Welcome to our Edutainment crash course, where we will explore the benefits of educational entertainment, how to successfully create content that is both fun and informative, and real-life examples of successful edutainment brand campaigns.
What is Edutainment and why is it important for brands?
The word edutainment is a combination of education and entertainment, and it is an innovative marketing tool that is transforming the way brands engage with their audience. In today’s world, where the attention spans of people are getting shorter by the day, capturing their attention has become a daunting task for brands. People want to be entertained while they learn, and this is where edutainment comes in.
A Marketer’s Worst Enemy: Attention Spans
How many times have you scrolled through Instagram mindlessly or truly watched television show ads when they come on? Are you actually absorbing the information you are seeing?
In the United States, research shows that the average attention span when scrolling on social media is of about 2 seconds, leaving arguably no time for brands to catch their audience’s complete attention. But by combining education with entertainment, not only are users more likely to engage with content, but they are also more likely to retain what they learn, ensuring your brand stays in the back of their mind when ready to make a purchasing decision. Additionally, many edutainment programs are designed to challenge learners to think creatively and critically, keeping them on your desired content longer.
Goodbye Cookie-Cutter Marketing, Hello Edutainment Content!
Although mostly true for kids, adults often also thrive on interactive and entertaining content. Here are just a few reasons why edutainment can benefit brands, no matter who your target audience is:
- Engages and entertains customers: Edutainment provides a more enjoyable and engaging experience for customers, which can help to increase their level of interest and engagement with the brand.
- Builds brand loyalty: Customers are more likely to follow and keep up with brands that provide them with engaging content that they find useful.
- Demonstrates expertise: Edutainment can also help brands to demonstrate their expertise and knowledge in a particular area. By providing customers with useful and informative content, brands can position themselves as thought leaders and experts in their field.
Related: Why Your B2B Audience Is Not Destined for Boredom
Edutainment: Tips and Tricks to Keep Your Content Fun
The Art of Balance
Striking a balance between education and entertainment value can be tricky, especially for B2B brands. So, how does one balance being educational and informative, while at the same time keeping things lighthearted and fun?
Although it depends on your product or service, in general, users are captivated by brands because of their entertaining content, but stay because of the value it adds to their daily lives. In fact, recent studies show consumers are 131% more likely to buy after reading a piece of educational content. But what’s the right balance? It’s beneficial to follow the 80/20 rule: 80% of your post should focus valuable, informative content, while incorporating that 20% of fun.
But, like all marketing strategies, it’s important to understand your audience to learn about their behavior and find what balance works best for them.
Understanding Your Target Audience
The first step in creating edutainment content is understanding your audience. Who are you creating the content for? What are their interests and learning styles? By understanding your audience, you can tailor your content to meet their needs and preferences.
From there, you can start thinking about how to present informative content while keeping it entertaining. Here are a few starting points:
Using Emotional Storytelling
Emotional storytelling is a powerful edutainment tool that can be used to engage learners of all ages. By appealing to emotions through edutainment content, you can make the content more relatable and engaging. Here’s one example of emotional storytelling, as told by the Ukraine Warrior Games and TEAM LEWIS Foundation.
Using Humor
Humor is another effective tool for creating edutainment content. By using humor, users can relate positive emotions to your content and are more likely to spread laughter to other peers. Additionally, studies show humor creates higher recall for individuals, helping make sure they remember your brand long after they see your content.
Incorporating Interactivity
Interactivity is a key component of edutainment. In fact, 77% of marketers say interactive content has “reusable” value, garnering repeat visits and multiple interactions with a brand. These may include quizzes, puzzles, or games that test learners’ knowledge and understanding of the material.
Creating a Memorable Experience
Ultimately, the key to creating edutainment content is creating a memorable experience. You want learners to enjoy the content and remember it long after they have completed the learning experience.
Related: Why AI in Digital Marketing Won’t Put You Out of a Job
Edutainment in Action: The Future of Marketing is Here
Now that we’ve gotten the theory out of the way, let’s start putting things into practice. Whether it’s at TEAM LEWIS or in other big companies, the creative thinking behind edutainment content is already getting attention. Here are a few examples of innovative entertainment education in marketing:
Virtual Reality (VR)
One area where edutainment is likely to continue to grow is in the field of virtual reality (VR). Technological advancements have enabled VR technology for not only video games, but also providing a highly immersive and interactive learning experience, allowing learners to engage with the material in a more realistic and impactful way.
Metaverse
The metaverse allows organizations to create their own branded experiences, beyond what traditional video or static content can do. Each Metaverse can be unique and create a fully immersive experience for customers, and helps brands stay ahead of the game, specifically when targeting Gen Z and millennials. According to Gartner, approximately 26% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education, social media, and entertainment by 2026.
What does a Metaverse marketing campaign look like in action? When our client, VMware, experienced drops in event engagement, we came up with a fresh way to keep online events informative and engaging through the Metaverse. Welcome to VMware Virtual World.
Gamification
Another area where edutainment is likely to grow is in the field of gamification. Gamification is the use of games in non-gaming context, such as the use of educational elements. By incorporating game design elements into educational content, learners are more likely to engage with the material and retain what they learn.
Educational games come in many different forms, and when it comes to edutainment marketing, the key to success is incorporating information while keeping it fun. Here’s how TEAM LEWIS helped Skyscanner turn valuable data into a tool to help travelers save money while incorporating an Augmented Reality filter to match.
Overall, edutainment can help brands to build stronger relationships with their customers, increase their visibility and reputation while establishing themselves as experts in their field. By providing customers with an enjoyable and informative experience, brands can differentiate themselves from their competitors and build lasting relationships with their audience.
Need a hand mastering edutaining content? Reach out to our team today.
