Tom Hyde: The power of serendipity

By Tom Hyde (left), creative agency partner, Facebook

Serendipitous learning is a powerful thing.

It sates our innate curiosity and plays to our need for personal growth. Some call it the engine that drives humanity; after all it was serendipity that led to the discovery of antibiotics, and sparked Darwin’s theory of evolution. Serendipity has sent us to space and it will likely take us to the stars.

But why is serendipitous learning so powerful and what makes it relevant to marketers?

Serendipitous learning is what happens when we accidentally discover something we hadn’t conceived in our wildest dreams. If we find it valuable, we absorb it, whole-heartedly into our world.

Although it may seem like a quirky by-product of coincidence, serendipity actually plays a major role in how humans learn. In fact, according to the late Professor Allen Tough, about 80 per cent of learning is done in this informal way.

From a marketer’s perspective, serendipity becomes relevant because the knowledge retention off the back of a serendipitous experience is much higher. Serendipity is enchanting.

When someone has been moved by newfound knowledge, it refines their sense of self. It’s the combination of this emotion and surprise that creates a strong connection and lasting memory.  

The challenge, is that to be delightfully surprised with new information, people need to be in the right frame of mind in the first place. They need to be open to new ideas or in ‘ready-to-receive’ mode.

A good contemporary example of this is the millions of people scrolling through the Newsfeed on Facebook, only to stumble upon something that triggers an interest. The Facebook Newsfeed has been designed to cater for serendipitous hunger, and this is the very element that makes it compelling.

When we scroll through Newsfeed, we know that in the never-ending stream, at any moment, we may be delightfully surprised by something unexpected. With this in mind, serendipity can be more than a fortuitous coincidence thrown up by the universe. Serendipity can be engineered. It is a strategy to be employed by brands.

Advertising that delivers moments of enlightenment, has a much greater chance of meaningfully connecting with people and enabling them to willingly learn.

Scrolling through the Facebook Newsfeed, people are hoping to receive unexpected nuggets – and those nuggets can come from anywhere, even brands.

This is what’s different about advertising on Facebook. On most platforms, advertising is a distraction. It’s keeping people from their primary purpose. On Facebook, advertising is a natural part of the experience and when done well, it feeds serendipitous hunger.

Creatives need to develop irresistible nuggets that can be serendipitously discovered through the Newsfeed. If they can do this, their adverts will be a welcomed part of the Newsfeed experience.  

Once advertising has been received in this manner, it encourages a mutually beneficial outcome – a sale.

Serendipity to sale? Now that’s something that could change the game.