While the effectiveness of using humor in advertising is well-documented and certainly one of the most commonly used advertising strategies, the use of humor in branding is a less commonly used tactic. It can, however, be an extremely successful strategy for a number of important reasons. An underlying strategy of many branding tactics is to encourage supplementary cognitive processing about a brand, thereby increasing brand awareness, recall, and recognition. In short, it is a way to grab the attention of the consumer for a crucial extra few seconds. Humor is a particularly effective way to increase cognitive processing because at the same time consumers are becoming familiarized with the brand, they are also associating positive affect (thoughts, feelings, emotions) with the brand. So consumers will not only remember the brand, but they will remember the brand favorably. Humor can be used in any aspect of a branding strategy, including the brand name itself, the logo, the slogan, and the domain name. Here are some examples:

Note that humor is often derived from unusual graphics and linguistic devices such as rhyming, alliteration, wordplay, and use of colloquial language.   

An effective brand name can be created using a number of linguistic approaches. The small business owner must endeavor to find the name that will be most effective for the business by investigating a range of options using a number of different techniques and approaches. One of these techniques is the word merger.  This branding strategy fuses two very meaningful and positive words to create a unique and indentifiable brand name.  This technique is effective because, firstly, it prompts the consumer to engage in an extended cognitive process as the word combination is identified, understood, and appreciated. Moreover, even if the word combination is not identified consciously, it will still have a positive effect on the consumer subconsciously. For example, many consumers are very familiar with the Verizon brand name. However, the majority have probably never taken the time to consider the origin of the brand, which is a merger of “vertical” and “horizon.” Nevertheless, the subconscious mind does recognize and absorb the meaning of both words in the merger, which has a positive impact on consumer’s perception of the brand.

Secondly, the meanings of the two words create positive meaning which is then transferred to the brand.  The best word mergers will create a new, distinct “word”, in effect, which clearly conveys the meaning of both words simultaneously. The brand “Fruitopia” is an excellent example because the brand creates its own unique meaning – “a utopia characterized by an abundance of fruit”. Similarly, “Striant” could be defined as “striding forward with confidence and defiance”, and “Travelocity” as “planning a trip or traveling with speed, ease, and convenience.” Note that Travelocity has the additional feature of fitting both words together seamlessly as the last three letters of “travel” are the first three letters of “velocity.”  In fact, Nextel, Striant, Fruitopia, and Verizon all have this characteristic, although not to the same level of elegance as Travelocity.

It is worth mentioning the Accenture brand, which is interesting in that the words in the merger are ambiguous.  It could be a merge of "accent" and "adventure," but the brand is actually intended to convey "an accent on the future."  The logo helps to clarify the meaning by using the accent mark above the "t" to suggest the word "accent", and the direction of the mark to imply the word "future". 

Here are some additional examples of word mergers:

Another particularly effective branding strategy is the development of a name which is suggestive of the primary product benefit(s). The advantages of this are 1) the consumer has an instant understanding of the advantages of the product, 2) there is a clear delineation of the market segment, 3) there is a tendency to assume that the brand is the best in the category for the implied benefit(s), 4) the brand name is more easily recognized and recalled, and 5) the brand will therefore have the clear potential to be the leader in the market niche.  Examples of this technique follow:

                                           








               

                        


                      

                                      

A tool that is never referenced in marketing textbooks, but that is used in approximately 20% of branding and advertising strategies is “polysemy” (literally, “multiple meanings”), more commonly known as wordplay. In this post will focus on wordplay in brand names, although it is an important issue in the context of slogans and advertising content as well (these will be addressed in later posts). Once again, this linguistic technique is effective because it motivates the consumer to engage in additional processing of the brand name, making it much more likely that the consumer will remember the name. Many will also appreciate the nuances of the branding strategy, associating positive affect with brand. Many very well known brand names utilize wordplay, and while not necessarily all consumers will consciously process the wordplay, the strategy often works on a subconscious level. A good example is the sandwich franchise Subway. In one sense, it refers to submarine sandwiches, while in another it refers to an underground train. Examining the subway logo, notice that arrows going either way imply a subway, and in fact suggest that the depiction of the word “Subway” itself is an abstract representation of a subway. Note also that these meanings are also reflected their business model, as the sandwiches are made in an assembly-line process, suggesting a subway with stops at many different stations.

Other wordplay tactics are much more noticeable.  "Spellbound" is a movie about competitors in a spelling bee. Men’s Wearhouse is an interesting example because one read of the brand name imparts both meanings. That is, the consumer will process the meaning of “a men’s clothing warehouse”, indicated by the word “wear” and the implied meaning, “warehouse.”

Wordplay is also used in the branding strategies of television programs. One quite clever example is the early morning news program on the CNN Headline News channel, Robin & Company. The program is hosted by Robin Meade, and implies 1) the name of a company with the common “& Company” suffix, as well as 2) “Robin and the people who keep her company” (as depicted in the banner).

                             

Here are some additional examples:

            




                               






                


                

                           








             

                  

Please note that Spotrunner is a television advertising agency, Get Real is an organic food company, MeetWithApproval.com provides web meeting technology, Sleep On It is a mattress retailer, Jumpstart Automotive Media is an advertising network company for the automotive industry, AnyWhey is a protein powder that can be mixed with food, HeadOn is a pain reliever that is applied to the head, The Ugly Mug is a coffee shop, Eventful.com is a site that promotes events such as concerts, politcal speakers, religious conventions, etc., and Far Fetched is an Asian import company.

