The use of humorous branded content in order to increase brand image - Case:Brändärit and Crazy Ones

Abstract

It is easier than ever before to avoid advertising. Current market situation forces the brands to invent new ways to reach and attract consumers´ attention. It is nowadays important to be able to evoke feelings, arouse conversations, amuse people and engage them in order to differentiate from the competitors. The content of the marketing message is today the thing to be focused on. Branded content is today “the marketing communication method” and it is becoming more utilized every day. Only few bands have been able to utilize it successfully for years. Also a humor is a popular way to communicate with consumers and its effectiveness have also been proved with several studies. For that reason the purpose of this study is to find out if it is possible to improve brand image by utilizing branded content and humor together and how does Finnish and American culture affect on an individuals´ sense of humor or does it. Two cases called sitcoms were studied; Brändärit and Crazy Ones. The focus of the theoretical framework will be on sponsorship, product placement, branded content, brand image, humor and culture. Several books, articles and other online content were used as a source of information. Methods that were used in this study were mostly descriptive. The results were collected through questionnaires and group interview. The objectives were achieved and the research question were answered. The results were strongly related to the previous studies and supported the theoretical framework.