The glut of marketing messages flooding the marketplace is no longer just anesthetizing consumers. It is being received by many with hostility and seen more as an invasion of privacy than just a sales pitch. “In a world where consumers can do whatever they want, you need to say, ‘I value your attention. I want to borrow your attention and amaze you enough that you will let me borrow your attention the next time too,’” says Seth Godin, author of several best-selling business books and an advocate for permission-based marketing.

As marketers seek to capitalize on the latest technological advances to deliver their integrated marketing messages, they must develop strategies that not only grab consumers’ attention but also actively engage their interest in a significant fashion. One such way is to inject humor into your messaging. Consider these tips:

• Use humor to make a point, not just to score a laugh. That was the thinking behind the classic ad by direct mail marketer Jeff Paul, “How I Made $4,000 a Day Working in My Underwear from My Kitchen Table.” “[Paul] painted a comical word picture that got the customer’s attention and made him chuckle, while at the same time showing the consumer that he too could make money in his Jockeys,” notes humorist Peter Fogel, a copywriting expert in Richmond Hill, N.J.

• Get serious after you get a grin. “Carrying the humor throughout an entire piece could turn people off, cloud your company’s message, or, worse yet, give the impression that the company itself is a joke,” says Brian Baumley, public relations manager at Telcordia, a software provider based in New Jersey.

• Make fun of yourself, not your product. In his first TV ad, Pete Slosberg, creator of Pete’s Wicked Ale, was shown trying to peddle “photos with Pete” from a booth on a downtown street. “Who’s Pete?” a passerby wanted to know. The ad’s tagline: “Not yet world famous.” Thanks to this kind of self-effacing humor, Slosberg and his company quickly built a well-known brand.

To help companies of every size make their integrated marketing communication strategies stand out in an environment where consumers pick and choose which messages they will allow in, FuelNet has released the new Smart Paper 10 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers. The free paper includes actionable insights on how to:

• market to a customer’s lifestyle
• target influential consumers
• capitalize on green marketing
• play into customers’ emotions
• get more sociable on the Web.

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