Knock, knock. Who is there? Nobel. Nobel who? Nobel.. That is why I knocked.

Yesterday was April Fools’ Day. April Fool’s Day is celebrated on April 1st each year, and it has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery 🤨. April Fools’ Day traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, often yelling “April Fools!” at the end of the pranks. While its exact history is wrapped in mystery, the embrace of April Fools’ Day jokes by the media 📺 and major brands has ensured the unofficial holiday’s long life.

Life is just way too short not to laugh 🤣 along the way.

Humour breaks down walls, shows personality a.k.a. shows a brand's human side. Companies have used humour to make their advertisements more memorable, and one of their advertisements became viral 🦠 with more than 25 million views since its launch. There are 4 benefits of adding humour in marketing:

1️⃣ Attention-grabbing 👀

Humour often stands out from other marketing and advertising attempts because it is naturally 🍃 colourful and original.

2️⃣ People love to spread laughter 🤣

Making your campaign humorous permeates it with more shareability.

3️⃣ Relatable and Trustworthy 🤝

Brands that are funny are more relatable and are seen as more trustworthy and human.

4️⃣ Humour is linked 🔗 to higher recall

This means that any message diffused with humour will be easier for your target demographics to remember 🧠.

Key Opportunities

Here are 4 key areas where humour can make your marketing campaign more valuable:

1️⃣ Accents to your valuable work

Touches of humour can always improve 👍 a piece that is already valuable on its own. For example, if you are writing up an article or eBook that is helping people understand a complex topic, making an occasional joke or writing with a more ironic voice is only going to make that work more appealing and memorable.

2️⃣ Well-tested, effective ads

If you are sure a joke is going to land, it can make an effective ✅ advertisement. Just make sure to A/B test variations of the joke with a small audience first. That way, you can be sure the humour does not cross a line and appeals to your target audience.

3️⃣ Brand differentiation

You can also use a humorous voice 🗣 to distinguish your brand. For example, Oreo has differentiated itself by offering a quirky, tongue-in-cheek voice across its social media platforms. This is especially effective in dry, or otherwise “boring” 🥱 industries.

4️⃣ Personal branding

You can safeguard the risks of humour by downgrading ⬇️ it to personal brands associated with your company, rather than employing the jokes with your company brand directly. For instance, Elon Musk has separated himself from his companies Tesla and SpaceX by cracking jokes and roasting people on his own account.

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Are you interested to learn more about incorporating humour into your marketing strategy? Slide into our direct messages so that we can help you with that 🤩😎!

References:

History. 2017, March 30.

Olenski, S. 2018, June 15. The CMO's Guide To Using Humor In Marketing. Forbes.