Put The Power Of ‘Fun’ In Your Marketing

Fun is big business with a purpose. All activities are geared toward gaining an audience of potential buyers.

CMOs should seriously consider the topic of fun. Fun drives traffic and strengthens brand awareness.

“We wanted to do something meaningful that got people’s attention—something fun to celebrate the season” said Kathy Collins, CMO of H&R Block. During this tax season, H&R Block will give away $1,000 to 1,000 customers daily for 32 consecutive days. The effort will be supported by social media, TV commercials, and local marketing at H&R Block retail locations.

Fun is big business with a purpose. All activities are geared toward gaining an audience of potential buyers.

Even Mercedes-Benz USA jumped into “fun” this past holiday season with a giveaway of 1,000 prizes. “We had this clever idea of helping our customers find the perfect Santa gift,” said Mark Aikman, general manager of marketing services at Mercedes-Benz. “We hope people will continue to follow the brand [on social] for some pretty amazing things.”

Fun can be a surprise gift at your customer’s front door, as was the case for an associate of mine who came home to a wondrous box of goodies from International Delight. This company has embraced the concept of consumer-generated content and all-out fun and brand enjoyment. The company explained that its social presence on Pinterest is to “Delight our consumers with relevant, highly engaging, beautiful content.” Its International Delight Pinterest page has more than 30 boards, each designed to provide inspiration to its consumers. The company explained that the value of its two paid Pinterest campaigns was an investment of $15K—for which it received $136K in earned media.

Taco Bell has engaged in numerous humorous and fun-based marketing campaigns on social media. “Instead of sitting behind glass and listening to a focus group, we now have access to 20 million consumers and can be inspired by them … and have real relationships with them,” noted Tressie Lieberman, senior director of digital marketing platforms and social engagement at Taco Bell.

My three fun takeaways?

1. Develop campaigns that encourage interaction and participation, such as themed photos or videos that highlight consumers’ excitement about their brand involvement in creative and fun ways.
2. Don’t be afraid to venture out of your own brand “norm.” Step outside but within the boundaries of what will be embraced by your audience. Develop fun that reinforces your core brand messaging yet drives new passion for greater brand curiosity.
3. Getting consumers directly involved in the brand via a delivered surprise with an invitation and incentive to comment about the brand in social channels can help to spread the word to a new audience from an authentic source.

In summary, fun might not be a new concept to marketers, yet with new platforms to help spread the word, embracing fun invites and encourages significant brand interaction and engagement in a new way that promotes positive perception, greater brand site traffic, and increased brand awareness.