Are You Noise or Fish TV?

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, everyone was buzzing about the 200-Channel Universe. It was a prospect at once wonderful and scary.

Two hundred channels meant immense consumer choice. Just about any kind of entertainment would be available at any hour of the day. However, those channels without anything of value to broadcast would just end up as noise and would be forgotten rather quickly.

As the channel list grew, the scary wonderful prospect became reality and niche channels like Golf Channel, Outdoor Life Network, and HGTV began offering a quality alternative to broadcast networks. Suddenly, the scramble was on for something new and exciting.

Take for example, the story of Columbia, South Carolina’s CableVision Industries.

Find a camera, point it at something

In 1993, while waiting to sign the contract to bring the new Sci-Fi Channel to their cable system, the CableVision Industries pointed cameras at a 55-gallon fish tank and played some soothing jazz music in the background.

They did this for six months while contracts were being worked out with Sci-Fi. Then one evening the switch was flipped. Sci-Fi was on, Fish TV was off. The response was immediate and overwhelming.

People … were … livid.

In a big pond, small fish can thrive

CVI was inundated with angry calls to bring back the fish tank. People loved watching the fish channel. What the cable company thought was a throwaway stopgap was actually something much more.

What they had hoped to do was broadcast something that wouldn’t be missed when it was gone. Instead, they had the good fortune to stumble upon something incredibly cheap to produce, targeted to a niche audience of viewers who found something they never knew they wanted.

Lighting in a bottle. It doesn’t happen often.

Sensing the opportunity, the cable company made a deal with a local pet store to broadcast their fish tanks in the morning. In the evening, they broadcast the Bravo channel.

In a 20.5-billion-webpage world …

That’s approximately how many pages Google has indexed. But don’t let that overwhelming number overwhelm you. Fish TV shows that opportunities do indeed exist in a crowded market. Your content just needs to be unique and engaging.

• Do you have company-wide lunches? Film them. Broadcast that.
• First time giving your product prototype a try? Film it. Broadcast that.
• Give each department a 3-minute State of Their Union on a weekly podcast.

If it works, keep doing it. If it doesn’t, try something else, but keep trying.

Takeaway

Don’t be afraid to try something new. Even if it’s low budget, low production value, Fish TV shows that there’s an audience for just about anything. You can find your niche.

Think about the unique content you can offer and get it out there.

About the author

Brad Schwarzenbach -

As an analyst on the Tippingpoint Strategy team, Brad explores new opportunities for clients to build relationships with their customers. He’s always testing new social media channels, poring over analytic data, and identifying emerging trends. He also speaks at conferences & events about uncovering powerful messages hidden within brands' unique values.

Brad’s research has contributed to the development of content & contributor strategies for such clients as Breville, Rodale, Long’s Jewelers, and Fusionapps, as well as being a frequent contributor to the Tippingpoint blog. He’s been “listening” to the way we communicate online since the old AOL People Connection days and watched the way that digital communication has evolved.

An English and Creative Writing major at the University of Connecticut, Brad’s spent most of his career creating web content and becoming intimately familiar with web theory for Bayard, Inc. and TomTom Inc., giving Brad keen ears and eyes to what, exactly, makes web content valuable.

Outside the office, Brad feels most at home with his beautiful wife-to-be Kristina, or on the golf course. “There’s a distinct pace and rhythm to the way people communicate online.  Understanding and taking part in them yields amazing opportunities for my clients to not only grow but to improve their business. I’m constantly looking for those opportunities.”