They're Your Rules, Break Them Could your brand benefit from the surprise factor? If you can package your information into a 'mystery', you'll hold your audience in the palm of your hand.

Does your brand ever surprise? Or is it constantly communicating in ways that are so predictable as to be mildly sedating? In your pitches and presentations, does your copy stand out? Or suffer death-by-predictability?

The phrase has become iconic, and even those who have never caught an episode are familiar with it: "Winter… is coming!' Many viewers have a love-hate relationship with Game of Thrones. It is impeccably well made, and, as the most expensive television show ever produced per episode, visually stunning.

Yet the level of violence beggars belief. Even if you are not an especially squeamish viewer, the assembly-line massacre of leading characters is perpetually shocking. And therein lies at least part of the reason why the enterprise is so successful. No, it's not the gore. It's the unpredictable nature of each new development.

The good guys don't necessarily win. The bad guys don't necessarily lose. Upheaval and disruption rock the storyline at every turn, making it one of the least formulaic productions around. You simply don't know who's going to prevail and who's going to perish colourfully, and that keeps fans coming back for more. So why is it so attractive for a story to defy conventions and, in a sense, "betray' expectations? And can a brand story make use of the same dynamic?

I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING

In Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, authors Chip and Dan Heath describe the powerful communication technique of "breaking people's guessing machines'.

To make communication genuinely riveting, simply organise the information into a mystery, something in which the recipient can't tell the outcome in advance. It can be done with something as traditionally dusty as a university lecture. George R.R. Martin certainly did it in a medieval fantasy about warring kingdoms. It can even be done in a sales pitch.

In Adam Grant's Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, Babble founder Rufus Griscom is described giving a completely counterintuitive presentation as part of a sales pitch. He headlined his slide: "Five reasons you shouldn't buy Babble'.

And there was no trick implied. The presentation covered precisely these ideas, and not in an ironic way. He went into detail about the obstacles the company was facing, and described why these hurdles could be a difficulty to investors. So why did it work (and work it did!)? The answer is two-fold. Initially, the novelty factor drew attention. How do you not listen to a presentation like that? Secondly, the executives evaluating the presentation were basically being covertly invited to problem-solve.

"That's not so bad!' they would say, psychologically bypassing the "should we or shouldn't we?' step and going straight into assumptive ownership. They then began discussing ways of overcoming the obstacles. It became a challenge to their abilities. In all of these cases, the approach has been to break accepted conventions in order to "break the guessing machine' of the audience.

The net result is heightened engagement, sustained curiosity and delight upon the reveal of the "answer'. When you depart from the accepted formulas of communication, you create cognitive dissonance. The audience (despite themselves, in the case of Thrones viewers who might not like violence), have to know how this will turn out.

BREAKING THE RULES MAKES YOU DISTINCTIVE

Rules can create set expectations. Formulas and accepted approaches do the same. When you break and betray the rules, the level of anticipation remains high. In communication, surprise is effective and often attractive. Does your brand ever surprise? Or is it constantly communicating in ways that are so predictable as to be mildly sedating?

In your pitches and presentations, does your copy stand out? Or suffer death-by-predictability? What might you accomplish if you tampered with the rules on purpose, in order to up-end expectations? Do you have what it takes to break the human guessing machine? If you do, you just might achieve true brand distinction.

BEYOND MERE WORDS

The technique of "breaking the human guessing machine' is not just limited to pitches and presentations. Your entire brand tells a story too, and with each new initiative, each new enterprise that it undertakes, it adds to the total tale in the public consciousness. I contend that brands in South Africa tend to under-utilise the possibilities available to them.

In an understandable quest to be taken seriously, they speak the language of "dependable business,' rather than "exciting venture.' A "dependable business' has the narrative of stasis. There is no movement. An "exciting venture' by contrast, speaks in vivid movement and attractive energy. It has purpose, mission and meaning.

The key to actualising this idea is theatre. And to understand the power of theatre in a brand's narrative, let's go straight to what must be the greatest example of brand theatre the business landscape has ever seen.

"HERE, HOLD MY SPACE SHUTTLE'

Imagine you owned two organisations. One created space shuttles. The other made electric sports cars. What if you launched one of your cars out of earth's atmosphere, using your own rockets? What if you then set the car into an orbit around the planet, with a little spaceman mannequin hanging out the side, playing a David Bowie hit as he cruised through eternity?

Do you think such a theatrical initiative might just make it into every newspaper on the planet? In doing just this, Elon Musk led the way. He demonstrated just how far we can depart from stuffy brand narrative to tell an exciting story, a surprising story. … And what will he do next?! The very fact that we even ask such a question is proof of the concept.

IT'S NOT ABOUT BIG BUDGETS

Naturally, not every business has the budget to tinker with near-earth orbit. But theatre doesn't have to be expensive. Have you ever dropped by a luxury car dealership, to have your cappuccino served to you with the brand's logo drawn into the froth? That cost nothing but a little imagination.

Have you seen the number of YouTube views BMW achieved with their "drift-mob' video in Cape Town? It runs into the millions, and growing. Achieving surprise and telling a distinctive brand story need not be exorbitantly expensive. Kulula sets themselves apart with their inflight announcement. My all-time favourite is still: "In the event of an emergency, please put on your own oxygen mask before assisting your child. If you have more than one child, please pick your favourite now.'

This month, what if you challenged yourself to think about the key word "surprise'? What could your brand do that is unexpected and delightful, that will have people turning to one another and saying, "That was awesome!', while still remaining true to your mission and vision? In fact, what if you started by looking over your mission statement, and then asked, "How could this be done in a way that is publicly surprising?'

Theatre can set you apart. It can make you what US speaker Joe Callaway calls, "A Category of One.' And it only requires that you use a little imagination, then have the courage to be different on purpose. Your goal is simple, emotional impact. Wow factor. Nothing more intellectual than that.

NEW TOYS FOR RULE-BREAKERS

There are many other opportunities for rule-breakers to create strategic disruption. You might ask why things have always been done in a certain way. You might carry out an exercise in which you ask what ideal end-usage looks like for your client, then challenge your team to try to achieve that goal, using the phrase, "Couldn't we just …?' You might even ask insightful questions about what you actually sell, and not what product you believe you're selling.

All of these are useful exercises for the courageous maverick, and all can lead to different forms of productive rule-breaking. For this month, though, pose yourself this single challenge only: What could we do in our brand narrative that might have a Game of Thrones-level impact? In our household, that looks like this: Douglas: "I can't believe we keep watching this show!' Wife: "Me neither!' Douglas: "That was so shocking!' Wife: "Unbelievable.' Douglas: "Want to watch the next one?' Wife: "Absolutely!' … And that's what you're after.