We’ve all stayed in over the summer to watch our favorite Shark Week shows, Comedy Central even has Shart Week this year (don’t ask), and now this weekend, Syfy is jumping into the fray with Sharknado Week, a programming event surrounding the sequel to the social media phenom that was “Sharknado.”

Last summer’s original movie premiere on Syfy swirled into a social media firestorm within hours, attracting Facebook comments, tweets, memes and shoutouts across the Internet during the movie’s premiere. So this summer, Syfy plans to take full advantage of the fandom with the sequel “Sharknado 2: The Second One” – named by a fan via a Twitter contest, beating out more than 5,000 submissions (sorry, “Sharkalanche” and “Sharknado 2: Global Swarming”).

“Sharknado 2” will premiere July 30, but for the week surrounding the event, Syfy is also airing related programming including “Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark,” an action movie that kicks off the July 26 weekend with a robotic version of a mega shark battling it out with the original mega shark itself; Roger Corman’s “Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda,” the movie event that star Conan O’Brien is jokingly hawking as the project that will earn him his first Emmy nod, and finally “Sharkmania: The Top 15 Biggest Baddest Bloodiest Bites.”

“Sharknado week is tongue firmly planted in cheek.” -Michael Engleman

Thanks to Conan’s efforts, Ian Ziering’s appearance on Sprout’s kid-friendly shark safety videos and Twitter response throughout the year, Syfy has seen massive social engagement during the off-season.

Michael Engleman, EVP of marketing, digital and global brand strategy at Syfy, says that the campaign this year for both Sharknado Week and “Sharknado 2” is all about joining that online conversation already in progress.

“If we want to get to 60 miles per hour, we’re already starting at 30,” said Engleman. “It’s just really fun to talk about. Humor is built right into the title. So we put the consumer at the center of everything, allowing them to the become ambassadors on our behalf as much as they’d like, giving them tools to share as much as they’d like.”

Along those lines, Syfy has been immersed in digital campaigns for weeks now, rolling out apps, Twitter contests and polls such as Battle of the Bite, a bracket contest where fans vote on their favorite scenes from the original film. The Go Shark Yourself app lets people put themselves in scenes from the movie and share with friends online.


“We use all sorts of social and digital content to extend the narrative experience,” said Engleman, “so part of what we want consumers to do, and they seem to want to do themselves, is become part of the core experience of telling the story.” With that in mind, Syfy also put the power into the hands of the masses with its “Create Your Own Meme” project, using #YouAreLunch.

Engleman says that every part of SyFy’s marketing is designed to be shared. This includes clips from the upcoming movie, but also memes, “Sharknado 2’s” video game and helpful tips on how to survive the ever-feared, titular Sharknado.

“It is based on a style of movie making that lends itself to social platforms, because you can cut it up into bite-sized platforms and share it,” said Engleman. “A great deal of what guides us is talking about what people are already talking about. Technology has completely transformed how we communicate with our consumers. We’re having a constant two-way conversation. So why not enhance people’s ability to talk about what they want?”

The marketing is not all digital. Reacting to the popularity of products from the first movie, Syfy has also ramped up merchandising for the sequel, planning to sell everything from pajamas and Halloween costumes to Christmas ornaments. “Sharknado” has also inspired a book at Random House called “How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters” that helps fans “fight back when monsters and Mother Nature attack.” The informational/promotional book explains how to protect oneself when creature attack, from “arachnoquakes and ice twisters to piranhacondas and mega pythons.”

Engleman calls it Sharknado Watch 2014. “It’s critical in a world of many threats and dangers, that we be prepared for a Sharknado this summer.” Preparation gets a little lighthearted at times, too, including party kits so fans can throw the perfect premiere night shindig.

And, despite the name, it’s nowhere close to stepping on any toes at Discovery’s long-running Shark Week. Syfy knows it’s being tongue in cheek when it describes the sequel as “The most important television event of 2014.” The network has actually run with it, releasing spots that begin as such: “They say lightning never strikes tw – Ah, f**k it, who are we kidding?”

When asked about the snarky tone of certain promos so far, Engleman says “Sharknado week is tongue firmly planted in cheek. We are subverting the genre, and we are having fun with it.”

“Sharknado 2” will premiere simultaneously in 86 countries through the Syfy global network on July 30, where Engleman hopes to “demonstrate the power of Twitter across international borders.” Sharknado Week will begin July 26 with “Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark” and run through Aug. 2, ending with Roger Corman’s “Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda.” While the network acknowledges the tone of the week is different than some of its new scripted projects, Syfy is definitely using it as a launch pad for upcoming drama “Town of the Living Dead” and returning competition series “Face Off.”

Sharknado Week airs on Syfy July 26-Aug. 2. “Sharknado 2: The Second One” debuts July 30 at 9 p.m.

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