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Introduction -- What? -- Why? -- Where? -- How?
Where and when can you use Corporate Cartoons?

.....Just about anywhere! Corporate cartoons can be used around the world, to address people of all ages, and using a variery of different media. Below are some ideas and examples.

Corporate Cartoons in Presentations Presentations are part of corporate culture, no matter what the organisation does. They are used by commercial companies to sell to clients, to sell ideas internally, to inform the workforce and for training etc. Non-profit making organisations also make heavy use of presentations. For example, police officers take part in training events throughout their careers, to advance, and to keep abreast of new technologies, crime prevention methods and legislation. Much of the information is imparted by trainers using conventional presentation techniques. Church groups also make extensive use of presentations, most notably in the form of sermons. A keyword search used often on internet search engines is “humorous sermon”. To bring alive a humorous sermon you can effectively use humorous illustration – i.e. cartoons!
This cartoon is used by a Hewlett-Packard software expert to give presentations on the use of HP’s Enterprise Discovery software. This software enables a company to discover what hardware and software is linked into their computer systems. The cartoon works well as an opening slide to break the ice and establish a rapport with the audience at the start of a very technical presentation.

Corporate Cartoons for training material Because cartoons can be customised so readily they are an ideal medium for making an impression on the target audience. The examples below show different approaches. These are extremes - neither may be appropriate for your organisation, but there are many intermediate possibilities. The first is a simple and straightforward cartoon that would be understood and remembered by children. It is effective because: The fish is surreal - it's out of place and therefore memorable. The crazy cartoon style of the fish also makes it stick in the mind. There are no distracting features to take attention away from the message. The fact that it contains a lot of empty space reinforces the message - cross the road only when you know it is clear. The message is written simply in a clean text that gives it authority. It will also be accessible to children new to reading.



The second example is aimed at machine operators who are not taking sufficient notice of health and safety advice.
The first noticable thing about this cartoon is the traditional instruction "Use the safety guard" but after that it uses shock tactics to make an impression. The "machine" in question is an iconic design, an old fashioned guillotine of the sort used to behead people in the French revolution. The room is simple - there are no distractions. The room is littered with body parts and spattered with blood - unusual in training material. The punchline at the end is not what people expect. The usual message when people are being exhorted to do things safely, are the personal consequences if they do not follow the rules (in this case serious injury). The unusual punchline will make the audience laugh, and because of this the message will come to mind more readily when they next use the machinery. The cute funny fish approach, or the seemingly callous blood and guts approach may not suit your organisation, but these are extremes. If you can understand the audience and target them appropriately cartooning works very well.
Exhibition displays and posters
Cartoons can be reproduced at different sizes. They can be designed to look good on small items (e.g. stationery)....
.....or enlarged and used on exhibition displays, posters and hoardings.

Corporate Cartoons on the Internet
One of the big challenges in corporate life is getting your website seen, and then to get people to keep going back again. Cartoons won’t help you attract the attention of the search engines, but they will be seen by visitors. If you run a regular cartoon that appeals to your target audience they will keep returning to see the next instalment. This may involve a strip with familiar characters and a story line. It may just be a series of gags on a theme, but as long as it catches the attention of the target audience and amuses them, they’ll come back. this cartoon is aimed at a general science audience, making a play of the word "potential" which can be measured on the voltage scale of an AVO meter.

Corporate Cartoons on the Company Intranet Cartoons on a company intranet (a website for employees and possibly trusted external partners or customers) can be used just like any other cartoons for internal communication. They can also be used like cartoons on the internet. If the cartoon appeals to the audience they'll return to the web page and also take notice of other information on that page. Below is a cartoon from a series running in the AXA Life in-house magazine, Lifestyle.


