The Shark and The Coconut
Posted on March 23rd, 2006by Michael Gray in Advertising, SEM
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I caught a show on the Discovery Channel this weekend that mentioned the following statistic “more people are killed each year by falling coconuts than sharks“. With that in mind you will see stories of shark attacks on TV news or in the newspaper, but in all of my thirtysomething years I’ve never seen nor heard of anyone who was killed with coconut on the nightly news.
So why do media outlets give more attention to sharks than coconuts, because sharks are scary! Now I wouldn’t say I have unhealthy fear of sharks, in fact I’ve owned two sharks when I had a salt water fish tank (they were two banded bamboo sharks about a 12″ long, see whozoo). I suspect I’m like most people, more afraid of the shark eating me when I’m in the ocean than coconut hitting me on the head on my way down to the ocean.
Understanding and trying to tap into these fears can be to your advantage when you are trying to sell something. People are afraid of many different things such as being alone, being overweight, being poor, or fear rejection. If the products you are trying to sell tie into people’s fears, don’t be afraid to use that. Set up the story, build to the climax and when the time is appropriate push the right buttons.
Epilogue:
When I first heard the factoid about the coconuts killing more people than sharks and got the idea to use it, I decided to be a responsible blogger and check the facts. Some web pages say as many as 150 people each year are killed by coconuts, however it turned out there is very little factual data concerning coconut related fatalities, mainly because no one is keeping track of them. However ask yourself the following question which do you think would be easier to sell, shark bite insurance or coconut head bump insurance, and more importantly why?
March 23rd, 2006 at 8:45 am
“Responsible blogger”… now there’s an oxymoron…
March 23rd, 2006 at 8:52 am
Heh…
March 23rd, 2006 at 11:40 am
>why.
Sensationalism, and free TV exposure is an internet marketer’s best friend.
March 23rd, 2006 at 12:12 pm
[...] Fear Marketing - fear not only helps sell, but is a most effective form of control. Fear has been used to sell and govern since the dawn of man. [...]
March 23rd, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Agree completely….
I also think aff links convert well when you sell to people’s ‘dreams’.
BTW, that’s SWEET that you had pet sharks.
March 23rd, 2006 at 6:15 pm
yep sharks are cool in the right tank, expensive though about $120 a fish.
March 23rd, 2006 at 9:52 pm
People also win elections in this same way.
March 24th, 2006 at 8:19 pm
It sounds like B.S. to me. I live in Hawaii and have never heard of anyone being injured by a coconut. Local news is typically slow and uneventful. That sort of thing would actually make news here, especially if someone was killed.
There is a guy here who sells coconut proof glass. If there ever were a hurricane, it could easily launch something like a coconut through your window at 120 MPH. The guy does a great demonstration where he uses a huge slingshot to launch a coconut at a reinforced window to demonstrate the product.
Sharks on the other hand, dismember or kill a tourist about a couple of times a year.
Aloha,
Dave.
March 24th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
Hawaii now that is sweet! Man I never thought about coconuts in a hurricane, thanks for the first hand data.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
What would you put on the toumbstone?
October 30th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Old post, but still kind of interesting. Where’d you hear that? Do we need to be worried about rabid coconuts now?