One Marketing Tactic That Will Always Work
There is one marketing tactic that will always work. Do you know what it is?
It’s not picking the coolest brand color or creating an absolutely incredible pitch. It’s not building the most SEO-friendly website or inspiring FOMO (though fear does work as a marketing tactic and gets used quite often.) But no, this tactic is none of the above.
It’s using humor in your marketing.
Think about it. If you are scrolling on the social media site of your choice or listening to your favorite podcast, what will get you to stop scrolling or hold you back from skipping an ad? It’s the ad that makes you smile or laugh. That’s the one that you’ll watch/listen to, and it’ll stick in your head. You might even tell other people about it because we all have a human impulse to brighten one another’s day.
It’s not just me, a random marketing lady on the internet, who says this. One 2019 study showed that viewers were 30% more likely to remember ads that made them laugh over serious ads. This 2022 survey showed that 91% of people prefer brands to be funny and 72% would choose a brand that uses humor over the competition.
It is true that fear can be used in the same way. But fear adds complication to any message. A fear-based message can be used to capture someone’s attention, but then the company and marketing team must jump through hoops to prove that their company—and only their company—is the solution to that fear. This can get complicated quickly.
Humor, on the other hand, is simple. If you make someone laugh, you stick in their mind as a business with a good sense of humor or that is funny, and they smile as they buy your product or sign up for your service.
Think about the most popular commercials of my generation (I’m a Millennial). Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef” became a catchphrase for over a decade. Snicker’s “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” Tootsie Pop’s “How many licks…” And many more.
I can tell you that I saw the Tootsie Pop one in between Sesame Street episodes when I was five or six years old, and I still remember it when I see a Tootsie Pop or Tootsie Roll.
In more modern times (I know those commercials are all ancient to many people), we see commercials added seamlessly to TikTok skits by popular comedy accounts like Drew Talbert of Bistro Huddy or Caroline Easom of Sandwich Family fame. These commercials are clearly marked as ads but are so funny and enjoyable that they still get the same number of views as their unsponsored videos.
So, what’s the downside to using humor in marketing?
There are three downsides to using humor in marketing, all of which can be overcome.
One big downside or difficulty can be if the company is in a serious industry or perceives itself as very serious. For example, a cyber security company may decide that using humor is off-putting to potential customers. And they may be right. But before they completely give up on the idea, I recommend testing it out. Creators like Ryan Kelly use humor effectively to discuss important issues like scammers and cybersecurity. So, just because you are in a serious industry does not mean humor is off the table.
Another common problem is that being funny and striking the right chord is difficult! Just about everyone has had the experience of completely bombing when telling a joke. Failing dismally can be incredibly tough to come back from.
Finally, something may be funny, but it may also put a person off the brand. A 2016 study in The Journal for Marketing Behavior provides a deep dive into what humor is acceptable for ads and what is not. For example, using gross-out humor to promote a food brand is not a good look. Instead, humor like the “Where’s the beef” campaign or showing how the food is irresistible in a funny way is a much more effective advertising method.
Fortunately, the same solutions apply in all instances. Market surveys, A/B tests, and hard data will tell you if your funny ad or idea is going to work for your industry and your business.
I recommend trying humor and seeing how it lands with your client base/potential customers.
You may be pleasantly surprised by the results!