Not every business is struggling amid the economic downturn. Discounters, companies that help people save money, banko attorneys and the repo man aren’t the only businesses thriving.
Cheerful products that provide a respite from the real world are selling.
Products like the Oh Snap! Cheese Board and Cutter and The Bubble Calendar are selling well, while Giant Cheetos and Oreo Fun Stix (drink milk through an Oreo straw—brilliant!) are on their way.
The fact is, fun gets people talking. And we all know that word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing.
This all got me thinking about ways to fun-up some our client’s products and services, as well as our own.
So, who’s cornered the market on fun? In products? Services? B2B? B2C?
Comment below to share the fun!
For me Southwest is the first brand that pops in my mind when I think of fun. I read somewhere that part of the interview process requires prospective employees to tell a joke. Plus their ads often make me laugh out loud.
Too many companies take themselves waaaaay too seriously in their marketing. I think it’s a turnoff most of the time. It’s painful to see when fun isn’t executed well, but when it is I believe it’s highly effective.
The bubble calendar and the cheese board are pretty fun. The Cheetos and Oreo’s on the other hand are perfect example of irresponsible marketing. I don’t think people realize what a serious epidemic childhood obesity is in this country. Kids are being raised on this garbage. Cheetos and Oreo’s are about one step up from poison and packaging them as “funner” for kids is just sleazy.
My favorite e-newsletter is written by the very funny Michael J Katz (@MichaelJKatz), ‘The Chief Penguin’ at http://www.BluePenguinDevelopment.com
I’ve been reading him for five years, and his is the only newsletter I actually watch out for cause he’s usually the best read of my week: he never fails to make me laugh.
His quirky sense of humor, and use of personal, everyday stories to make exceptionally nuanced and useful points, made Michael my first and only choice when it came time to get help writing and launching our newsletter. It also makes him someone I’ll never get tired of referring.