I just got back from seeing Brüno with some friends and while I’m definitely not writing a movie review (…although I thought it was very funny…), what really struck me was how much the audience really loved the ‘shock value’ of what they were seeing. It was a movie that totally pushed the envelope and challenged the limits of what could be said or done.

While I’m sure many people will object and protest to the content of the movie (Note: It’s already banned in Ukraine), I think there is definitely merit in seeing how a little shock can go a long way towards capturing people’s attention.

It really has to make you wonder if we live in a day and age where we are so saturated with media messages that in order to stand out from the crowd your message must be so out-of-the-ordinary that it shocks the audience.

With countless videos available on YouTube, it has to make you wonder how some videos get millions of views and become part of current pop culture overnight. From my experiences, it’s the videos that really shock you, the ones that have you stunned, the ones that you know are going to go insanely viral because it is just has that ‘Wow’ factor.

But, how do you get that ‘Wow’ factor? What is the formula? And, how risky is it to go after because an attempt for ‘Wow’ can become a disaster in a moment?

As someone who speaks to marketers and business owners all the time, I’m always encouraging them to think about the ‘Wow’ factor and how to make it work for them.

I don’t think there is a specific formula. I just think it’s something that requires a little outside-the-box thinking… a little brainstorming…and a little creativity.