How to balance wittiness and gain from humor in marketing?
Being bold in marketing is always a fine line to walk on. Inserting wittiness and humor in marketing is an even finer line. And most brands and companies are unsure how to execute it or miss the mark completely. Obviously, not all brands can be or are allowed to be funny – that is not their aim or core value. But it does beg the question, when and how can brands touch base with their playful side?
Marketing, humor, and the wrong audience, oh my!
Imagine this: you have the perfect marketing campaign in mind, it’s going to be so funny you are sure to go viral. But are you? Is it that funny? Will you offend people, make them cringe, or is the joke going to hit all the spots?
Remember the Snickers ad a few years ago, the Betty White one? Well, that one was perfect in our minds. They hit spot-on with their brand endorser choice. The ad was funny enough that it made you go: “Huh, this is cool”. And yet it did not make us all go: “Well, this is bad!” But, and there is always a but, their recent campaigns, especially the football ones, missed the mark a bit. Why, you may ask? It’s because they tried to go with the gen Z approach and they’ve chosen brand endorsers that are not so perfectly equipped as actors. So, the joke fell flat. Or are we just the completely wrong audience and that’s why it didn’t work for us?
There are a lot of ads or commercials that are quite controversial. In today’s world, attacking inclusivity and diversity will not fly, so some marketing campaigns are under attack due to their deafness regarding society’s issues and real-world problems.
Attention, sometimes, when you don’t like the ad or a commercial, it means it was not meant for you. You were not the targeted audience, so that’s why in our blog posts, we reserve the right to not get the ad purely for the reason we are not the segment they are targeting.
When humor works in marketing
If you haven’t heard of Manscaped yet, this is your sign to google them. They are a company whose brand screams for wittiness and humor in their marketing, and rightly so. A company oriented toward men, if the name isn’t a clue enough, and with products that are not that really talked about, they had to do something pretty cool. If you watch any of their ads and commercials, you’ll see why being funny works so well for them.
But they are not the only ones jumping on the opportunity to be funny. So many brands can allow themselves to do something different to draw attention. It’s sort of a necessity to be different in such a saturated market. It’s called for. Especially in new and up can coming brands. They can pursue such marketing strategies, from the start, to make a lasting impact.
How do you incorporate humor in your marketing strategies correctly?
Choosing when to be funny and when to not, is not an easy task. Marketing communication calls for a good strategy and well-set marketing foundations.
You just can’t decide one day you’re switching your marketing communication strategy to be suddenly witty and funny.
So, what are some steps to consider before going “fun”:
Understand the brand’s vision, mission, and goals. If your brand is in a “serious” product niche market, humor is not the way to go. Also, luxury items are usually not fit for such approaches.
Do proper segmentation and targeting. A lot of companies forgo this part of traditional marketing concepts and fail to realize not everyone is your customer.
Consider if you are really fit for trends. Not all social media trends go with your product. If a fun and humorous trend is gaining traction, it doesn’t mean you should do it just because everyone is doing it.
Consider your messaging. Do you want to portray your brand as funny all the time? Sometimes it’s hard to lose the impact of doing something so off-brand
Not all influencers or brand endorsers are fit for funny. Don’t lose money on employing people who are not going to be able to portray funny situations if they are not suitable or relatable.
Don’t use humor in only one aspect of marketing. Make it a whole comprehensive strategy if this is what you’re going for. You can’t have constricted marketing communication if you’re pushing humor in other aspects. Balance is key.
Balance between humorous and offensive. Consider your audience and general society’s perceptions and culture before trying to be funny on someone else’s account.
Humor in marketing is a go when it’s appropriate
The thing to consider is what your brand wants to communicate. It always comes to that. Don’t be funny if it sends the wrong message about your company, product, service, or brand. Consistency is key and knowing your audience is a must. Don’t skip market research and segmentation – traditional marketing processes are integral in creating comprehensive and quality strategies and actions that drive results, and extract that laugh.
