Using emotion in marketing communication can work fantastically. But only if the right emotion is evoked!
Popular vegan marketing emotions
Vegan businesses, animal rights NGOs, environment groups, etc have traditionally built their communication around 3 main marketing emotions:
- Fear – If you don’t do this, this is what the future will look like
- Disgust – See this is the behind-the-scenes cruel reality
- Rational appeal – These are the facts, figures, features.
Neither marketing emotion is unjustified or false. Facts underlying veganism, sustainability, animal rights automatically elicit either fear, disgust or logic.
But, how has that worked for engagement and growth?
Not as well as we’d have liked, right?
Why?
Fear, disgust and rationality attract attention.
But they do not get shared.
They do not get revisited.
They either repel the TG OR
Sound preachy and dramatic OR
Dry and boring
Either ways, communications based on these marketing emotions can be a turn-off for the prospective customers.
So what is the alternative?
Humor! (Much loved, yet difficult to master marketing emotion)
Use humor to convey the same science, same facts to the same niche or target audience.
Humor is retained
It gets remembered.
And it gets shared.
Brands that have a witty, playful, lighthearted tone of voice always see much higher engagement and brand love. Think Swiggy, Zomato, Indigo, The Whole Truth, PhonePe.
Just think back to the last few messages you forwarded or shared with your network or the brands you followed? Most of them would have either made you laugh or entertained you in some way. If we wanted fearful messages, we would have simply read or listened to the news, right? 😉
“Our Link ad testing database also shows that not only is it a great way to get a reaction, but it can make your advertising really stand out from the crowd. Humorous ads are more expressive (+27 point increase), more involving (+14) and more distinct (+11).
Only 33% of the ads we research at Kantar incorporate some form of humour, yet half of our Kantar Creative Effectiveness Award winners use it.”
Humor as the primary marketing emotion for niche category:
For a niche category like vegan products, humor is far more impactful. It makes the brand attractive not only for its TG but if it’s really good, it can get brand awareness amongst masses too. (Entreprenuer)
Best examples?
Dollar Shave Club or Squatty Potty! I have nothing to do with men’s monthly razor subscription and I am not interested in talking about ‘shit’ (literally). Yet here I am, not only remembering and sharing but also appreciating these brands:
Dollar Shave Club: Its ad for such a niche product was really entertaining and funny.
Squatty Potty: Tackled a difficult, not-really-pleasant and dry subject with aplomb. (Can you believe it: I actually watched the entire 2.5 mins long ad the first time I came across it, despite not being the TG).
Birla HIL Pipes: If humor can make something as boring as plumbing pipes (that aren’t even truly B2C) go viral, imagine what it can do when used for your vegan business?
My suggestion: If you are wary of message dilution or don’t know if all of your TG will find it funny, then don’t make the entire piece funny. Simply inject a bit of humor within your content.
But do not reject humor outright.
Especially, during Veganuary. Especially till vegan products are still a niche (hopefully not for long) and considered depressing or preachy by non-vegans.
Comparative examples: PETA vs PETA
One of the oldest and most vocal brands in the animal rights space, PETA heavily relies on shock advertising (fear/disgust/racy) to create controversy and drive home the message.
Check out the following PETA ads- one causing Disgust and others raising a chuckle or two.
Tell me, which one made you more receptive of the message and more positive towards the brand?
Disgust Ad:
Behind the leather https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs8yqcrqo1s
Humor Ads:
If serial killers spoke like meat-eaters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5h_AXTK03c OR
If Vegans said the stuff meat-eaters say https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ikwofGUtYY
None of these ads took away from the seriousness of the message. They simply provided a different POV and injected a bit of humor in the process.
VMLL tip:
You might want to check out White Label Comedy , the first agency I came across that helps bring humor in your marketing and even sells digital products to help with DIY humor in marketing. (I am not associated with them. Just a happy consumer).
PS: For some useful Do’s and Don’ts of humor in ads, you can check out this article or this one.
Want to know 4 effective ways to inject humor into your marketing? Read <— issue of Vegan Marketing Love Letters.
Question to think about : 💡
Do you want your communication to earn customer trust, retention and engagement or do you want attention, controversy and heated debates?
Should you want to talk, I am just an email away. You know that, right?
