JAMISON WEBB
GROUPON
In its early days, Groupon believed in using comedy not just as a brand differentiator, but as a meaningful tool in getting customers to buy deals. From the copy accompanying our thousands of deals to offbeat promotions that satirized safe, sanitized corporate messaging of the day, humor touched every part of the early 2010s Groupon experience. I started out as a writer in March 2010, and by May of that year, I was writing the copy for nearly every deal in the Top 10 North American markets. I was later promoted to Deputy Managing Editor (the company's first) and managed a team of writers and editors while also overseeing copy for special promotions with such big brands as Starbucks. In 2011, I became Humor Manager (actual title) and took over the company's in-house team of incredibly talented comedy writers and illustrators. Below you'll find some of my favorite things from my tenure as Humor Manager (2011 to 2013).
Grouponicus
In 2010, Groupon launched Grouponicus, a holiday campaign that offered great deals while also poking fun at the commercialism and folklore of Christmastime. In 2011 and 2012, the Humor team expanded upon the Grouponicus concept by creating landing pages with interactive "Candy Land"-esque maps of the holiday's characters and locales; running a Twitter account for the holiday's mascot, Groupo the Deal Bird; and providing additional copy and visuals for other site elements.
Clicky the Clickable
Value-Wheel
Look at this freak! Clicky was called everything from "creepy" to "incredibly creepy," but it did its job. I don't have the exact numbers, but look into Clicky's gentle eyes and trust me when I say this was a big win for the Humor team — satirizing spin-to-win promotions while also generating sales for Groupon.
"Check Groupon First"
TV commercial
In early 2011, Groupon aired a Super Bowl commercial that, well, made lots of people upset. So when the company decided to venture back into TV commercials in late 2013, the goal was to strike the balance between Groupon humor and, you know, not making people angry. I worked closely with Groupon's Brand and Marketing teams to write the script for the final product — a 60-second spot for the company's new "Check Groupon First" campaign. You can watch it here.
Groupon Holiday Gift-Giving Network
For Groupon's 2013 holiday campaign, we pivoted away from the Grouponicus lore and instead produced an eight-episode webseries parodying the Home Shopping Network, QVC, etc. Leveraging Groupon talent in front of and behind the camera, the Groupon Holiday Gift-Giving Network showcased real deals available as part of Groupon's holiday store. The videos received positive press coverage and helped to sell out the deals they featured.
