Sensationalism has always been a powerful marketing device. That is because it stimulates our natural curiosity. It is used in headlines, social media posts, audio promos, TV ads – you name your marketing medium and you can find sensationalism. However, the most immediately impactful sensationalism in marketing takes place in the visual imagery you use.

Dead cockroaches on a makeup table are a bit discomforting. Germ-ridden cockroaches and cosmetics: it is an unnerving juxtaposition, wouldn’t you agree? Two things that have nothing at all in common, when put next to each other, make us squirm a bit. I could show you a photo of beauty products for a cosmetic brand and another photo of dead cockroaches for an extermination service and you would not have the same reaction as you do when I show the images in the same photo. I could think of many other examples, such as a doctor eating an ice cream cone during surgery, a child playing hopscotch in a tank of alligators, a nest full of baby birds in the middle of a busy freeway. We just can’t get the images out of our heads nor can we stop ourselves from looking. That is the power of shock images in marketing.

I look at a lot of images, particularly those used on websites. Typically they reflect the brand the company is selling – whether it be a product or a service. Most of the time these images are forgettable. It is not that they are not good photography that is properly lit and in focus (some are and some aren’t), it is that they have no visual device to help me remember them. They are like a wallpaper pattern: they just all blend into the background in my mind with the millions of other images I see. However, if you give me an image with a shocking twist, I remember it. This should be a consideration in the images you use in marketing.

Sensationalism doesn’t have to be revolting, like the dead cockroaches on the makeup table, but it does need to arouse curiosity. Putting something out of the usual in your imagery does the trick. Let me put this to the test with you. See how many insurance companies you can name by the following description of their marketing imagery.

1. The Rock of Gibraltar

2. A deer

3. Two open hands

4. A lion

5. An eagle

6. A lizard

7. An umbrella

8. Thee red ovals

9. A red shield

10. A jumping whale

You may be able to get some or all of these correct. (The answers are listed below.) However, I would guess that if you missed some of them, you more than likely answered number 6 correctly. Why? Because a gecko with an Australian accent talking to people in all kinds of normal situations makes the "normal” rather abnormal… and we can’t help but look. Even if you find Geico commercials annoying (I do), you can’t help but watch. It is the impact of the sensational imagery at work on our minds to engage our curiosity.

Put the power of this kind of imagery to work for you in your marketing efforts. Add a twist that makes people look again. It works!

Answers to the insurance companies:

1. Prudential

2. The Hartford

3. Allstate

4. ING

5. Nationwide (or USAA among others)

6. Geico

7. Travelers

8. State Farm

9. Farmers

10. Pacific Life