Show notes
Adam Morgan, founder of eatbigfish and co-creator of The Cost of Dull, joins us to explore why surprise is one of the most powerful tools available to marketers. Drawing on new research unveiled at Cannes Lions, Adam and Jon explain the psychology behind surprise, the science of reward prediction error, and why memorable brands consistently give people more than they expect.We discuss the different types of surprise, why products need to live up to the expectations created by advertising, and examine some of the best examples of surprise in modern marketing from Aldi to Jaguar and beyond.Timestamps00:00 - Start01:58 - The surprising outcomes of Cost of Dull06:04 - The genesis of Cost of Dull09:01 - Why are we talking about surprise?10:08 - Why the best marketers look outside of marketing13:42 - What the data says about surprise15:50 - Reward prediction error17:26 - Why your product needs to exceed expectations set by your brand19:59 - The surprising power of giving people more than they expect21:48 - The two types of surprise25:00 - Adam’s favourite examples of surprise26:09 - Jon’s favourite example of surprise28:20 - Was Jaguar intentionally surprising?29:39 - Examples of long term surprise31:50 - Why Aldi are so successful at surprise34:28 - Why you need a system for your surprise38:15 - The right balance of surprise42:12 - When is shock necessary