Shark Week

It's Shark Week on The Discovery Channel ... the 25th Anniversary of Shark Week to be exact!  Big fans are foaming at the mouth and those out of the loop are asking, "Whaaa?"

Shark Week is fabulous.  It's become quite the "thing" as the video footage has gotten more daring over the years and the web experience has gotten richer and richer.  There's more footage, photos, trivia, and even a bingo game.  Dare I say it ... Shark Week has become a brand.

So what's the allure?  Did it start with the classically iconic Jaws franchise?  Yes.  Does it get fueled by our obsession with the beach and the inherent dangers of the open ocean?  Yes.  Is it the fear of the mysterious and unknown?  Certainly.  I think it's a modern day, real life, uncertain horror film.  And many of us love our horror films!

Of course the timing is not lost on time.  August - summer vacations - many of us are at the beach, in the ocean.  Kicking around in bright colored swim suits!!

Whatever it is, The Discovery Channel has capitalized on it and made it their own, expanding its relationships with its viewers like any brand should do.  The fact that it gets better and better year after year makes it that much more fabulous.

Are you watching?  What's your experience?  Jim.

Jim Joseph
President, Cohn & Wolfe North America
Author, The Experience Effect series

Professor, NYU