Tell me that you don’t love to be entertained! Willing to be entertained is something that we constantly look for. Yes, and we look for it in even the simplest things like reading your newspaper on your way to work, chatting with your colleagues (those “stolen moments” in the kitchen while making coffee), or “playing” with your new handset on the tube. There is nothing wrong with that. Some may say we all keep a little kiddo deep inside us, and this “little kiddo” drives our “play instinct”. True or not, play is an important part of our day-to-day life – it helps us escape from the stress, and increases the “feel good” factor.

Landing this into marketing communications, entertaining consumers via brands is probably one of the most powerful tools for creating obsession. And driving sales, of course! Live music event, shopper experience, interesting application on Facebook, Second Life presence, mobile platform… the opportunities for entertaining consumers are endless. Once “in the game”, people will love you and trust you, and will buy whatever you sell them. But how do we get there? –

Step 1: You’ve got a brand. And you’ve got your campaign objectives. Include another point here – “make my target feel good, feel entertained”. Well, first step is to “invent” a way of entertainment through the brand. Choose your marketing tools, according to your public’s profile and interests. Are you going to develop marketing campaign for male young professionals? – digg in recent technology opportunities, get some ideas from the latest gadgets, “adults games” and tech widgets. Once you’ve got your idea how to entertain…

Step 2: Get people’s attention. Plan your media channels carefully – which marketing tactics will transmit your idea most successfully. Research on opportunities, on current trends and competitors…And get creative! Make your customers “expect the unexpected”, surprise and engage. Not just big-scale events might be entertaining; many social media platforms provide thousands of opportunities to create “fun and play” around your brand. Digital marketing, online games and contests could also create top online brand entertainment, if used properly. You think, so people can laugh.

Step 3: Whatever marketing tool you’ve chosen to entertain, never underestimate your consumers. The line between creating a playful experience (which will drive sales), and making people laugh AT your brand (which will drive sales down) is very thin. So be careful. It might be an online game, a fashion show, or a music event – whatever it is, you must keep up with your high standards. By creating engaging, memorable and positive playful experience, people will lock your brand in their minds together with that experience, and will (partly consciously, partly) unconsciously fall in love with it. If you manage to “drive people crazy” about your brand, you’ve discovered the art of winning through entertaining.