Corporate Cartoons are everywhere! A few examples :
External magazines (product advice, advertising, customer community magazines etc.) Internal magazines (e.g. employee magazines) Product/service brochures Ezines (magazines distributed by Email) Flyers Corporate gifts Christmas cards Stationery

When do you use Corporate Cartoons? I have described some of the places you can use Corporate Cartoons, but does the timing matter? Broadly, no. You can use cartoons to inform and attract attention at any time. However there are some distinct occasions when a lightbulb should go on and you will think - Hmmmm, a cartoon could be useful here. I have listed some of those occasions below. You will undoubtedly think of more.
Use Corporate Cartoons when starting a new venture
Whenever you start a new venture (such as launching a new product) you have to communicate internally to co-ordinate the approach, and externally to let the world know it’s coming. All the departments in the company will have to be ready for the go and talking to each other. For example: The widget department need to be co-ordinating the overall launch. i.e. designing, testing and producing the widget. The marketing and sales people have to share product information so the approach to the customer is consistent. The order taking department have to have the part included in their order taking software. Customer support have to be ready to deal with queries so they’ll need technical information on the widget. Production need to be ready to go. Etc. You may have a list, spreadsheet, or even a diagram showing responsibilities and lines of communication. However you could produce some memorable cartoons that will assist people to use them. Use cartoons to highlight and support the lines of communication.
Use Corporate Cartoons when branding
Cartoons can convey information that would be difficult or longwinded to get across with pictures or text. This logo for a big band gets across a coherent image for a band which would otherwise be difficult. With 17 bandmembers a picture or even cartoon of the ensemble would be messy. They play a wide variety of music so the old 40's big band cliches don't apply. The wolf, the pun (bad/band), and their incorporation into a tight logo tell the audience (and prospective new audiences) that the outfit is a fun big band, and it gives them an unmistakeable, recognisable hook.
Use Corporate Cartoons when planning advertising

When you start to plan an advertising campaign ask yourself what message do you want to get across, and how cartoons might assist.
Use Corporate Cartoons when addressing a problem
There is a tendency to think that humour is not appropriate when things are going wrong. However cartoons can help make light of the problem, thus reassuring the audience that it's not goign to cause them grief. In this example a shop reassures its customers that it is still operational despite problems with flooding. A note to this effect in a local paper may or may not get through to the customer, but they are much more likely to remember a diver giving the OK sign in the depths of their local pharmacy. This is an area where you have to take special care not to alienate the audience. Special care has to be taken not to poke fun at problems they may be experiencing.

Use Corporate Cartoons when you need information
It is often difficult to persuade people to provide information. They may not want to hand it over, but often the problem is simply that they cannot be bothered. Offering incentives is customary and these range from giving gifts to people who fill in the form, to the promise of a better service or product following an analysis of the infomation provided. An additional strategy is to grab their imagination when asking for their participation. For example:

This cartoon is completely ridiculous, suggesting that an outhouse with flowery adornment provides adequate toilet facilities. It is designed to make the employees laugh, but then go on to consider the real facilities and be roused enough to actually complete the survey. However, if your organisation's toilet facilities consist of one outhouse (with or without flowers) this approach may get you more pointed comments than you can handle.

Use Corporate Cartoons when new information arrives
When new information comes into the organisation it has to be disseminated to the people who can use it, whether they be employees, customers, inmates, suppliers etc, anyone with a need to know. This could be information coming from the outside (e.g. the results of a survey on buying habits), or information generated within the company (e.g. an R&D breakthrough enabling new waterproof products to be formulated).
Use Corporate Cartoons when new people need information
When new staff join the company they need information to enable then to do their job, and to find their place in the company culture. When existing staff change position or role they need new information to help them fulfil their new responsibilities, and they have to learn new skills. When new customers, suppliers, or other external people start to associate with the organisation they need information to bring them up to strength. This could be product information, contact details, many different things. In all these cases you can develop focussed training material using cartoons that assist people to get up to speed quickly. This material can be quite stable over time, and well thought out material can be reused as required. In these circumstances you can use a cartoon that works over and over as the audience will be fresh every time. These Corporate Cartoons can be re-used in presentations, reading material, crib cards, test sheets, posters, computer training, and in any other material that is used for training.
This section has described some of the places you can use cartoons effectively. There are many more but it will give you a feel for the subject so you can start to see the opportunities in your own organisation.
........and finally: How? How can you start using Corporate Cartoons in your organisation ?
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