Riding the Shark Wave – Creative Marketing

What does ‘Shark Week’ on The Discovery Channel have to do with creative marketing? In order to answer this question, you have to look at new strategies that major brands have applied to their digital marketing tactics. Look at how Tide and Volkswagen bottom-fed ‘Shark Week’, benefitting their own brand with these very creative digital marketing campaigns.

This Vine from Tide is a keeper.

We get out blood stains, too. #TidePower #SharkWeek https://t.co/l4tDM4A62b

— Tide (@tide) August 5, 2013

Volkswagen USA (@VW) went even further by promoting their #SharkWeek tweet and creating a Twitter-based charity event attached to Shark Week.

Help protect our oceans: We’ll give $2 to @Surfrider for every tweet and RT w/ #VWSharkWeek. http://t.co/KMZMBPJlZm pic.twitter.com/3Xru91XNDU

— Volkswagen USA (@VW) August 4, 2013

These are good examples how digital marketing can be done effectively. Try to anticipate what people might be casting about and prepare to participate in the online conversation. This is also a good example how TV can lure online engagement for completely unrelated brands by redirecting the conversation to your benefit.

So the next time you see any advertisement for big fish on TV (e.g. March Madness), think about how you could be part of that feeding frenzy. How do you ride the Shark Wave? By creating quality content that ties into the conversation- hook, line and sinker.