How to be a Born Survivor in Business with Bear Grylls

2017-07-03TextbyTangBolunWuChenpiao唐博伦吴晨飘

Special Focus 2017年6期

关键词：训练营贝尔明星

Text by Tang Bolun, Wu Chenpiao 唐博伦吴晨飘

Translation by Zhu Yaguang 朱亚光

How to be a Born Survivor in Business with Bear Grylls

跟着贝尔商海求生

Text by Tang Bolun, Wu Chenpiao 唐博伦吴晨飘

Translation by Zhu Yaguang 朱亚光

After being discovered in 2006, Bear Grylls1began to set out on a prestigious broadcasting journey. On his program Man vs. Wild, he ran headlong into all sorts of harsh environments pushing him to the limit, and he survived by virtue of his resourcefulness and some simple tools like a dagger, a string of rope, a piece of flint and the like. The show helped him gain over one billion fans worldwide. In fact, there are certain reasons behind his success.

Outdoor Survival Skills

It is the nature-driven mentality that contributes to the boom of the outdoor recreation industry. Yet, not everyone is a guru of the outdoors, most are merely an amateur of the outdoors.

In Man vs. Wild, the ever intrepid Bear taught the audience how to find food, drink water and stay safe in the wild, for example, how to save energy and find water and food in the desert, and how to obtain edible foods and how to navigate through a forest.

The show virtually satisfied the needs of its target audience, and laid a solid foundation for the popularization of outdoor recreation industry.

It brings the bloody battle for survival to the viewer’s living room. Do you find it nauseating to eat animal innards and even maggots?

The audience may not like it, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t like to watch other people do it. Bear was literally the maestro of magnetism. For example, he once skinned an antelope to make a sleeping bag, used its intestine as a rope, and ate its heart raw; he also ate raw weevil larvae, and sucked the bone marrow of a dead deer, and drank the water squeezed from elephant dung.

Scenes that challenge both mind and stomach alike ended up being a real ratings grabber and always fodder for hot debate while expanding the potential of business development. Although the show might have been deliberately designed to be controversial, it was favored by producers, advertisers and sponsors, and particularly by the audience, who even claimed Bear to be the man standing atop the food chain.

Totally unscripted and filled with unexpected mishaps, Bear’s show was lauded as never repetitive nor conventional, and appropriate for sustainable broadcasting.

For example, one episode would be set on a desert island, the next a snowy mountain, and the next a virgin forest. Besides encountering poisonous snakes, piranha, waterfalls and cliffs during shooting, he would narrate his solutions while overcoming every challenge that nature threw at him. It was those unpredictable and unforgettable scenes that shocked the heart and the senses.

The Celebrity Effect

Knowing that, after a while, the audience may find it boring to watch a one-man show, Bear started to make changes. He invited mega-celebs to guest star on the show with the intent of forming a Super IP,2to create a panentertainment market targeting outdoor adventures, and to popularize the outdoor recreation industry.

With all the celebrity, would the mild be preferred to wild? No. Bear kept his “wild” ways.

In Running Wild with Bear Grylls, one-time basketball sensation Shaquille O’Neal was offered a piece of bloody elk placenta as dinner; and the Fast and Furious lead Michelle Rodriquez, was instructed to cook rats in her own urine; and Almost Famous lead Kate Hudson was persuaded to eat ants.

One reason for the popularity of the show is that the audience get to celebrities in every imaginable disgusting or embarrassing scenario, which differs greatly from their usual brave and heroic image.

Meanwhile, the celebrity effect has increased the show’s advertising power exponentially, for example vast numbers of products are placed strategically throughout a single hour-long episode. In 2014, Bear endorses a wellknown outdoor sports equipment brand, Camel, while his endorsement fee reaches into the tens of millions of dollars.

Bear also has deals with Parajet, a British company, in developing a portable aerial vehicle. And subsequently, the product went on to hot sales among many adventurers and travelers who are fond of trying the next big thing.

Moreover, Bear has deals with many tourist attractions.In September 2015, Bear’s show, Survivor Games, on which he invited some Chinese stars such as Cecelia Han and Zhang Wei, was shot in Libo, a scenic spot in Guizhou Province. Right after the show was released, over 50 travel agencies went to Libo County to take scout around, which immediately enhanced the popularity and influence of the Libo tourist destination.

But this was just Bear dipping his toe into the Chinese water.

Beyond that, Bear also challenged other Chinese celebs, such as Fu Yuanhui (female swimmer), Han Geng (singer & actor), Ivy Chen (actress), Li Yanhong (Internet entrepreneur) and Yao Ming (basketball star). In the show, Fu Yuanhui, who brought home the copper in swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, was led to a raging river where she waded into the water, crossed a single-plank bridge, ate raw snake meat, and drank snake blood, all of which brought out her soft side; Li Yanhong, an engineer and a technical expert, was guided to eat larva and raw yak meat, all of which brought out his wild side; and Fan Zhiyi, a professional football player, ate live marmots with Bear, and was hung under a helicopter that circulated 50 meters over a lake, all of which challenged his psychological mettle.

