Humor is a powerful tool to capture attention, create a memorable impression, and generate positive emotions. But how do you use humor effectively in billboard ads, and how do you measure its impact on your campaign goals? In this article, we'll share some tips and examples of how to use humor in billboard ads, and how to evaluate its performance.
Before you craft a humorous message, you need to know who you're talking to. What kind of humor appeals to your target market? What are their pain points, preferences, and expectations? How will they perceive your brand and your offer? You want to avoid humor that is offensive, irrelevant, or confusing to your audience. Instead, you want to use humor that resonates with them, that shows empathy and understanding, and that aligns with your brand voice and personality.
If you are measuring the effectiveness of your humour you don’t understand humour. Humour is highly subjective, often polarising. What you need to measure is did the ‘humour’ work to first create attention for the ad and then with it intention. That intention can range from consideration to learning more to buying the product or service.
Billboard ads have a very limited time and space to communicate your message. You don't want to waste it with long or complex jokes that require too much effort or attention to get. You want to use humor that is simple, direct, and easy to understand. You also want to make sure that your humor supports your main message, not distracts from it. Your humor should highlight your value proposition, your unique selling point, or your call to action, not obscure it.
I've always appreciated the use of humor in OOH, however it needs to be on brand. The most-clever, humorous, on-brand messaging I can remember is Franks Red Hot... they unapologetically broadcasted their multi-meida messaging that "I put that **** on everything", and it encouraged engagement with fans of the hot sauce, while not alienating anyone that was not attune to their tongue-and-cheek, advertising. There are brands like @BitchinSauce (and others) that I think could similarly benefit from including witty OOH in their media mix, and look forward to seeing continued humor in the OOH space!
Humor is more effective when it is fresh, surprising, and related to the context. You don't want to use humor that is stale, predictable, or out of touch. You want to use humor that is creative, original, and relevant to the situation. You can use humor that references current events, trends, or pop culture, as long as they are appropriate and familiar to your audience. You can also use humor that plays on words, images, or symbols, as long as they are clear and meaningful.
Humor is not an isolated element of your billboard ad. It is part of your overall campaign strategy and brand identity. You want to use humor that is consistent and coherent with your other marketing channels, your brand values, and your campaign objectives. You don't want to use humor that contradicts or confuses your message, your tone, or your image. You want to use humor that reinforces and enhances your brand identity, your positioning, and your differentiation.
Humor is subjective and variable. What works for one audience may not work for another. What works today may not work tomorrow. That's why you need to test and measure the effectiveness of your humor in billboard ads. You can use various methods and metrics to evaluate the impact of your humor on your campaign goals, such as awareness, recall, engagement, conversion, or loyalty. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online tools to gather feedback from your audience. You can also use analytics, tracking, or attribution to measure the results of your humor on your website, social media, or sales.