Humor Marketing: Fusion of Comedy and Marketing
Written by Ferdinandus Winandy Soesilo, SE., MA., CSMA., CPC
The development of the era and technology, increasingly requires marketers to continue to innovate and be creative in creating marketing strategies that can influence consumers behavior, attitude and purchase decision. The development of technology also makes more and varied choices of information that can be received by consumers.
However, the amount of information available through technological media makes business and business competition increasingly fierce and difficult because brands and products are required to be more creative and innovative to satisfy consumers.
Marketers have now begun to build and implement marketing strategies that affect consumer psychology, one of which is by using humorous marketing strategies (Humor Marketing). Humor and comedy are some of the most beloved things for humans as they can provide a sense of pleasure and stress relief, which in turn can increase endorphin levels (Rockcontent, 2020)
Source: (Snapshot, 2024)
Humor Marketing: What is it?
Humor marketing is a digital marketing tactic and strategy that embraces humor and comedy into promotional content such as advertising, social media contents and any other promotional media (Brenner, 2024).
Why Is Humor Marketing Important and Beneficial?
Many businesses apply humor marketing in their marketing strategies because they have gained many benefits from application and practice.
1. Building and Powering Trust
The more the audience feels about the connection with the brand the more trust they have in the brand personality and brand persona. Humor and comedy increase the connection between brand and the audience. Humor is a powerful mechanism for transforming brands into relatable, memorable creations (Brand Vision Insights, 2024).
90% of customers are more likely to remember humorous ads, despite company leaders claiming that just 20% of their brands’ offline (TV, billboards) and online marketing actively use humor (Brand Vision Insights, 2024).
2. Fun Drives Sales
Humor marketing may increase customer purchase intention according to a study by Professor Martin Eisend from Viadrina University. Moreover, from more than 300 ads that have been analyzed and explored by The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, 45% were good performers in sales performance because of humor marketing applications (Isaza, 2022). According to 72% of CEOs, humor draws customers to new items, and 55% of them stated that it garners more attention than no humor (Brand Vision Insights, 2024).
3. People Love Humor
Audiences are now far more eager for humor thanks to social networks. According to a 2020 Global Web Index survey, 34% of Millennials and 41% of Gen-Z respondents stated that they primarily use social media “to find funny or entertaining content.” Humor is a fantastic tool for brands looking to improve their content naturally (Isaza, 2022).
Humor Marketing Campaign & Advertisement
There are some examples of humor advertisements apply by companies globally.
Source: (Snapshot, 2024)
Source: (Pascual, 2024)
Conclusion
In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, humor marketing stands out as a powerful tool that not only captures attention but also fosters genuine connections with consumers. By leveraging humor, brands can cut through the noise of endless information and fierce competition, transforming themselves into memorable, trusted entities that resonate on a personal level. This strategy not only drives engagement and trust but also boosts sales and creates lasting brand loyalty. As the demand for entertaining and relatable content grows, brands that embrace humor in their marketing efforts are well-positioned to thrive, keeping audiences coming back for more and setting themselves apart in a crowded marketplace.