After the show was released, it immediately went viral on all major social network sites, which was a real win-win for Bear, who landed endorsement deals, and the celebrities got what they were looking for.

The unique charm of Bear’s Super IP format is the“wildness” device, as the program emphasizes the fear factor of famous stars when they take their turn munching on “nature’s treats” in the course of trying to be a survivor.

After working with the celebrities, Bear turned his attention to the education market. He started “Bear Grylls Survival Summer Camp” to target the general public.

In 2012, the Survival Training Camp launched its first course named “Five-day Outdoor Survival Training” in Scotland. The camp setting had all the same geographical environment found in the wild, with various types of courses available, including “24-hour Family Course,” as well as a “Five-day-and-four-night Extreme Course.” All the courses were sorted out by Bear according to his own experience of serving in the army and his adventures on his shows. Moreover, all the group leaders were top-notch professionals, hand-selected by Bear himself.

During one of the training camp courses on a desert island of the coast of Scotland, instructors taught the students how to cross a gorge with a single rope, how to eat the moss usually consumed by a deer, how to set up a shelter by using a discarded fishing net and weeds, how to make a spring trap, how to give first-aid, how to dissect a hare and how to keep yourself warm after drowning.

Afterwards, the Survival Training Camp entered the United States, Australia and other Western countries, setting off a craze in the outdoor recreation industry.

Go Adventuring with Bear in China

After his stellar success in Europe and America, plus the favorable market response of his previous show, Survival Game, Bear plans on continuing the march towards China.

Xu Zheng was the first Chinese entrepreneur to collaborate with Bear. In 2014, Xu Zheng founded “Outing Man,” which mainly focuses on outdoor lifestyle and education.

At present, “Bear Grylls Survival Summer Camp”powered by Outing Man has three major categories–adult course, family course and extreme course, with incremental marketing strategies being employed to advertise to target demographics in China, which center on the mid-to-high end casual users. Still, the courses carry an unusually high price tage. Taking the 24-hour training camp as an example, the cost for an adult course with ten people in a group is 3,280 RMB per person, and the cost for a family course made up of ten families is 3,980 RMB per family (one parent and one child only).

All the activities in the course, such as swimming across the river, making fire, purifying water, rock climbing and prompt drop, not only provide opportunities for the students see what life is like when they are pushed to limit, but also have massive market value.

And it surely means more than just putting the televised Bear Grylls Survival Summer Camp into real life.

First of all, Mr. Grylls and Xu Zheng’s team continued to make deals with tourist attractions, and they independently developed an outdoor travel route full of distinctive local flair and suitable for field survival activities, for example, diving is the theme for Hainan route, and wild life protection is the key for South African route. Up to now, apart from five overseas travel routes, two campsites have been set up in Sinkiang and Hainan.

Secondly, they have reached out to China’s education market, which has the greatest potential for development, and developed an outdoor education system for children, known as the Wildkid Academy. By means of the selection of sites and routes, Wildkid Academy has included 18 subjects, such as astronomy, physics and oceanography in its experimental activities.

Compared with China’s traditional test-oriented education that is all about cramming a kid’s mind with facts, such experimental teaching is more acceptable and favored by the public.

In these programs, Bear provides a complete range of technical services, and he also introduces many suits outfitted with high-end professional equipment, including headlamps, tents and water bottles, from his sponsoring brands. It is worth noting that the annual fee for the outdoor education programs reaches up to approximately 100,000 RMB, yet many Chinese parents still rush to sign up; it looks like Mr. Gyrlls has hit upon a real cash cow.

In addition, a whole outdoor recreation industry chain centering on Bear’s Survival Training Camp has also taken its roots in China. Conceivably, Mr. Gyrlls’ stands to keep the mill running in China long into the future.

(FromJiangsu Commercial News)

Note:

1.Bear Grylls, born on 7 June 1974, is a British adventurer, writer and television presenter from Northern Ireland. He is widely known for his television series Man vs. Wild (2006–2011). Grylls is also involved in a number of wilderness survival television series in the UK, US and China. With his huge popularity across the world, Grylls started his business in outdoor training programs for the public, which turned out to be even more successful.

2.Super IP refers to the IP (Intellectual Property) with great exploitable value, which should not only have long-term vitality and commercial value, but should also contain at least four elements – value, universal elements, storyline and presentation.