Finally, notice the wordplay in the title of this post. "Branding Wordplay" has a more noticeable meaning of "wordplay in a branding context." However, perhaps a less obvious connotation is "taking wordplay and branding it."

A small business entrepreneur’s decisions in the initial stages of a new business venture are among the most important he or she will make over the life of the business. These decisions form the foundation of the business, structuring every other future business decision. In a very real sense, these early branding and strategy selections determine the success or failure of the business. So it is absolutely critical that these decisions are made with careful, considered, and exhaustive deliberation. Exacerbating the significance of initial brand strategy decisions, they are costly and difficult to modify or correct in the later stages of the business life cycle.

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs do not realize the full importance of creating the most effective branding strategy possible for their company from the very beginning. The best way to insure your company against faulty and potentially debilitating branding strategies is the use of brainstorming techniques. Brainstorming is simply a method of group decision making characterized by the unbiased consideration of a wide range of options. Many small business owners may think of a name for their company which is meaningful to them, but not particularly effective in acting as the company’s identity, building a loyal customer base, or creating a steady stream of profits. Brainstorming involves the following steps:

1). Idea Generation

Collect ideas from a number of sources (for example, business partners, team members, employees, colleagues). It is important at this stage that each team member does not know the ideas being generated by their colleagues (this would skew and disrupt an individual’s creative process). It is also important at this stage that no one on the brainstorming team evaluates the ideas generated. In order to create and select the best idea, brainstorming circumvents circumstances which are subject to human bias. One of these biases is the assignment of partiality to ideas which are generated first. This is why it is important for a range of ideas to be generated, randomly presented, and evaluated on their own merits.

This very disruptive primacy group bias can be observed quite readily on NBC’s The Apprentice. Every week, the participants must make strategy decisions which propel and direct them through the week’s project. After receiving their assignment, the team members typically find themselves in a conference room deciding the elements of their marketing plan. Almost without fail, the first idea generated is the only idea considered, and is the idea that is implemented. In a recent episode when a team implemented a miserably failed marketing strategy, one of the participants (Derek, see photo on left) distanced himself from the decision-making process by explaining that, since no one was generating any ideas during their brainstorming session, he had just “thrown out” (ie., introduced) some inferior ideas in order to start some discussion. However, because his ideas were the first ones generated, they were immediately accepted and implemented by the team, leading to a lopsided loss. As can be seen from this example, this first option bias is very powerful, and should be avoided by using an extensive, involved, and multi-perspective decision-making process which includes brainstorming.

2.) Present Ideas

Next, each idea should be introduced to the team in random order. It is important at this stage to continue to refrain from evaluating any of the ideas. The team should be presented with a short summary of each idea. The ideas should not be discussed at this point. The most effective decision will be made when each team member has had unevaluated exposure to all ideas.

Another bias which brainstorming works to avoid is the evaluation of an idea based on the affect associated with the person who generated the idea.  It is easy to see how this affect transfer bias can affect the outcome of a brainstorming session, as the dislike of a person can easily lead to the negative evaluation of that person’s idea (note the situation in the photo on the left, in which Surya's ideas were often discounted by his team members who felt he was constantly obsessed with minutia). It is therefore crucial that the presentation of ideas not include any reference to the team member who generated the idea.

3.) Rank Ideas

The team members should then rank the ideas individually. Individuals modify their opinions based on the opinions of others. It is therefore critical that each team member evaluate each idea on their own before any group discussion occurs so that there is an unbiased record of their original opinions.

4.) Determine Order of Consideration

One of the team members (a supervisor or assigned moderator) should then examine all rankings and then decide the order in which the ideas will be discussed from overall lowest rank to highest rank (this reverse order will tend to counteract any residual primacy bias).

5.) Evaluate Ideas

The options should be discussed and evaluated in order, after which the group should decide on the most appropriate and effective idea to pursue. 
 

6.) Develop the Idea

Too often the selection of an idea ends the brainstorming process and the idea is implemented exactly as originally specified. On the contrary, the chosen idea should be considered a preliminary version upon which the entire group can collaborate to create the final strategic plan.

While the above process is ideal, the typical sole proprietor or entrepreneur may not be in the position to follow such a strict protocol. Nevertheless, all small business ventures should be preceded by some type of extended decision-making process which includes the solicitation and consideration of ideas from a number of sources. For example, when searching for the most appropriate domain name, an entrepreneur might 1.) brainstorm to find some potential names which are currently unregistered, 2.) perform extensive searches on sites like GreatDomains.com, Sedo.com, and Afternic.com to find potential names which are currently registered and for sale, 3.) post requests for appropriate domain name suggestions on sites like NamePros.com and DNForum.com, 4.) solicit ideas from experts on sites like AllExperts.com, Ingenio.com, YahooAnswers.com, or Wondir.com, and 5.) hire a marketing, branding, or advertising agency to develop or assist in the development of a brand identity. An effective decision can therefore be made by evaluating the comprehensive list of options elicited from a wide range of sources and perspectives.