to your startup? In addition to executing a content marketing program to fully engage your target audience, incorporate influencer marketing into your program.  If you successfully build relationships with your target influencers, they will initially attract their followers to your program and over time they will continue to drive more and more attention to your company.

What are you taking away from Shark Week?