Lift Up Your Brand Spirits with Humour

Lift Up Your Brand Spirits with Humour
An entrepreneur, an advertiser and a comedian walk into a bar….
Yes, they made a knock off your pants funny campaign together, got featured on Social
Samosa, generated a whole lot of ‘shares’ and ‘saves’ on Instagram and branded their
message right into their TG’s minds!
You get the drift.
So why and how are some of the best branding agencies in India and
Ahmedabad, yours truly at Flora Fountain included, using humour to create
memorability and differentiation for a brand? Read on to know it all…
WHY HUMOUR WORKS IN SELLING?
People love to laugh. It’s something that almost everyone has in common. That’s why
using humor is a popular advertising technique. The key, of course, is doing something
that a majority of people will find funny.Laughter is always good for people. It can
reduce pain and stress as well as lower blood pressure. Getting people to laugh also
makes them more inclined to think positively about a business and buy its products.
And guess everyone knows, that the best ice breaker in the world is jokes (after food of
course). And some of the most commonly heard conversation starters are, “have you
seen/heard that ad where…”. That’s how humour creates a recall for brands, making it
stand out and get its message shared among more people.
POPULAR BRANDS THAT HAVE USED HUMOUR TO
SPICE UP THEIR MARKETING GAME
Let’s take a look at how some of the brands became household names with their wit and
humour in delivering the message and marketing their products.
OLD SPICE
The popular men’s deodorant and hygiene products brand is known to go meta with
their campaigns, making fun of the whole idea of advertising in itself. It usually features
a very well built, handsome man, doing something completely out of context in their
commercials, like riding a horse on a beach while mouthing the catchphrase addressing
women, “Ladies, your man can smell just like me”. Here, take a look at one of their
television commercials that aired sometime back.
PRIME VIDEO
Amazon’s video streaming service Prime Video in India has decided go all out and tickle
the funny bone to promote the movies and shows on their platform. One look at their
India Instagram page and you’ll find out posts peppered with humorous memes and
jokes all involving some scene or dialogue from one of the movies in their catalogue, and
a pop culture reference. One of their longest running advertising and marketing gags is
wishing its followers “Good Morning” through funny memes. Here check out a few:
NETFLIX
Everyone hates spoilers. And everyone hates that one Netflix subscriber in the group
who watches every movie, every TV show right when they release and give out spoilers
to everyone. Netflix gave out fake spoilers of its highly popular shows through huge
outdoor billboards as a part of their smart and funny campaign asking people to stay at
home during the pandemic, to stay safe from the coronavirus and spoilers.
ELEVEN 11 RESTRO CAFE (@ELEVEN11RESTROCAFE)
This Ahmedabad-based restaurant cum cafe is not only known for its lip smacking food
and Instagram-worthy ambience and interiors, but their quirky social media presence
too.
The brand knows that their audience on the internet is a young, hip crowd that loves
their memes and are fluent in pop-culture references.
And to match their vibe and draw them to their outlets, Eleven 11 regularly indulges in
fun banters and shares witty takes on their social media pages.
FALGUNI GRUH UDHYOG, VASTRAPUR
(@FALGUNIVASTRAPUR)
This Ahmedabad-based snacks and packaged food brand is synonymous with being a
Pakku Amdavadi, i.e. loud, funny and a total film buff. Falguni Vastrapur is a legacy
brand, with loyalties of their customers spanning 30 years.
But they promote their products through trending memes and jokes shared on their
Instagram pages. Here’s a sneak peek on what they usually talk about online.
The idea behind this is that the brand is pretty confident that the elders of the house
(mothers, grandmothers, etc) will always visit the store to purchase their snacks. But the
brand wishes to attract the cafe-hopping, new-gen audience by speaking to them in their
lingo, while promoting their traditional and fusion Gujarati snacks.
CUSTOMERS APPRECIATE AND REMEMBER A FUNNY
TAKE
Sprout Social conducted a detailed survey of consumers in relation to brand personality.
The report found that three in four consumers appreciated humor from brands. Humor
helps a consumer remember and engage with your brand and that they appreciate good
humor from companies
Good humour, a cheeky take on oneself also showcases honesty. Which is something
every customer seeks from a brand. This honesty helps in building the trust between the
consumer and the brand. And when there is trust and honesty in such a relationship,
customers tend to engage more with the brand and further refer it to their friends and
family too.
CAN HUMOUR FAIL IN MARKETING TOO?
But not every brand has the chops to be cheeky. Failing at humor in the marketing world
is sure to attract attention, but not the kind that your brand wants. What builds a
powerful connection also has a downside. Humor tends to be highly subjective. What’s
funny to one may offend another. That can spread like wildfire and damage your brand.
Humor can also water down your message. Make sure your team is on the same page
and consistent with who you want your brand to be.
88% consumers dislike it when brands mock their fans
71% of consumers find brands engaging in politics on social annoying
DOS AND DON’TS WHEN IT COMES TO USING HUMOR
IN MARKETING.
Test your jokes on others before posting
What’s funny for one, might just be a plain ‘fact’ for another. Check if the
‘hilarious’ joke you thought up for your brand actually makes any sense or not, by
cracking it with your peers, maybe the designers, the copywriters, and even the
interns.
Avoid controversial topics
What’s worse for a brand is a joke offending people than a joke not landing.
People may let go of an ‘unfunny’ post, tweet or a blog, but a joke that mocks
their beliefs, ideologies or anything sensitive has a high chance of backfiring.
Be sure the timing is right
Oh, and what’s worst, is a badly timed joke. Never make jokes or post something
funny when there is a scenario that is serious and sensitive, like a national
mourning, war, natural calamities, etc.
Select the right channel
Some jokes are specifically crafted for particular platforms. For instance, the
“Like, Comment, Share” jokes are meant only for Instagram. Posting them on
Pinterest or Twitter will never work.
You know what, some of the funniest jokes come out when you hanging out with the
right people. How about you drop by our office for a cup of strong coffee and stronger
punchlines for your next brand promotion? Drop us a hello on
[email protected]