On September 25, 2013, Season 17 of South Park will kick off on Comedy Central. What can we content marketers learn from a cartoon about potty-mouthed third-graders? Plenty.

1. 7 Content
Marketing
Lessons
From South
Park

3. Back on August 13, 1997,
Comedy Central debuted a
new animated series unlike
anything anyone had ever
seen.
“Cartman Gets an Anal Probe,” Season 1

4. Since then…
4 Prime-Time
Emmy Awards
16 Seasons
237 Episodes
2006 Peabody
Award
“One of the 100
Best TV Shows of
All Time”
- Time, 2007
#12 on “Greatest
TV Show of the
Past 25 Years,”
Entertainment
Weekly, 2008

5. So, what can we
content marketers
learn from a cartoon
about potty-mouthed
third-graders?

6. PLENTY.PLENTY.
So, what can we
content marketers
learn from a cartoon
about potty-mouthed
third-graders?

7. LESSON 1:
WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

8. The first episode of
South Park was
created with
construction-paper
cutouts and
photographed
frame by frame.

9. LESSON 2:
DON’T LET CRITICISM SCARE
YOU AWAY

10. South Park was in
danger of being
canceled before it
even aired when the
show tested poorly
with test audiences.

11. LESSON 3:
FORM GOOD PARTNERSHIPS …
AND STICK WITH THEM

12. Trey Parker and
Matt Stone have
been working
together since they
met in a University
of Colorado film
class in 1992.

13. LESSON 4:
STAY CURRENT

14. Each episode is
written the week
before its air date,
allowing the show to
stay more topical
and respond quickly
to current events.

15. LESSON 5:
LEVERAGE GUEST
CONTRIBUTORS

16. Over the years,
guest voices have
included Jennifer
Aniston, Jay Leno,
Cheech & Chong,
George Clooney,
and the band
Radiohead.

17. LESSON 6:
DON’T SHY AWAY FROM
CONTROVERSY

18. South Park episodes
have tackled such
hot-button topics
as:
•Scientology
•Depictions of the prophet Mohammad
•Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
•Pedophilia
•Euthanasia
•Anti-Semitism
•AIDS
•And many others
“South Park controversies” now has its
own Wikipedia page.

19. LESSON 7:
BREAK OUT OF YOUR COMFORT
ZONE … STRATEGICALLY

20. The feature film
South Park: Bigger,
Longer and Uncut,
released in 1999,
quickly became a
critical and
commercial success.

21. Work with what you have.
TO SUM UP …
1
2
3
4
Don’t let criticism scare you away.
Form good partnerships … and stick with them.
Stay current.

22. Leverage guest contributors.
TO SUM UP …
5
6
7
Don’t shy away from controversy.
Break out of your comfort zone … strategically.

23. BY RACHEL PARKER.
@ResonanceCont

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