Can You Survive the Frenzied Waters Campaign?

I’m a little miffed I didn’t receive my obituary in the mail.

It seems that all the super-duper, uber-coolest Social Media Influencers are now apparently dead, having been devoured by rampaging Viral Marketing Sharks. These powerfully predatory creatures have been cleverly stirring the Facebook, Twitter and webby waters into a bloody frenzy:

Frenzied Waters
Something terrifying has been lurking under the ocean’s shimmering surface. Feeding on those most vulnerable and those least suspecting. Think you can survive the murky depths of Frenzied Waters?

Naturally there’s a contest:

@FrenziedWaters: UPDATE: 5 capsules still out there. “Asbury Park”: Miami, Atlanta. “Battle of the Coral Sea”: Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Fran #FrenziedWaters

@yeldarb101 They are capsules containing artifacts from tragic oceanic events. They have been found in 11 markets at specific coordinates.

All of this viral voodoo is being conducted on behalf of— . Oops. I’m not going to tell you. Snoop around the bloody oceans yourself. (Or read to the bottom for a clue, Nancy Drew.)

I continue to be ticked I didn’t receive the actual package. This shocker featured not only the highly detailed obit but also a jar with shark-bitten shorts,a floating key, a seashell and the warning sign pictured above. Last effects, I guess. Genius.

When I watched the video, I had the option to click through to Facebook, where the brilliantly sick minds who created this campaign apparently scoured my profile for personal information. Much to my utter surprise, my gruesomely final flashing thoughts were of a Ladies Who Launch panel I once moderated. There, as my blood bubbled and swirled through the frenzied waters, was the smiling face of Facebook’s own Randi J. Zuckerberg, chatting up the eager audience. Happily, Randi’s Dotcomix videos always crack me up. So I guess I sunk down to those murky waters with a grin.

As always, I have mixed feelings about intentional Viral Marketing. All too often it’s too staged and fake to be genuinely effective. But extra kudos to this team for playing it smart in one very important way: tapping into both online and offline channels. When everybody’s zigging by being so relentlessly virtual, it’s an inspired idea to zag instead, via real life tactics such as the package and …(see picture above). <--clue

Guru’s Note: I’d love to check out the Frenzied Waters marketing plan. I have a feeling the Target Audience here is the heavily male 18-34, bring-on-the-blood-n-gore segment of the taxonomy. My female friends were weirded out not only by the yuckiness of being the shark’s supper but also by the idea of viewing one’s own death. Like ICK.

Many thanks to @ChrisBrogan who so graciously first alerted us this morning to his shocking death by shark.