7 Keys to a Successful April Fool's Joke
7 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL APRIL FOOL’S JOKE
Each April Fool’s Day, businesses use their creative freedom to play light-hearted pranks on their audience.
When done well, it aligns with your audience and has the potential to go viral, but it’s easy to get it wrong and damage a company’s reputation.
This can be caused by poor timing, misreading your audience or your audience simply taking you too literally and not seeing through the joke.
So how do you make sure you get it right? Here are our seven keys to a successful April Fools’ prank:
Understanding Your Audience
Make sure your idea is suitable for your target market. Perhaps even conduct market research beforehand. It can mean the difference between going viral and a PR backfire.
Test Your Idea Internally
Using a diverse group from within your company can identify potential issues or areas for improvement. You’re likely to find something you didn’t think of!
Keep It On-Brand
Remember your brand’s personality. If your culture is playful and mischievous, a good prank will feel more natural than if you’re more of a serious or professional brand.
Set Clear Boundaries
At all costs avoid harmful, misleading or inappropriate jokes and stay away from sensitive topics. This is why your testing is so important.
Engage With Your Audience
Design your prank so there is a level of interaction by your followers. Any engagement helps to increase the fun; eg polls, comments or direct responses.
Provide A Clear Reveal
At some point in the day, make sure it’s obvious that it was all in good fun. The quicker the reveal, the less likely people are to feel misled. Traditionally, pranks finish at noon!!
Measure The Impact
After the prank is over, assess its success. Did it generate positive engagement? Were there any negative reactions? Use this information to guide your approach for future campaigns.
Keep a look out! We can’t wait to see what some of the biggest brands have in store for us today!
