NEW DELHI: Laughter is not just good for health; it’s good for one’s pocket too. The increasing lot of stand-up comedians will vouch for this as big corporate houses are hiring them with good offers to lift the mood in their offices and for creating brand value.
Companies like Nestlé India, Amazon, leading mobile and data solutions provider Matrix, Muthoot Group and cellphone company Hyve Mobility, among others, are scouring for good comedians to promote their brand activities through television commercials and giving live performances at their corporate get-togethers. Besides stage shows, stand-up comedians are called for corporate events, dealer meetings, script and content development for brands, columns in magazines and even for weddings, house parties and bachelor parties.
Salaries offered to these comedians are attractive. Once established, a comedian can earn Rs 20-30 lakh a year. A little-known stand-up comedian can bill Rs 5,000-20,000 for a show, while a popular one can get corporates to cough up Rs 1 lakh or more.
“Humour as a route to communicate the brand’s message makes a lasting impact. These comedian artists deliver the right message with the right humour,” says Sharad Mehrotra, founder of Hyve Mobility, who was earlier heading Apple India. He had recently roped in stand-up comedian Atul Khatri for the first round of promotions for Hyve Mobility’s first cellphone.
Companies are scouring for good comedians to promote their brand activities through television commercials and giving live performances at their corporate get-togethers.
Not only Atul Khatri, other stand-up comedians such as Vir Das, Hussain Dalal, Angad Singh, Sorabh Pant and Rohan Joshi are hired by companies for their brand promotions, content development and script writing, etc.
The best example of a company using a stand-up comedian for brand promotions was initiated by Nestle India in September 2014. It engaged Dalal to promote its Nescafé Coffee, where Dalal portrayed a struggling stand-up comedian who stammers. “The biggest strength of a stammering comedian is... suspense,” Dalal said in the advertisement. The advertisement ends with, “Thank god for coffee. It kept me go go going and kept you a a awake.” The advertisement not only created laughter but also evoked empathy among viewers about mocking people who are actually speech impaired.
These comedians bring out humour from day-to-day activities, which people live by. Mostly of these artists perform satire on politicians, technology, traffic, culture, etc. and mostly use ‘Hinglish’ to create the punch in their performances.
“It’s a tough job and doing public shows isn’t enough to sustain a family. One has to look for other day jobs,” says Atul Khatri, who started doing stand-up comedy three years ago and recently quit his day job with an IT company in Mumbai. He now earns handsomely by doing shows for companies.
Mumbai-based comedian Angad says: “We are constantly active on social networks. The more fan or followers we get provides an edge for casting directors to give us a break.”