With a career that effortlessly blends entertainment, communications and marketing, TV host Jimmy Fallon has become a standout figure in the industry.

For communications professionals in particular, Fallon’s career offers valuable lessons on how to blend entertainment with effective brand messaging to make your brand more authentic, innovative and emotional.

At a panel discussion at the Palais des Festivals’ Debussy Theater for the Cannes Lion festival, Fallon sat down with Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of TODAY and NBS News’ chief legal correspondent as well as Bozoma Saint John, chief marketing officer of ‘On Brand with Jimmy Fallon’ to talk more about how his knack for integrating marketing into  comedy sets him apart and how brands can replicate that in their own work.

“I think it's just having fun, you know, and being creative and trying new things,” said Fallon when asked by Guthrie how he has managed to brand himself in a very genuine way that allows him to be everywhere, on television, books, clothes and more while remaining authentic.

“So for example, I have my talk show, and a talk show shouldn’t have a roller coaster right? But when I first started ‘Late Night’ I went to the executives and pitched this idea of going through New York City, through the subways, in a roller coaster at the theme park,” said Fallon who then went on to say that the idea was vetoed until some years later.

“A few years later, they called me and they said do you still have that idea for a roller coaster? So we wrote it up. We made it and it's still running. It's a roller coaster based on a talk show,” said Fallon, describing his ride at Universal Studios Florida theme park which takes riders through a ‘flying theater’ experience as they speed through midtown Manhattan, soar over skyscrapers, even dive into the East River.

He added that it was all about a love for creating and doing something silly and just going with it because you never know when an idea is going to stick.

“For example, we'll do a bit on the show, and we don't even know how big it's going to get. You can never plan it. Never. If you try to go like, oh, trust me, this will go viral. It won't do it,” said Fallon. “Just do something that's different and new that no one's seen before, and do it with love. And if you make it with love, people can tell if it's fake or not and they'll go, that's cool. That's something different,” he advised.

Fallon then went on to tease his newest show, “On Brand,” which is a reality marketing series that he will host. The show, which will premiere later this year, will have contestants pitching marketing ideas to brands such as Dunkin’, KitchenAid, Pillsbury and Southwest Airlines. The winner will win US$100,000 and might even get their ideas adapted into real campaigns.

“It is a love letter to the brand. It's really what this is. And it gives everyone a chance to peek inside, see who's behind the giant brand that we all know,” explained Fallon.

“By the end of the episode, you're like, I love it. You spend an hour with them, but it's fun. It doesn't feel like an infomercial. It's not. It's actually a competition. And it's like  you get to see everyday people competing and these different ideas,” added Fallon.

He went on to say that the show was the essence of what the younger generation is all about as they look for authenticity and transparency in brands.

Fallon mentioned that he could see his nieces and nephews who are Gen Z being all about brand. “They're on social media. They're all about branding. So what is your brand?”

He added that this kind of emotional connections can elevate a brand, making it more relatable and memorable especially in a new era of brand building.