Funny is good!

Let’s explore the idea of using humor in one’s content.

The Nielsen Global Survey of Trust in Advertising in 2013, polled more than 29,000 Internet respondents in 58 countries to measure consumer sentiment on 19 forms of paid, earned and owned advertising formats. 47% of global respondents agreed that humorous ads resonated the most. (Source: Forbes)

Humor is a powerful, fun and engaging way to connect with your target group. It quickly establishes a rapport and sets the pace for positive alignment to any message you want to bring. Plus, when you are funny, you’re sure that people will remember you (and your message).

Here are possibly the 3 quickest ways to be funny in your contents:

Be plain funny
Humor will help you stand out from the crowd and get noticed. Use wacky advertising ideas, have fun with your logos and bring creative ideas to life! Your audience will find you more exciting, genuinely relevant and overall easier to understand. If you’ve been serious in your contents all these while and have not seen the outcome that you wish for, how about changing things up now and slip in a little humor at that?

When Cisco came up with this Special Valentine’s Gift video,Tim Washer the creator of the ad made it to the New York Times blog and the ad was widely discussed till now, as one of the best marketing humor. A launch for a router, the team took a twist to the ad by presenting it as the perfect Valentine’s Gift.

 

Or the Knaxis ad which took a humorous look at why simplicity is the best solution for a supply chain management by comparing it to a dating game.

 

Related : humorous contents on videos >> 14 Most Funniest (Video) Ads of 2013

Be spontaneous
Ironic as it sounds, but when using humour, we’ve got to plan to be spontaneous. Have a strategy ready with proper style guidelines and tone of voice that can easily launch any humorous contents in real time for all those “unpredictable moments”. For instance in Twitter, if you look at@Snicker’s response to the Suarez biting incident during the soccer tournament in Brazil, Snickers were quick-witted at commenting a funny content while keeping their brand true to their values.

 

Related : humorous contents on the social media >> 14 Funny Brands You Can’t Help But Follow In Social Media

Be trustworthy
Don’t mess with trust. In being funny, we have to understand and respect our audience, the brand reputation and take great measure in preserving this trust and valued relationship. Our contents need to steer away from sensitive issues such as race, gender, religion and any other cultural issues that may discriminate, hurt or cause disunity. Laugh with our audience, not at them. In short, our humorous content has to be done in good taste.

What other humorous contents have you seen or used before in your marketing?