One needs only to watch a few minutes of Super Bowl commercials to recognize how much emphasis advertisers place on humor as a means of connecting with audiences and prospects.
The assertion is that humor creates a lasting impression - be it radio, TV, print or online media - and should therefore be used in collaboration with other strategies. However, even marketing and advertising luminaries such as David Ogilvy have voiced their opposition to humor as an effective marketing method. Still, small businesses may benefit from humor in entirely different ways than large companies.
Some are quick to point out how humor is most effective in print campaigns, particularly direct mail initiatives, as they offer prospects the ability to hold on to the item and do with it what they wish. One commonly used idea is to create a cartoon featuring the name of the recipient, as consumers will read it, enjoy it and possibly even hold on to it.
"Humor is about truth and truth creates agreement," author and marketing expert Stu Heinecke told the Milford Daily News, "but cartoons do it in such an immediate and disarming way, they are the most effective involvement, engagement and persuasion device ever invented."
