Nat Geo ‘Preps' Buyers for Super Storm Sandy

National Geographic Channel’s series Doomsday Preppers is about getting ready for the apocalypse. The world might not have ended last week, but in ways it never could have imagined, the network helped media buyers be better prepared for Super Storm Sandy.

Buyers have gotten a vast array of tchotchkes and giveaways from networks, but few have been as prescient as the solar-powered and crank-driven emergency radios that arrived in their offices the Thursday before Sandy knocked out the power
to millions in the New York area.

Buyers told sales executives for the channel the uncanny timing made an impression for a show many hadn’t seen before. Some said that after the radio provided a link to the world when their homes were dark, they’d return the favor and check out Preppers.

“The motto of the prepper movement is to be prepared,” said Rich Goldfarb, senior VP, ad sales, for Nat Geo Channel. “This was the perfect storm of utility and circumstance we were glad to be there for our customers.”