Why Your Brand Should be in the Business of Entertaining

Written on 12/3/15 4:39 PM

At RPM, we believe that brands should entertain. It’s one of the reasons we use a party analogy when describing the marketplace. A party, and the myriad guests it attracts, is a concept we can all understand.

Who hasn’t been to a party with a close talker? That guest who makes you feel uncomfortable because they’ve crossed the line between acceptable conversation and too much implied intimacy (much akin to being served an ad that makes you realize your every online move is being watched)?

Or what about the person who corners you and won’t stop talking, even though all they talk about is themselves? And that guest who shouts across the room for attention, over and over again (during football season the same ads constantly cycle, quickly making what might have been amusing just downright annoying)? Nobody wants to be that guy because nobody wants to be with that guy.

When we talk about entertaining brands at RPM we’re not talking about clown cars and juggling acts. We’re not even talking about brands that make us laugh, or make us happy. Because “entertaining” doesn’t have a singular definition that applies to everyone, we are all entertained by different things, even at different times. We’d even argue that to try to entertain everyone is to actually entertain no one.

People are wired to want to be entertained, and there’s actual science behind the idea. Unconsciously, we are always seeking sources of entertainment, even when we’re alone (people watching is a free, highly available source of entertainment everywhere). Studies have shown that when something entertains us we:

• find it more interesting
• pay attention longer
• retain memory of the experience longer and with greater clarity
• apply positive attributes to the thing that entertains us

That’s why brands that entertain are like the guests we can’t wait to arrive, and the ones we don’t want to leave. They’re like the guy we gather around because he knows how to tell a story, the one who brings the extra pizza and knows how to fix the wi-fi when the music goes out. We pay attention to them not because they’re the loudest or craziest but because they demonstrate they understand that a party isn’t an event, it’s people.

When we talk about entertaining brands, what we’re really saying is simple: create a connection with people. Brands that entertain are attuned to their customers’ needs and invested in capturing and holding their attention in a way that’s meaningful and memorable for them.

Be that guest who knows how to work the party. They’re usually the ones who get invited back.