Here's wishing you a prosperous new year.

Loyal Think reader Jennifer Moore suggested that we examine whether humor in advertising is effective. It isn't, and it is. Stick with me, I'll explain. And since we all have the opportunity to make a new beginning in 2003, I wanted to provide some thoughts on boosting your personal brand.

Finally, help me reach more people in 2003. If you know someone who would benefit from this newsletter, please feel free to forward  to a friend.

Now, let's get started.

Cordially,

Harry Hoover
harry@hoover-ink.com

P.S. Are you reading a good marketing book, or attending a seminar to beef up your skills? Send me a note to tell me what you are doing to improve your brand.

Ink Briefs
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You've said you want to know more about the advertising business. Here's Ad Critic, a site that showcases the best of the ad biz. Check it out.



Writers, here's a site for you: Writer's Write. This site is a compendium of resources for the writer, or the would-be writer. You'll find reference resources, information about writers' conferences, jobs, as well as articles from top authors on how to improve your craft.



Marketers will find this site useful. The Marketing Virtual Library is one of the leading resource and reference sites on the Internet for those involved in marketing, market research, advertising, selling, promotion, and other marketing-related areas. Its goal is to offer a web site that is committed to providing valuable, unbiased, objective marketing information to professionals.




About Hoover ink PR

Hoover ink PR helps position businesses that are serious about their success. Then, we craft and deliver bottom line messages that ensure it.

Who are we? We're a marketing communications firm with more than 25 years experience in providing services to financial, high tech, real estate, tourism and consumer products companies.

From employee relations and media relations to collateral material and e-newsletters, we develop the programs and communication tools that will differentiate you from your competitors. And that's the bottom line.
 
  Humor In Advertising: It's No Laughing Matter

 Advertisers are always looking for ways to bust through media clutter, and humor is the hammer they typically go to first. A Roper survey says that 85 percent of consumers like commercials with humorous themes. But herein lies the problem. They may like them, but other research shows that humor alone is not enough to grab the consumer's attention, build awareness and increase recall.

There are three keys to the effective use of humor in advertising:

• humor should be related to the product

• humor should be strategically linked to how the consumer relates to the product

• humor should be appropriate for the target demographic

An example: Monster.com created ads about Ted, a young employee who posted his resume on Monster.com and suddenly became fascinating to everyone. Although not laugh-out-loud funny, the amusing TV spots worked because the target audience identified with them. They, too, wanted to be in demand. Did the spots work? While they were running resumes posted on Monster increased from 15,000 to 23,000 per day.

While the humor in the Ted spots worked, there is evidence that humor does not work at all in some product categories such as designer clothing, jewelry and sports cars.

According to Harlan Spotts of the University of Maryland, there's a personal attachment to those types of products, and so they are an expression of the consumer. Poking fun at the products is tantamount to poking fun at the consumer.

Spotts says that humor works for candy, cigarettes, snacks and beer because "these are the products that we buy for enjoyment. These are products people don't take seriously."

Finally, keep demographics in mind. Humor can be generational, so be careful not to cross the line of good taste as defined by your consumer. Otherwise, it is a waste of the advertiser's money and the consumer's time.

  You - The Brand

OK, it's 2003. So what are you doing to improve your personal brand? If I may be so bold, I have recommendations that will help you improve the brand called You.

We all have social, cultural, intellectual, and personal needs that may not necessarily be addressed in our daily work. Address these needs and you begin to improve your brand. Here is my agenda for building your brand in 2003:

• join and participate in community and professional organizations

• generate media coverage about your brand

• stay in touch, or renew old ties with friends, family and business associates

Now, you're asking, "how will those three things help?" Find out here.