Winning people
The surprise egg effect
for maximum attention
Something exciting. Something to play with. And chocolate. His son has three wishes for his dad at once. That's really not possible? Of course it is. Dad brings a surprise egg. Three wishes fulfilled at once - wow. His son beams. Ferrero has been telling this story about their "Überraschungsei" for decades - with legendary success.
San Francisco, January 7, 2007: Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces "three new products" at MacWorld. A widescreen iPod with touch control. A revolutionary cell phone. And a groundbreaking Internet communicator. He repeats: an iPod, a phone, an Internet Communicator. And again. Until it dawns on the audience and Jobs announces into the rising cheers: "That's not three different devices, that's one device." The iPhone is born. The enthusiasm knows hardly any bounds.
All good things come in threes. In communications, too. Not two, that's too few. Not four, which is less memorable. Exactly three. Three qualities, one great result. Why don't you try it out? For example, when presenting an annual report: "Earnings growth, dividend growth, debt reduction - that's the core of our balance sheet." Or at the premiere of a new electric vehicle: "More range, less fuel consumption and cheaper than all the competition - finally there's the e-car for everyone."
And your story? Just tell it better - with a communicative triad, an arc of suspense whose resolution remains in the memory.
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