Do You Create Fun?

During the recent Creativity and Technology Conference, Kevin Slavin talked about the fact that "It's hard to laugh alone." Have you ever watched a comedian on TV when you're by yourself? The audience is cracking up and you're trying to figure out what's so funny.

It made me think of an article that I wrote back in 2001 from a different POV. It's a piece I wrote right after 9-11 for a magazine called Entertainment Management about the importance of fun. In that article, I wrote:

I used to talk about how what we did was one of the very few things that people did that had to involve other people. It was always a social experience. How many times have we gone to a theme park or FEC (family entertainment center) by ourselves? How many people do you see waiting online for a roller coaster alone? And even when you do, you always know that the very loose social structure of the line will open itself up to embrace those alone.

As I thought more about it, the need for fun is a global experience. We may have fun in different ways, but we all like to have fun. Fun is one of the greatest tools we have to create a world of understanding and—potentially—peace. Hate can’t thrive in an atmosphere of fun.

And while the piece speaks about how it's only when we are community that we can stop the hatred in the aftermath of 9-11, it's core idea of fun being a shared experience might be just as important of a message for brands today.

It's why people go to theme parks. It's why I love Come Out & Play and wish that more brands looked to the types of experiences created there. It's the reason that going to most retail stores sucks, they're just not fun. They're not fun to work at and they're not fun to go to.

I wrote this about my first job as a performer in Disney's Tencennial parade:

So, take a look at the experiences you're delivering right now and ask yourself this. 25 years from now, will one of your employees see something that brings back those memories and feel elated and excited knowing that they were part of it? Or will they be thinking I can't believe I used to do that. What a waste. We spend so much time trying to figure out how to create great experiences for our guests, but many times we don't even think about the employees. And if they're not feeling the elated and excited first, your guests never will!

Fun is a very powerful experience. We talk a lot about social media, but we tend to focus more on the media then on the social. That's why even as we tout the value of social media and connecting online, the ad industry has a cocktail party every day! Because getting together is fun. Because when you're being social, other people have to be involved.

So, while using social media online is very critical, looking to create social experiences offline will be the next wave. People talk about fun things. People like to have fun. As Kevin said, it's hard to laugh alone.

Download Great Good Places

CaT's Tips for Evolving Advertising in Digital Age - Kunur Patel - Cat: Creativity and Technology - Creativity Online.

The Fun Theory - Polinchock's Ponderings.

Some Lessons from My First Job.