Make them laugh, make them cry...

Why tone of voice and humour - so critical to successful marketing campaigns - should be tested by their intended audience

Nov 21, 2021

Good morning, dear reader! Here is the week’s news likely to impact you, delivered with insight on why it matters and ideas on what to do about it.

📸 But first, flashback to issue 38 in which - after baulking at Crypto.com’s TV campaign and a digital token named after Elon Musk’s dog being pushed in a major advertising campaign on London’s tube, I concluded that marketers need to aim much higher than mere ‘compliance’. Well, this week, a London Assembly member called for a ban on those dodgy (doggy?) tube ads, the Bank of England warned that the risk of crypto is ‘getting closer’, and the FT reported on how regulators here and in the US are clamouring to reach younger investors to warn them about crypto.

📸 Another flashback: to issue 33 in which we discussed whether bank branches were still essential for building trust with customers. Citi, for one, still believes in branches and this week opened a sparkly new flagship in Manhattan.

👉🏻 Now, read on to learn why:

① Tone of voice is just as important as the content of a message.

② Humour can make or break a marketing campaign.

③ Messages should be tested by their intended audience.

④ It takes young dogs to teach old ones new tricks.

⑤ Distributed ledger technology is ready for prime time.

⑥ Financial marketers can’t afford to ignore Facebook.

⑦ We don’t always mean what we say.

What's new?

Fintech darling Revolut launched a promotional menstruation campaign this week and…err…well, I’ll let Finextra tell the story.

Source: Finextra, 18 November 2021

In short:

“Following the announcement that Revolut would partner with organic menstrual care provider Yoppie to ‘cover the cost of period care,’ the banking fintech has seen strong backlash against the campaign’s abysmal execution.”
"The ‘Invest in Yourself’ campaign promises to cover the costs of Yoppie’s organic menstrual care products for 12 months for current Revolut Metal users, and anyone who upgrades to the Metal plan by the end of February 2022.”
“An infographic released alongside the announcement has only exacerbated the negative reaction, which outlines the ‘true cost of a period’ by listing junk food, chocolate, wine as essential expenses related to menstruation.”

Why does it matter?

Dear God, where do I start with this? Well, let’s look for the positives first. It’s certainly a good idea to plan marketing around subjects your clients care about. It’s also perfectly sensible to lean into themes of equality and forge partnerships with brands that can deliver complementary value to your clients. So, I can see how this campaign took shape - in theory at least.

① The real issue here is the execution. Specifically:

Tone of voice: It’s hard to pinpoint a specific reason but there’s something inherently patronising and condescending about the language used.
Humour: I’m sure at the planning stage it seemed very witty indeed to devise an infographic illustrating ‘the true cost of a period’ by claiming wine and chocolate are essential period expenses. But no woman, menstruating or not, is going to find trivialising a real social issue with trite stereotypes amusing.
Focus: Somewhere hidden deep under the disrespectful tone and the puerile jokes, there’s a valid and compelling message about the value of investing even small amounts and how the benefits add up over time. But without focus, this is lost and that’s perhaps the biggest shame here.

I’ll do what Revolut clearly didn’t before signing off on this campaign and leave the last word to a woman, my Twitter pal Sharon:

Sharon O'Dea

@sharonodea

Quelle surprise they’ve found a way to make this even more condescending than it already was.

(CC @LizLum @TheScribbleBug @ninamohanty @LedaGlyptis @SarahKocianski ) https://t.co/BL4kWk44bH https://t.co/Ram69CSrpR

10:23 AM - 18 Nov 2021

What's next?

Take action

Before signing off on any communications, be sure to consider not just the content of the message but the tone of voice too. They work in unison and if they’re not both right, you’re likely to stumble. It’s worth documenting what your tone of voice is. Not only have Monzo done so very well but they’ve shared it externally too.

② Humour is enormously powerful. Used correctly, it’s engaging, disarming and memorable. All noble goals for any marketing effort. But use it with caution. Get it wrong and it will blow up in your face.

③ Finally, and as obvious as it sounds, tone of voice and humour are highly subjective things so it’s worth testing them before they go out the door. The best way to do that is to put your ideas in front of someone who is as close as possible to your intended audience.

Get help

Visit InMarketing, a resource library for leaders in finance or technology who want to innovate, interact and influence.

If you have a question, just hit ‘reply’ or send me a tweet.

Share

Can I ask you a favour? If you found this post useful or know someone who would, please share it with your professional network.

What else?

Three other articles that are worthy of your time.

FINANCE

Big banks could boost revenues by 4% by following Monzo and Starling Bank

④ Sometimes it takes young dogs to teach old ones new tricks.

Source: AltFi, 19 November 2021

“Banks have an opportunity to earn $518bn more per year in revenues by 2025 by copying the business models of digital-only challengers, according to a new report from Accenture.”
“What started as somewhat small revenues being earned by digital-only banking players is now building into a steady and quickly growing wall of cash from the new wave of competitors.”
“The report notes that with a total rethinking of large banks business models and embracing strategies similar to digital-only banking and financial services new entrants, traditional banks could boost revenues by nearly 4 per cent.”

None of this is any surprise to Anne Boden who this week said that Starling could overtake Barclays in the SME market within five years.

TECHNOLOGY

SIX Digital Exchange launches

⑤ Distributed ledger technology is ready for regulated, institutionalised, prime time.

Source: Finextra, 19 November 2021

“SIX Digital Exchange has issued the world’s first digital bond in a fully regulated environment.”
“A bond comprising two exchangeable parts has been issued. The first, digital, part will be listed and traded on SDX Trading and centrally held by SIX Digital Exchange. A second, traditional, part will be listed and traded on the original SIX Swiss Exchange.”
“The offering was oversubscribed several times and attracted strong interest from a broad institutional investor base in Switzerland, says SIX.”

MEDIA & MARKETING

Who is actually using Facebook?

⑥ Financial marketers can’t afford to ignore Facebook, even if they increasingly eschew it in their personal lives.

Source: The Dubs, 17 November 2021

“With the first Facebook users now entering their 30’s and 40’s, Facebook is faced with an ageing population. In the UK and US, the 26-34 year age group is the largest demographic base.”
“Creating content that’s targeted towards an older age group will see you generate more meaningful leads and create stronger customer relationships.”
“Share slightly more serious and sophisticated products and services.”

Well said

⑦ The Economist’s Bartleby column on what your colleagues really mean: