In trust-led categories, emotion builds trust cheaper than dull - and surprise multiplies emotion

PrincipleBrand & Creativity

In trust-led categories, emotion builds trust cheaper than dull - and surprise multiplies emotion

In B2B and other trust-led categories, dull is not the safe choice: Peter Field's work shows trust is expensive to build through dull communication and cost-effective to build through emotion - and surprise is a multiplier of emotion. Novartis used surprise on the biggest stage ('Loosen Your Tight End', Super Bowl prostate-cancer campaign) in one of the most serious categories there is.

Source

The Startling Power of Surprise - eatbigfish x Uncensored CMO webinar (Cannes 2026 session) (2026)

Adam Morgan (eatbigfish), Jon Evans (Uncensored CMO)

00:45:27-00:47:48 Q&A; Peter Field's trust analysis, Novartis and Hiscox examples

Go to the original

More on brand & creativity More on brand strategy

More from this source

StatSurprise amplifies emotion by up to 400% and imprints the moment on memory PrincipleThe brain is a prediction engine: surprise is the error that gets encoded StatThe most surprising ads reach fame five times as often as the dullest Principle'Something out of the ordinary' tops both attention and emotion in YouTube ad features PrincipleOn TikTok, out-of-the-ordinary content carries the largest brand memory lift PrincipleThe Short Oh! and the Long Ohhh!: two types of surprise with different jobs CaseTubi's fake channel-switch Super Bowl ad drove 70,000 app opens in minutes Quote"You don't have the budget to be boring."CaseLoewe's Maggie Smith casting beat its ambassador average by 55% on earned media PrincipleExceeding expectations is the most positive surprise; a service let-down is the most negative StatThe most successful new products and ads blend about 80% happiness with 20% surprise CaseAldi maps each limiting belief to a planned surprise that punctures it

We wrote about this

The 80/20 of Surprise: Why Google Glass Failed and Aldi's Champagne Works