Week vs Fest – Which sharks were you watching?

Really, though, it's been over the past five years that Shark Week has become a cultural phenomenon. As buzz grew, ratings rose right along with them. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well, that may be true, but in business -- and especially in the media industry -- no one likes being imitated.

Week vs Fest

The National Geographic channel did just that three years ago when they started their own week of shark themed programming called "Shark Fest". This year the chase for shark infused ratings went to a whole other level. Nat Geo not only scheduled Shark Fest right up again Discovery's Shark Week, they also point blank and shamelessly promoted their copycat approach. Check this commercial out:

I have to tell you, I saw this and other Nat Geo commercials when they started airing in June. And, I laughed ... alot. No shame at all. Lines like "we're not that OTHER week of shark TV" and "we want you to confuse the two, because you will and we don't care - why? Because it gets us ratings".

It's one thing to imitate an industry leader's product. It's quite another to admit it publicly and then promote that you're copying them as your angle of promotion.

While I enjoyed a good laugh from these commercials, the marketer in me recoiled a bit. If you're going to compete against an established and successful brand, you need to do something different that is also better. In general, people aren't going to switch from an industry leader to a "me too" option. There has to be differentiation to be successful long-term.

Still, Shark Fest has seen its ratings climb each year including a eye-popping 60% increase in total viewers this year versus last. It was still far behind the ratings Shark Week attained, but Nat Geo's edgy commercials clearly worked.

So, Week vs Fest - which sharks were you watching? What do you think about Nat Geo's approach? Like it or hate it? Smart or stupid?

As an aside, Discovery responded by placing Billy Idol in its commercials. Not sure why or if it mattered, but it made me raise an eyebrow. They also started "Shweekend" (Shark Weekend) this Labor Day weekend to up the stakes, which I think was very smart.