Crikey! Steve Irwin's "Crocodile Hunter" Brand is Alive and Well!

Steve Irwin made me gasp in life and in death. From my sleepy SoCal living room Id squirm with both worry and delight over the hyperactive chubby fella in the short pants, at once chastising him for risking his life while also daring him to go further. Hed have me shouting at the screen like an overprotective overzealous Little League dad, Whats the matter with you? Leave the poisonous mama boa constrictor alone while shes giving birth to those slimy sextuplets! But, hey, while youre there, why dont you put your head in her mouth?

Fear, bewilderment, bravery, giddiness, excitement, nervousness, guilt. Above all, the Crocodile Hunter made tens of millions of us judging by the outpouring since his accident feel.

Which, of course, takes us to branding. To selling stuff.

Every episode of The Crocodile Hunter was an adrenaline jolt. Steves promise was making us feel deeply from thousands of miles away on our lumpy couches what he was feeling inches from painful danger perhaps even doom. Thats why he was loved and hated. Respected and lampooned. Those emotional connections are what brands must make if they are to be not just in our cupboards, but part of our lives. Sure, thinking is highly recommended but feeling is the essential gooey sloppy motivator that makes us act. Feeling makes us loyal. Feeling makes us bond. Feeling grows business. At NYCA (www.nyca.com), we call it attachment branding. Like Steve, we have tools to fasten customers to brands. To do that a brand has to know the limits, and tip-toe, dance, high-dive around -- and sometimes over -- them.

See, the Crocodile Hunter was too much. He took too many chances, too big risks and in the end he died for it. But honestly, folks, isnt that what we wanted to see and didnt want to see? (This is the fear, bewilderment, guilt part). Would we have loved him if he was the Caterpillar Hunter? Or if he pointed out wild creatures from afar with his binoculars? Marlon Perkins of Wild Kingdom was a good ol guy but he never got close to the Crocodile Hunter on the passion scale because he never got close to the lions and he never got close to us.

Steve was an excitable trespasser who went beyond. And he took us vicariously and reluctantly and willingly along with him to places nice boys have been forbidden to go, hands covering our faces, fingers spread around our eyes. Like a great brand, he transported us. And we loved him for letting us ride shotgun.

Does your brand take you on an emotional journey? Like Mini makes you feel free? Like TaylorMade makes you a feel like a true golfer? Like Apple makes you feel cool?

The Crocodile Hunter was true through and through -- to the death. In fact, he had to die in the act (can you imagine if he slipped in the bathroom!) in order to prove he was too close, that it was indeed too dangerous, that he was the real thing. If you go back now and look at those previous episodes, youll see how they increase in anxiety voltage. What a promise delivered!

Steve Irwin stood for going too far while always knowing the risks. He was never cavalier (except when he held his kid over the croc). He wouldnt have been who he was if he wasnt scared. He would have been just another jackass-like reality show numbsoul. The Steve brand clearly labeled his fear with a cautious warning: Now see here, this rare beauty is the most lethal snake in the world and look -- when I get near, she really gets agitated. Yikes! One flick of her tongue on my skin and its good night nanny. So we have to be very, very careful Ill just nuzzle over and see if shell give me a French kiss. The closer he inched to the jaws of the beast, the closer he got to us. You just knew he loved what he was doing and shouldnt really be doing it. He was drawn to it beyond reason. His body and soul were in it. In the end he proved that, didnt he?

Authenticity was essential to the Crocodile Hunters success, as it is to any brand. Is your brand true? Or is it a wanna-be? What would it be willing to die for? Was it worth it for Steve? Id say no, his kids would say no. What would Steve say? Im not sure. Thats why we watch, write, care.

Steve will outlive his death. (In fact, Im not sure hes really dead. How can you kill the Crocodile Hunter? Dont you think deep down hell bounce back?). He lives on not only because we have him saved on our DVRs, but because he mattered to us. We attached. And the boundary of life/death will not separate us from the cheerful trespasser. Now theres his memory, his zoo, videos, books to attach to. Therell be line extensions coming up, no doubt. Inspired ideas like The Crocodile Hunter Safari, where you can safely get too close to wildlife. Maybe even dives at the spot where the stingray got him.

So ask yourself, would your brand outlive its initial incarnation? Write your brands obit. What would be the outpouring from its customers? Would they sniff sniff and politely forget to come to the funeral because they had to be at a shoe sale? Would they throw themselves into the grave and vow to always be loyal to its everlasting spirit? Would they do the tango on its gravestone?

Ultimately, it wasnt the love of animals. Or the danger. Or the accent, floppy haircut or even the short pants. It was the dangerous love. He loved beyond. And he got that back. Poetic how the dangerous lover would get the stingrays barb in the heart. But the brand beats on, mate.

Michael Mark is Creative Director/CEO of NYCA, a full-service marketing agency that grows businesses with inspired ideas. NYCA has grown business for clients like TaylorMade Golf, San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, Rossa Putters, Maxfli Golf, ViewSonic Corp., The San Diego Union-Tribune, http://SignOnSanDiego.com, The EastLake Company, Kyocera Wireless, DIRECTV, Penta Water, National City Mile of Cars, AutoAnything, First Dental Health, TaylorMade Performance Labs, and others. To find out how NYCA can grow your business, log on to http://www.nyca.com.Kare Blog58431
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