在2006年被探索频道挖掘之后，贝尔开启了更负盛名的演播人生。在《荒野求生》的各种严酷生存环境下，贝尔利用一把匕首、一根绳子、一块打火石等简单工具挑战生存极限，在全球斩获超过10亿粉丝。贝尔如此受欢迎，其实都是有原因的。

狂野霸气冲击感

一种向往回归自然的心理，铸就一个庞大的户外产业。但并不是所有人都是专业户外人员，许多人只是刚入局的爱好者。

而在节目《荒野求生》中，贝尔会教观众在荒野中如何解决吃饭、喝水、安全问题。比如，在沙漠中如何保持体力、获取水和食物；在森林中如何找到可食用的食物、辨别方向等。这些节目无形中满足了受众需求，普及了户外产业的群众基础。

狂野霸气。吃动物内脏、蛆虫，恶心吗？

观众不喜欢，但不代表他们不喜欢看别人吃。贝尔恰恰抓住他们的猎奇心理。

比如，把羊皮剥下来当睡袋，用肠子当绳子，生吃心脏,生吃象鼻虫幼虫,吮吸鹿的尸体骨髓和象粪水等。

这些挑战心理和胃口双重极限的东西，增加了收视率和话题感，商业开发潜力扩大。虽然有套路的嫌疑，但制片方、广告商、赞助商喜欢，观众更是记忆犹新，称贝尔为“站在食物链顶端的男人”。

没有剧本，意外特别多。贝尔的节目特点还在于：不重复，不落俗套，可持续播出，有IP开发的空间与时间。比如，这次的拍摄地点在荒岛，下次在雪山，下下次在原始森林。而且贝尔还会突然遇到蛇、食人鱼、瀑布、悬崖等意外，并在解决问题的过程中讲述解决方法。

●Li Yanhong, CEO of Baidu, is eating larva in Bear’s show百度CEO李彦宏节目中生吃幼虫

●Han Xue, the Chinese actress,is participating in the show “Go Adventuring with Bear”明星韩雪参加《跟着贝尔去冒险》

这些没有定数的环节增加了画面冲击感，每次都能给观众带来不一样的感官体验。

贝爷邀明星下海

在预料到观众看久了自己一个人在荧幕上表演，会变得乏味时，贝尔开始转变路线：邀请当红明星，组成超级IP，打造户外探险的泛娱乐市场，从小众变成大众。

有明星的加盟，是不是要换一种方式呢？不。贝尔的招数还是那么“野”。

在节目《越野千里》中，贝尔让篮球明星奥尼尔拿血淋淋的麋鹿胎盘作为晚餐，让《速度与激情》女主角饰演者米歇尔·罗德里格兹在节目中用自己的尿液煮老鼠吃，让《几近成名》女主角饰演者凯特·哈德森吃蚂蚁。

节目中明星们的各种形态，让观众看到他们平时英姿飒爽的另一面, 也让贝尔备受推崇。

明星大咖带来的粉丝效应，使得节目的广告投放量猛涨，有时一个小时的节目穿插多条广告。并且，2014年贝尔签约著名户外品牌骆驼，其品牌代言费更是高达数千万元人民币。

贝尔与英国Parajet公司合作开发便携式飞行器，不少冒险者和尝鲜者都成为其忠实的用户。

贝尔和旅游景点合作。2015年9月，贝尔邀约韩雪、大张伟等明星出演的真人秀节目《跟着贝尔去冒险》就在贵州荔波风景区取景拍摄。节目一经播出，便吸引了50余家旅行社到荔波考察，使得荔波风景区的知名度和影响力得到快速攀升。

不过，这只是贝尔在中国的试水。

贝尔还向傅园慧、韩庚、陈意涵、李彦宏、姚明等明星发起挑战。傅园慧在奥运会上征服游泳池，贝尔带她到湍急的河流，涉水过河，过独木桥，吃生蛇肉，喝蛇血，展现其柔弱的一面；工程师、技术男形象的李彦宏，贝尔带他吃幼虫和生牦牛肉，展现其野性的一面；而足球职业运动员范志毅，贝尔和他生吃土拨鼠，悬挂在50米高的直升机下环湖飞行，挑战其心理承受能力。

节目播出后，迅速刷爆各大社交网站。贝尔收获商业赞助，明星们也各取所需，通过各自的业务捞金。

贝尔这种超级重口模式的独特魅力在于，沿用其“野性”的招数，强调的是明星们在求生时吃“荒野快餐”所表现出的恐惧心理。

明星之后，贝尔把目光投向教学市场，创办“贝尔生存训练营”，做起普通大众的生意。

2012年，生存训练营首期课程“五日户外生存训练”在苏格兰启动。生存训练营保留了荒野的地理环境，所有课程均是贝尔基于服兵役和节目探险筛选整理而成，包括“24小时家庭课程”“5天4夜极限课程”等多个课程。此外，所有领队均由贝尔亲自挑选，有着极高的专业素养。

比如，在苏格兰一个荒岛的训练营课程是：教官教学员如何做单根绳索跨越，吃鹿吃的苔藓，用废弃渔网和野草搭建防风防雨的庇护所，制作弹簧陷阱，紧急救护，解剖兔子，落水后如何保持体温等。

之后，生存训练营入驻美国、澳大利亚等国家，掀起户外娱乐的一片热潮。