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