Shark Week is almost here! Every year Discovery Channel does a superb job promoting the weeklong event but something seems a bit different this year, a bit bigger. That’s because it is! This year’s Shark Week will be the biggest yet; boasting 11 shark specials (3 more than last year), a nightly talk show called “Shark After Dark” and even a shark cage made from a Volkswagen Beetle. With Shark Week still a few days away there is already quite a buzz around the event. So what did Discovery do this year that already has people talking and how you can use the same tools to get people talking about you? 

Create a persona. A few weeks ago Discovery introduced their first Shark Week promo. The commercial featuring Snuffy The Seal’s release into the sea only to be eaten by a great white shark, quickly went viral. Whether Discovery predicted Snuffy’s instant fame or not, they sure figured out how to ride out its wave. Snuffy now has his own Twitter (@SnuffyTheSeal), merchandise and even a rescue mission.

Engage fans. Shark Week fans are used to interacting using various mediums and this year’s event is no different. Fans are already using #SharkWeekHangout to post questions for the highly anticipated underwater Google Hangout. Discovery is also engaging their fans through their assorted Twitter handles and hashtags (@SharkWeek, #SharkWeek, @SnuffyTheSeal and #SnuffyTheSeal).

Generate a slogan. “It’s a bad week to be a seal. For the rest of us it’s pretty awesome.” We’ve already seen this slogan highlighted in the Snuffy The Seal commercial, in numerous tweets and on merchandise. We can only imagine where this creative and comical slogan will pop up next!