No Joke, Your Brand May Not be a Fit for April Fools' Day

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PayAnywhere


 Every email this morning seems to start with "No Joke" or "No Kidding" and then details about the company's latest sale. The problem with this bland repetition is that every email and message looks the same, so instead of your business being topical your message becomes noise. While it is important for your brand to keep up with holidays and news items your business should only participate if it is an actual fit for your brand and if you have something relevant and creative to add to the discussion. 

Here are two important things to remember when deciding whether to participate in April Fools' Day:

  1. Do I have an interesting message that will stand out? If not, skip blending in with the crowd and just send a regular message. A regular message will stand out more than a generic no foolin', no joke or no kidding message. Don't contribute to inbox clutter.
  2. If you're deciding whether to play a prank then make sure it is something that will actually be funny and interesting, not annoying or get in the way of your clients or customers interacting with your business.

A great example of a prank gone wrong is how Google tried to take their serious business product Gmail and embed a Minions "mic drop" prank button. The prank allowed you to send a GIF of a Minion dropping a microphone to your contacts. This had disaster written all over it before it began. People began accidentally sending the GIF in business emails, to interviewers, bosses and clients. This prank gone awry illustrates that certain things just shouldn't be messed with on April Fools' Day. Examples of a list of things that should never be included in pranks include products that individuals and businesses rely on every day, anything medical and anyone who touches your food. Really think hard about whether you would find it funny as a customer before you try do to something to be funny as a business.

Before you hit send on that email or post, ask yourself those important two questions of whether your message is noise and if it benefits more than it has potential to harm.