Eye-opening

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Unexpected messages secure the audience’s attention because they distort our models of reality. This is known in psychology as the Von Restorff effect, which describes the tendency to remember more easily anything that stands out or is unusual. Consider the famous Cadbury’s ad from 2007, which shows a gorilla drumming along to Phil Collins’s In the Air Tonight.

Cadbury’s marketing director Phil Rumbol had a difficult job persuading management that this would help to sell chocolate. After all, the ad was 90 seconds long, had no pictures of chocolate or anyone eating it, and only mentioned the brand at the very end. This ran counter to all established views about how advertising works. Yet when the ad was finally approved and aired, it led to a 10% increase in sales for Cadbury’s and was later voted the UK’s favourite ad. Why? Because it was surprising and memorable.

You may not want drumming gorillas in your B2B content, but the same principle applies. Put list of venezuela cell phone numbers forward a surprising message, and you will be much likelier to grab your audience’s attention and be remembered.

SURE in action

Philips’ The Longest Night is a powerful and unexpected piece of emotional storytelling. To promote Philips’ innovative sleep aids, the video tells the story of an Icelandic fisherman struggling with insomnia.

Peter Salovey, president of Yale University and an originator of the concept of emotional intelligence, argues that the framing of urgent messages should vary depending on whether the proposed change in behaviour is safe or risky. If our audience is likely to think the change is safe, then we should emphasise all the gains that will come from making it. If our audience thinks the change is risky, then they are more likely to be comfortable with the status quo, so the benefits of change are less attractive.