I was remarking to a group of friends the other day that, since the pandemic, everything seems like it’s just gotten a lot more serious in the past few years. Maybe it’s the age I’m at – with aging parents and wondering what your college-aged-and-recently-graduated kids will do in the future. Maybe it’s the current political climate, the environmental climate, or just the general state of the world. (None of which are looking great right now.) Maybe it’s the worry about AI, too.
I don’t know.
All I do know is that, with the carefree days of my youth long past, things just seem a lot less fun than they used to be. And I don’t think I’m alone in this. A friend of mine said his mother told him the other day, “You used to smile a lot more and have more fun.”
Wow.
I raise this point simply because, at times like these, Americans need levity. We need fun. Fun keeps us going. Fun gives us something to look forward to. As a brand, if you’re able to make that part of your narrative, you can really stand out among the run-of-the-mill companies out there.
Certainly, there are industries where fun works – and where it doesn’t. Let’s start with the latter first.
Industries Where Being a Fun Brand Doesn’t Work Well
Some industries require a high degree of trust, seriousness, or sensitivity due to the nature of their products or services. In these sectors, a “fun” brand image flat out doesn’t really work and can undermine your credibility. Here are some of them.
- Legal Services: Law firms, legal consultancies, and related professions are expected to be serious, trustworthy, and professional. This is especially true with corporate, family, or immigration law, where the stakes can be high. That said, in areas such as trademark law or entertainment law, there certainly are some lawyers who do bring fun to the table. And if they can across as both fun and knowledgeable they will likely stand out.
- Financial Services: Banks, investment firms, and insurance companies typically handle people’s money and sensitive data. While some fintech brands have added playful elements, most consumers expect reliability and seriousness from these institutions.
- Healthcare and Medical Services: Hospitals, clinics, and medical device companies deal with health and life-or-death situations. This is definitely an industry to keep the ‘fun’ away.
- Funeral Services: Funeral homes and end-of-life planning services must approach their work with empathy and solemnity. That said, it’s not unheard of for some funeral homes to go there, but generally this is one that you may want to keep humor pretty far away.
- Security Companies: Companies that produce provide safety have to be clear and authoritative, as their products impact your safety and well-being. More so than fun, companies in this sector typically sell fear or anxiety.
- Utilities (Water, Gas, Electricity): These are essential services where reliability and trust are paramount. Overly playful branding can make them seem unserious about service delivery.
Industries Where Being a Fun Brand Can Work
Fun branding can help companies in competitive or “boring” sectors stand out, foster emotional connections, and increase memorability-especially when the stakes aren’t life-or-death or when the target audience is younger or more open to irreverence. Many of these examples might be more familiar to all of you as well.
- Food and Beverage (especially QSR/Fast Food): Brands like Wendy’s and Oreo have successfully used humor and playfulness to build loyal followings and stand out in crowded markets.
- Consumer Packaged Goods: Snacks, drinks, and household products can use fun branding to create memorable campaigns and encourage sharing.
- Entertainment: Music, gaming, and streaming services thrive on fun, energetic branding that matches their product experience.
- Health & Fitness: If you think about it, staying fit shouldn’t be a chore. It should be a choice – and an enjoyable one. That’s why many of the health & fitness studios we help will often focus on the “fun” part of working out.
- Travel and Leisure: Airlines, hotels, and tourism boards often use humor and playfulness to make their brands more approachable and memorable. After all, who doesn’t want to have fun on a vacation?
- E-commerce and Retail (non-essential goods): Fashion, gadgets, and specialty retailers can use fun branding to attract and engage customers. For this, much depends on the type of products or services you’re selling, too.
- Tech and Digital Services: Software companies like Slack and WeTransfer have injected fun into otherwise dry sectors, making their brands more relatable and user-friendly.
- Insurance (with caveats): What’s interesting is that the insurance industry, despite being rather serious in terms of what it does, is filled with brands that use humor: think Geico, Progressive, or Liberty Mutual. Perhaps this is an attempt to get away from the fact that
- Consulting/Coaching/Training: It’s perhaps a rare consultant who can come off both as fun and knowledgeable, but there are actually many who pull this off. Especially those that do fun types of training in areas such as improv or communication.
How Do You Build a ‘Fun’ Brand
On the surface, you might think a “fun” brand is about cracking jokes or posting memes. But it’s actually it’s a lot deeper than that – a much more strategic, deliberate process. Here’s a path you can follow:
No. 1. Define Your Brand’s Core Narrative and Personality
Start with clarity: What are your brand’s values, strengths, and beliefs? Is your brand quirky, witty, irreverent, or gently playful? How does it stand out from competitors? This narrative should be the thread that runs through all your communications, ensuring consistency and authenticity.
No. 2. Know Your Audience—Deeply
Fun is subjective. What delights one audience may alienate another. Research your target demographic’s preferences, cultural context, and sense of humor. For example, look at fast food companies such as KFC’s Twitter personas. It works because it resonates with a younger, internet-savvy crowd.
No. 3. Reinforce that Narrative with All Marketing Collateral
What we see happen too often is that companies might try to be “fun” in social media (where perhaps younger audiences are), but then they might become more serious in emails or on the website. What can happen is that you end up diluting your brand equity as it were. And it leads to a disjointed experience. If you decide to be a “fun” brand, it’s critical to make sure that you consistently project yourself that way. One thing to do: Create a style guide detailing tone, language, and humor boundaries to keep content on-brand.
No. 4. Involve Your Team’s Creative Voices
Empower the naturally funny people on your team to contribute ideas. Humor thrives when it’s authentic and comes from within the brand, not forced from the outside. One thing: Creativity isn’t an event or a single brainstorm. You have to be willing to foster it within your team or the agency that you work with.
No. 5. Experiment with Formats and Platforms
Different platforms reward different types of fun. Short, witty videos might thrive on TikTok, while clever image carousels or memes do well on Instagram. Written humor can shine in blogs or Twitter threads. Test and iterate to see what resonates.
No. 6. Engage Your Audience
Invite participation through challenges, contests, and user-generated content. For example, Planters’ trick shot challenge generated over a million audience posts, blending fun with community engagement.
Can You Be Both Serious and Fun?
Yes, but make sure you understand the nuances. Many brands successfully balance playfulness with purpose. One way to do this is to separate the seriousness of your actions (e.g., product quality, customer service) from the tone of your communications (which should stay consistent generally, as mentioned above. How do you thread the needle here? A few things:
- Use humor to humanize, not trivialize, your brand.
- Be clear about when to switch tones—serious for crisis communications, playful for engagement, and marketing.
- Anchor humor in your brand’s values and audience expectations.
Conclusion
If you’re considering changing your narrative or thinking about how to project a brand for a new company, we hope this helps – or at least provides a few ideas. After all, making “fun” part of your brand is a strategic choice that can pay huge dividends in engagement and loyalty. If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact us at Marketing Nice Guys for a free consultation.
