February 5, 2016 admin

It seems like every brand is trying to be funny in their ads these days, but why? Well, it works.

One of the ideas behind embedding humour in advertising these days is that the ad goes “viral” i.e. people start spreading it on social media and so it reaches out to a larger audience. But what is the direct commercial benefit of it is a question.

Using Humour in Marketing is a way to sell your brand without outwardly selling something, rather it is an approach to appeal the consumer’s emotions and engage them and make them remember you.

As a digital marketing agency serving small and medium-sized businesses, often it happens that we suggest some funny idea to our clients and they ask us, is it going to work for our kind of business?

So let’s see if humour works best for a specific type of product or brand or can anyone do it?

By and large, if humour is presented appropriately, I think most companies can take part.

The most remarkable thing about using humour in marketing is how companies with seemingly ordinary products can make you feel like theirs is the most exciting one out there.

But creating fun is not a fun game, it has to be meticulously planned and flawlessly executed otherwise it will make fun; certainly, but of the brand.

Here are some important aspects that a brand and the agency should keep in mind while incorporating humour in marketing, regardless of the medium of promotion:

Authenticity: When it comes to humour it’s all about authenticity. The idea should be authentic and should sync well with the values of the brand. In sulekha’s case, all the quick fixes shown are taken from the memes that did rounds on social media about Jugaadu Indians. Another aspect of authenticity is how much the brand itself sticks to the message. The video highlights the importance of permanent solutions over quick fixes that users generally resort to for their local service needs. The reality is that servicemen who come to fix these problems themselves resort to jugaads most of the time. Is sulekha planning to educate these servicemen too through some #WorkWithoutJugaad campaign? Ideally, they should.

Clarity: If there is a company out there that embodies the effectiveness of using humour in marketing, it’s Fevikwik. We all know and have seen their brilliant ads in the past that really chipkaoed the brand’s core value into our minds “Chutki mein chipkaye” and their recent campaign of #PyaunPyaun the company gives out a simple message in a fun way: For a broken heart, we have no solution. For everything else, there is Fevikwik. Although “pyaun pyaun” as a term doesn’t exist but still the message is clear and the presentation is truly hilarious.

Inoffensive: It’s very important to make sure that the brand understands its audience and how they are likely to respond so that nothing is taken offensively. Like it often happens in the case of condom ads. One example of a neatly presented untidy idea can be the VIP Frenchie Indian Pocket Billiards League. The way men’s problematic reality is shown is superb and inoffensive, although the subject spoken and the objects shown could have offended many people.

Stickiness: Fun gets attention, true. But if it fails to attract in the initial few seconds then it’s a waste. I hope you all have heard this old saying, the first impression is the last impression. Same thing seems to have happened with Exide Life’s new ad film #Jugaadulal where the idea is so identical with sulekha’s #AntiJugaad that most of us talked about sulekha while watching Exide Life. Now, which brand did this ad actually benefit is going to be a new case study in itself. Now if we look at these brands, they are pretty different from one another, which shows that you don’t have to be in a particular business to use humour in your marketing. These companies belong to different industries, with different products and services and they all used humour but with a slightly different approach.

Whether or not, people like the brands and it’s products but there’s one thing for sure; that people love to laugh. If you’re a brand that can make people do that, consumers are going to appreciate it. So keep the humour coming and it will bring people close to your brand.

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