Humour can be profitable approach in serious business

Humour can be profitable approach in serious business

The quote “laughter is the best medicine” has various origins, including Proverbs 17:22, and a French surgeon in the 1300s. More recently, the movie Patch Adams was based on a doctor who created a special treatment hospital that focused on laughter and joy as part of its patient therapy program. The Gesundheit Institute is thriving today.

We all enjoy seeing something funny or something that is so unique it makes us smile. If serious medicine can add humour, why does business have to be so serious? Businesses are comprised of people, and most people like to laugh.

In elementary school, my Grade 4 report card was straight As, and it also included the note “Tim enjoys being the class clown.” I have enjoyed telling and hearing funny stories and jokes my entire life. Sometimes during my business career there were moments made more special because of the levity of the situation.

But how does the concept of humour relate to profitability in business? It is important to establish that the humour I am referring to is not the class clown approach or simple slapstick comedy. The humour that can lead to profitability is the kind that leaves a smile in your mind.

Paddy Gilmore, a humour expert and colleague, has studied humour and estimates almost 40 papers written by academics show evidence of how humour in advertising works successfully. For example, a 2022 study from MarketingCharts.com, showed that the brand message consumers favoured the most were ones that made them laugh or entertained them.

“The research overwhelmingly shows there are three things that humour in advertising does very well. It makes people warm to the campaign, it makes them warm to the brand and — most importantly — it makes people more likely to buy from you,” Gilmore states.

But humour can accomplish a lot more. If a proposition is unappealing, humour’s a great tool in getting it across. The famous Economist ads were basically saying, “If you don’t read this magazine, you’re a business failure.” Articulated that way, no-one would buy it! But articulated through humour, they were a huge success: the magazine’s circulation rose 64 per cent against an overall market decline of 20 per cent.

You can use humour in advertising in serious business categories, not just for consumer brands. Remember that businesses are comprised of people — the people that will see and react to your message. The key is to ensure you know why you want to use humour and that you execute it well. No need to be brash like personal injury lawyer ads or desert dry like professional service firms. There is nothing worse in the public space than saying something that only you find humourous or interesting, when everybody else groans or ignores you.

As with any advertising message or campaign, you need to share it with your internal audience and ensure your employees know why you are saying what you are saying and how the message will help position your product or brand. The intent of effectively using humour is to emphasize your unique perspective and create something memorable. Remember the “smile in your mind” concept?

Using humour should not be a “one and done” approach either. Strategically, leading companies know that using humour will establish a specific image in the minds of their customers. And the memorable images will leave an impression with people. Therefore, be careful what you are trying to position your organization as and ensure the approach is something you will proudly stand behind going forward.

Self-effacing advertising and messaging can be an enormously powerful concept. This is “the pratfall effect,” where a brand highlights a flaw in the knowledge that their honesty will endear them to their audience. When we affectionately make ourselves or our companies the butt of the joke, we are owning what we say and how we say it. We will not make a joke at someone else’s expense.

An example I use in my marketing classes and seminars is from KFC in the U.K. In 2018, there was a chicken shortage that resulted in KFC running out of chicken. As part of their response, they replaced their iconic KFC on their buckets with “FCK.” Now, only the inference is a swear word. The campaign and coverage went viral, customers loved it, and it became the top campaign of the year. KFC’s anger about the chicken shortage did not require a lengthy corporate-speak message. They simply went with a rearrangement of their letters to tell everyone how they felt about the shortage, too.

Leading companies know their customers don’t appreciate tricks, but they do appreciate providing superior value to their interaction with you. Tread carefully when using humour in your messaging, and when you commit, do so with your whole heart and funny bone. Remember that when you’re smiling, the entire world smiles with you. That’s why the happiest cashiers always have the longest line at the store.

Tim’s bits: Your winning game plan can include personality. The research shows that companies that use humour well in their ads are more appealing and relatable to customers. And more engaged customers can lead to more profits. And that’s no joke!

Tim Kist is a Certified Management Consultant, authorized by law, and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Manitoba.

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