Come the 1st of April, and the frivolity of Fool’s Day wrests open pandora’s box to marketing ideas. This annual, tongue-in-cheek custom undermines the formal tone of professionalism surrounding business relationships, helping brands break the ice with their consumer base.
It is the ideal time for copywriters, marketers, and advertisers to double back on all the quirky ideas they hid in their notepads, too shy to attempt in real-life campaigns. The tone of the day allows them to take chances without the fear of backlash.
Comic timing can achieve so much more than just sales.
It can achieve a sense of familiarity with your customers toward your brand. They will want to connect on an emotional level rather than from commercial necessity. Understand that the main idea is to unearth a positive emotion in customers so that they instinctively associate your brand with that positivity.
Here are 4 ways marketers can do that:
#1 Use Video and Photo Editing to Your Advantage
You will need to assemble a storyboard of the most relevant images and video shots toward your campaign. Upon this, edit funny concepts that target everyone’s inner troll. Your creatives and social media posts will take on a special meaning if your marketing department accustoms themselves to the material before putting on their absurdist spins to it.
Make sure your video editors and digital artists are whetting their talents in the weeks preceding April. As a manager or business owner, involve yourself in the fun campaign to lighten the mood surrounding it.
#2 Prank Consumers in Real Time on Social Media
The bedrock of a good April Fools marketing campaign is to connect with customers as seamlessly as possible, triggering grins that pierce their daily routine. Connection works better in real time, when there is a two-way medium of interaction between customer and brand, as it is on social media.
The social media marketing medium is diverse enough to allow for various methods that connect with customers looking to kill some time, such as polls, comments, photos, digital art, comics’ panels, reels, and videos. Using these to prank the many “doomscrollers” and “gleefreshers” on your Followers list can get you the familiar reputation you want.
#3 Advertise for a Fake Product, Make Outlandish Announcements
Your ads can also utilize the many products at your disposal to play at an absurdist campaign. Advertise for fake products that are based on your products, but whose features are exaggerated for comic effect. Offer unrealistic discounts that make people think twice and smile. For example: “Rob these shoes off our mannequins at 90% off” or “Buy 2 and get all your money back.” These ads can even generate traffic and conversions to your actual products if you design them well.
Make a humorous announcement related to your product or industry to garner some attention. It could be an announcement about a celebrity endorsing your product, someone you otherwise wish would endorse your product. Or it could be an eccentric joke at the expense of your own brand or a competitor If the humor sticks, you can make a far-reaching impression.
#4 Distribute Quirky Promo Products
The end result of a contest held on social media can be promotional products as prizes. With a twinkle in your eyes, distribute quirky ones that reflect the frivolous nature of the day: soft toys, fidget spinners, and magic bubbles are some relevant ideas
April’s Fools is also a delightful opportunity to raise company morale. The occasion brings out an atmosphere of humor among the employees. Managers can think up event concepts to get more familiar with their people. You can also give away signs and posters to your employees printed with jokes made at their expense. Allow them to do the same to you. Distribute products themed on fun & games, and solidify the fellowship within the office.
The idea of promotional product campaigns can be traced to a historic trend started in the U.S. and the nation is now home to the largest promotional product trade associations in the world. If you are a brand in North America, looking for more ideas on how to streamline your marketing campaigns on a special day like Fool’s Day, contact a well-established promo company like Promo Direct for consultations.