o well for brands? Humor helps break down barriers. It makes brands feel more human, approachable, relatable, and enjoyable, and makes interaction with them more fun. It helps increase a brand’s visibility, as people love to share things that make them laugh. Plus, it helps memorability. And what brand doesn’t want to improve its consumers’ recall? But beyond ads, few brands use humor across their broader customer experience. Of course, advertising, by its very nature, must be attention-grabbing and instantly memorable. The very best brands have stretch – meaning they can step outside what’s expected in certain channels and communications. Still, overall, they have a consistent experience regardless of activity or channel. So why is there such a drop-off? Why can’t brands make us laugh more beyond campaigns and why aren’t more brands being funny? The Oracle report states that while humor is an incredibly powerful tool, it’s also viewed as a risky one. Comedy can be polarizing; not everyone finds the same thing funny. While it may have them rolling in the aisles, it may be downright insulting. This fear of getting it wrong – or worse, being canceled – is what’s holding back 95 per cent of brand managers and marketers. The king of brand comedy – in my opinion – is Aldi. The supermarket chain’s brilliant ads combine a quirky German-esque sense of humor with relatable insights. Beyond amusing campaigns, however, the overall Aldi customer experience quickly defaults to being value-driven. On its website, catalog and socials, there are glimpses of that more light-hearted side, with a love of alliteration, bright colorful imagery, and the occasional pun – Easter goodies have hopped into stores, see our bun-believable range of Easter eggs – but it’s a very light touch and feels different to the humor of its campaigns. My local store, at least, is entirely humour-free. For most people, grocery shopping isn’t the most fun experience; it’s a get-in and get-out-quick mission. But a few touches of humor wouldn’t go amiss. From renamed aisles to messages on feature products, making the Special Buys zone more fun might just bring the odd smile to customers’ faces and make it a more compelling and complete brand experience. So, what can you do to make your brand funnier? First and foremost, get to know your audience. Use data to find out what tickles their funny bone. A good stand-up comedian will hopefully have done their homework or will read the room quickly and adapt. Poke fun at yourself first. The best comedians can laugh at themselves. Likewise with brands, if you can make yourself the punchline, people are more likely to laugh along with you. Avoid negative stereotypes and be mindful of cultural differences. Comedy is all about – timing. Choose your moments. Humor at an inopportune time, like during a sensitive news event, natural disaster or PR crisis, never goes down well. Humor shouldn’t be used 24/7. Choose the moments when it is most relevant and impactful and will be best received. We all know a person who makes everything a joke and quickly gets labeled the clown. No one likes clowns. Play with your codes. If you’re lucky enough to have well-known brand codes, put them to work. Find opportunities to play with them and have some fun. Create those double-take moments and stop your brand from becoming wallpaper. Find ways that are most meaningful and relevant to your brand. Humor often appears when things don’t go as planned; for example, on pretty much every 404 page. It’s a great way to put a positive spin on something negative. But what about when things go as planned? People are more receptive and remember more when they are in a good mood. And lastly, be authentic (on brand). There are many types of humor, from corny dad jokes to the Ricky Gervais, ‘Did he really say that?’ or The Economist’s clever wit. Know yours and stick to it. And if humor has no place in your brand, don’t use it, just try to be warmer and more human instead. Humour isn’t an exact science but by getting to know your customers through data and research, you’ll have more confidence to find the moments to make them smile and laugh. And if you don’t, they might just take their loyalty, advocacy and repeat purchases elsewhere.