Surprise: A Brain's Workout Regime

One of the hottest business books of last year was Martin Lindstrom's "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy," and because of it, Marty's been on a media tear, explaining his lengthy study of, and theories on, what he has coined "Neuro-marketing."

I really dug what he had to say to Holly Shaw in an interview in The Financial Post when asked about the effectiveness of anti-smoking warnings on cigarette packs:

"After some time people just see a piece of graphics and they don't read it.
They become kind of snow-blind;12 seconds later they light up.

"But governments can [change that] without a lot of pain.
If they randomize the placement of the health warnings more, and the colors and the look of them more, it can provide a surprise to consumers."

As said here ad infinitum, the power of Surprise is disproportionate.  Even a "little thing" like mixing up the placement of a health warning can have profound effects.  I spent much time before the holidays discussing this subject with stress expert Loretta LaRoche, who has studied the effects of "newness" on the brain.  As she puts it:

"The brain needs novelty in order to grow."

And it's Surprise that is a key provider of that novelty to our cranial area.

This Surprise stuff ain't frivolous, folks.  More of this being researched, with findings to come soon.