Blog Archives « All Editorial Blogs

Pet Product News Editorial Blog:

GUEST BLOG: More Laughter, More Profits

By Prentice Howe

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Listen to any self-help guru, psychologist or even grandma, and they’ll tell you it’s good to laugh a little. It releases endorphins, feeds the soul, and sets the table for a more positive outlook. It may be nice for people, but is laughter good for your company or brand? From a business perspective, perhaps a better question is, can using humor in your marketing efforts help increase profits?
 
The decision to use humor in advertising could quite possibly be the best marketing move you make this year. If done right, it is a winning recipe especially when the growth of a business or brand stalls.
Effective humor draws people in. It captivates audiences. It keeps you top of mind and increases the likelihood that people will share their love for your brand with like-minded consumers. Look at the attention the humorous sock puppet brought to Pets.com. Unfortunately, the organization’s business decisions weren’t as savvy as its widely-popular marketing campaign.
 
Sure, humor can be risky because everyone’s view and appreciation of it differs. But not taking risks is the biggest risk of all. In today’s economy, few are in a position to outspend. So instead you have to out-entertain. But you can’t tap your paws together and just be funny. It takes craft, hard work and commitment.
 
Using humor in your advertising does not mean you’re tossing credibility out the window. Sure, with humor there’s always the risk of polarizing your audience; however, being talked about beats being forgettable any day.
 
Prior to rebranding the Austin Humane Society, our agency’s strategic planners told us that, based on market research, humor works well for increasing adoption rates while more serious, heartfelt messaging works better for soliciting monetary donations. Yet our agency was tasked with both increasing adoptions and donations.
 
We decided to trust our gut and tap the funny bone. As part of the new campaign, we launched a series of online videos featuring shelter pets discussing their needs, such as their desire to find a new home or their need for donations so they can buy more kitty litter (www.austinhumanesociety.org.) To complement the videos, we also created an online game, Trapcat!, which provides a fun and educational glimpse into the population-reducing benefits of feral cat trapping. To date, the Humane Society has seen a 30 percent increase in monthly adoptions and a 100 percent increase in online donations, year-over-year. Here’s to zagging when others zig.

Prentice Howe is senior vice president, executive creative director at Austin’s Door Number 3 (www.dn3austin.com), an independent branding shop since 1994.

Editor’s Note: Check back next week to read Prentice’s tips on creating humor on a tight budget.

« All Editorial Blogs

Industry Professional Site: Comments from non-industry professionals will be removed.