Monkey business

Don’t take serious stories so seriously

If  you were trying to convince employees to follow brand guidelines, you could deliver stern do’s and don’ts about how to handle the company logo or warn employees not to use people’s personal photos in campaigns.

Or you could illustrate your message by mocking up an employee’s photo in an ad like this:

That’s how Chatter Monkey (aka senior publications designer Kelley Moore) handles brand education at MD Anderson — by writing hilarious stories to illustrate brand missteps, not by haranguing folks to use the right red in the logo.

An old joke in the speaking business asks, “When should you use humor in speeches?” The answer, “Only when you want to get paid.”

So when should you use humor in brand messaging? Only when you want to get heard.