Stand-up comedians provide valuable lessons for brands. The document outlines three lessons: 1) Acknowledge negative perceptions to control audiences, 2) Let audiences fill in gaps for more memorable experiences, 3) Flip arguments to find more interesting messaging. Examples are provided of comedians' jokes that demonstrate these lessons, along with how brands have applied similar strategies successfully.

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What Brands Can FROM
Learn From
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sTand Up

2. Matt Box
Senior Strategist
George P. Johnson
@MattBoxxx
I’ve worked in
various strategy
roles for the last 7
years but recently
I’ve picked up a bit
of a hobby..

3. So half of my time is
spent trudging around
various venues, trying
to get a reaction out
people,getting shout at
by drunks…
And the other half I’m
doing stand up!
Stand Up Comedy

4. Misdirection(noun)
1.the action or process of directing someone
to the wrong place or in the wrong direction.
"the deliberate misdirection that had put me off the track"
It’s something comics & brands use all the time take Guinness Surfer…

5. You think you’re watching an art house film about catching the right wave
but it turns out to be a metaphor for the benefits of a slow pouring stout

6. “The best ideas
come as jokes”
So as David Ogilvy says…
I’ve collated 3 examples of lessons that
brands can take from stand up comedians

7. JOKE #1

8. JOKE #1

9. “I’ll move the mic stand,
so you can see me”
- Jo Brand

10. OWN THE
PREJUDICE
LESSON #1
By acknowledging a negative perception
you can take control of your audience

12. “The 80s called,
they want their
store back”
https://bit.ly/1Dbl5YG

13. 7% bump
in share price

14. JOKE #2

16. “Always leave them
wanting more, my uncle
used to say to me.
Which is why he lost his
job in disaster relief.”
- Mark Watson

17. LET THE
AUDIENCE
DO THE WORK
LESSON #2
Don’t over explain your communications,
letting an audience fill in the gap is more
memorable & enjoyable.

18. Seinfeld talks about jokes as like Evil Knievel jumping a canyon.
Make the mental leap too big, the audience falls into the gorge, it’s a
disaster. Make that mental leap too small, and you could step over it.
There’s no thrill!

19. A brand that let their audience do the work…

20. Take this David Abbott classic which is great…if a bit ageist

21. JOKE #3

23. “You hear that argument,
‘well if you had to kill the animal
yourself, you’d feel a lot differently
about eating the meat’.
That works both ways vegans!
Like if you had to actually fly to
Mexico to rip off an Avocado
farmer to his face…”
- Fin Taylor

24. “You hear that argument,
‘well if you had to kill the animal
yourself, you’d feel a lot differently
about eating the meat’.
That works both ways vegans!
Like if you had to actually fly to
Mexico to rip off an Avocado
farmer to his face…”
- Fin Taylor

25. “You hear that argument,
‘well if you had to kill the animal
yourself, you’d feel a lot differently
about eating the meat’.
That works both ways vegans!
Like if you had to actually fly to
Mexico to rip off an Avocado
farmer to his face…”
- Fin Taylor

26. FLIP THE
ARGUMENT
LESSON #3
If you are struggling to cut through with a message that
sounds familiar, try flipping that argument the other
way to get somewhere more interesting.

27. US Telco had an offer that was half the price of their main
competition but risked falling into the same deal heavy inertia.
Instead they flipped the argument by talking about
how their main competitor were twice the price!

28. https://bit.ly/2NUZjdw
“People were paying twice the price
for Verizon’s unlimited plan,
We wondered if they’d pay twice
as much for other stuff too”

29. I’ll leave you
with one more…

30. “Always leave them
wanting more”
- Mark Watson’s recently
unemployed uncle