The 21st century is a lot less about being the ?information age? and much more about being the ?entertainment age?. Technology makes so many aspects of life inexpensive and automated that we have more leisure time than any other generation before. We also have so many different means of communication available to us that it is overwhelming at times to try to choose which medium will best serve your business. People are under fire by advertising 24/7 and see thousands of marketing messages every day.

Business is so competitive now that it is more important than ever that your marketing strategies not only be responsive, but cheap and often entertaining as well. Entertainment often what makes many marketing campaigns so much more successful than others because people enjoy remembering your advertising. Whether your ?entertainment? factor was comedy, shock, cuteness, or sexual, these elements will keep your message in the minds of your audience for weeks on end.

One way to include entertainment in your marketing message is to match your ad to the kind of entertainment your audience is looking for. It would be wrong to include sexuality as part of the entertainment factor in advertisements for children's toys, for example. It would be a better match to include the cuteness factor in ads for children.

Happy kids in parks with animals using your product would be effective, just as long as it memorable. Use bunnies, kittens, puppies, but don't use reptiles or bugs or amphibians. Try to think like the kid's parents (specifically the mom since it's been proven that moms influence the majority of buying decisions) so that the appeal universal to both parent and child.

Marketing to adults is a different factor, especially when marketing to men. Whether men admit it or not, sexual messages of gorgeous women affect them. It's well known that men are generally much more moved sexually by visual stimulus than women are, and in different ways. Women's sexual needs tend to be softer, as in finding a man who is affectionate, attentive, caring, strong, and handsome.

Men are less selective. If there's a hot babe in skimpy clothes anywhere in their vision it will draw their attention. This same style is useful in less aggressive ways too. Simply including a modest picture of a beautiful young lady in your marketing message will keep male attention longer than without it.

The super bowl is now famous for the commercials that appear during the breaks. That air time is very expensive so companies know they need to make their message stick. How do they accomplish this? The method of choice is comedy. The funny commercials are what get the repeat plays on the talk shows and on the internet. The funny ones get the most buzz and get people talking about the commercial the most.

Take a hint from these companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to do what you can do all the time. Make your marketing message funny, but keep it appropriate. Never try to combine comedy with shock factor, it just isn't congruent and people won't be sure what to think of you.

Welcome to the entertainment age. Make your marketing and advertising funny, provocative, cute, and memorable and you'll be pleasantly surprised how long after you run your ads that people will still remember them.