Imagine you’re watching a movie. A group of characters sits around a grand dining table, enjoying an evening meal. The camera lingers on the scene: candlelight flickers, conversation flows, and in the corner of the frame, an antique rifle hangs prominently above the fireplace. One of the guests takes notice and asks about it. The host smiles and says, “That old thing? It’s a family heirloom.” The conversation moves on, but the image of that rifle sticks in your mind.
Why was the gun there? Why did the film go out of its way to show it to us? As the plot unfolds and tensions rise between the characters, a part of your brain will remember the rifle, wondering whether it will come into play.
Then, in the film’s dramatic climax—perhaps an argument turns violent, or a secret is revealed—someone grabs the rifle from the wall and fires. The moment is both shocking and satisfying. The gun’s appearance earlier in the film prepared you for this moment, making it feel both inevitable and rewarding. As you watch the scene, you probably have a thought along the lines of, “Oh, that’s why it was there,” or, “Aha, I knew we would see it again!”
What you’ve just read is a textbook example of Chekhov’s Gun, a literary principle made famous by the 19th century Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It states that if a gun appears in the first act, it must be fired before the story ends. Otherwise, it shouldn’t be included at all.
Chekhov’s Gun is a specific application of a broader storytelling technique known as foreshadowing, a method of preparing audiences for future events in a narrative. While this device is most commonly associated with fiction, it also has powerful applications for marketing messages.
Foreshadowing: The Art of Shaping Audience Expectations
Foreshadowing is the art of hinting, either subtly or not so subtly, at future developments in a narrative. Almost any element of a narrative can be foreshadowed, but the most common choices involve major twists or climactic moments in the story.
For example, if a character in a spy thriller novel will later be revealed to be a double-agent, then they might have several suspicious lines of dialogue to make the reader question their allegiance. If a powerful storm ravages a town in the climax of a drama film, then viewers may be shown shots of storm clouds building or overhear foreboding weather reports on a radio beforehand.
Foreshadowing serves to shape and guide audience expectations, building anticipation for future narrative developments. In literature, film, and other artistic mediums, this technique enhances investment in the story.
A well-placed foreshadowing element can take many forms, including:
- Dialogue Hints: A character makes an offhand comment that later proves significant.
- Visual Cues: A character glances toward a hidden object that will become crucial later.
- Repetition: A key phrase or object appears multiple times before its importance is finally revealed.
- Symbolism: A scene of dead vegetation forebodes a character’s death; a character discovers a nest of baby birds before learning of a pregnancy.
- Musical Cues: A particular melody is heard in the background before reappearing in a dramatic scene.
- Color Symbolism: A specific color associated with a character’s fate appears repeatedly before a key event.
The Psychology of Foreshadowing
We’ve taken some time to explain what foreshadowing is, but if we want to understand how it can be used in marketing messages, we’ll first need to understand the psychology behind it.
When an audience witnesses foreshadowing in a narrative, two important processes are triggered in their minds:
- Psychological priming
- Suspense
Psychological priming, or simply priming, is a natural but often subconscious component of human cognition. But briefly, priming is a phenomenon in which information or other stimuli that a person encounters affect their subsequent thoughts and emotions.
For example, you might have experienced that listening to sad-sounding music makes you remember sad moments from your own life, or that buying a new car leads to you noticing the same model out on the road more than you ever had previously. Both of these experiences are caused by priming.
Foreshadowing activates the priming effect in much the same way. When an audience receives a hint about what might happen later in the story, they intuitively begin speculating about what the outcome will be. This speculation engages them with the narrative and makes them more invested in discovering the outcome. Importantly, effective foreshadowing primes the audience to correctly guess the story’s outcome, which both makes that outcome feel appropriate and rewards the audience for putting the clues together.
Suspense is a more commonly known experience in which a person feels curious, tense, on edge, or in anticipation of an upcoming event. Although suspense often has a negative connotation, it can also be more subtle and benign. A person may feel suspense even in situations with anticipated positive outcomes, such as if someone tells us they purchased a surprise gift for us. The key to suspense is that we’re confronted with a mystery we are invested in solving.
With foreshadowing, the suspense comes from our desire to know if our speculations about future narrative events are correct. While priming gets the audience thinking about the end of the story, suspense keeps them reading or watching long enough to reach that ending.
Using Foreshadowing in Marketing Messages
There are several hurdles that marketers must surmount when crafting marketing communications. One of these is creating activation within your audience. Your communication must keep your audience interested as well as psychologically prepare them to accept the deal you are offering.
Just as foreshadowing keeps an audience invested in a story, it can be used to guide and activate your audience in marketing. It can:
- Prime your audience to accept your marketing message by introducing concepts that align with your final call to action.
- Use suspense to keep your audience engaged long enough to reach the deal at the end.
Imagine you are marketing for an auto repair shop that wants to advertise its oil change and tire rotation services. The competitive advantage you want to highlight in your communication is your speed. While other shops assign one mechanic to perform all the services on a vehicle, yours drastically cuts the service time by using 3 mechanics for each car. You want to highlight this feature in your marketing message.
If your communication is text based, you might begin with commentary that even routine automotive work often takes longer than customers hope. You could mention that even a simple oil change and tire rotation can take upwards of an hour if there is only one mechanic assigned to the service.
Upon reading this, your audience will immediately start considering solutions to the problem, perhaps brainstorming how labor could be allocated differently to speed up service time. They might even wonder if it would be possible to have more than one mechanic work on their car at a time. In this case, your clever use of foreshadowing has primed them to agree with the solution you will suggest (3 mechanics per car), and their suspense over how to solve the problem will hold their attention until you can offer your deal.
If your communication is video based, you could get even more creative. What if you staged an advertisement such that the shop owner is talking to the viewer on one side of the frame, and a team of three mechanics is diligently servicing a vehicle on the other? As they watch, the viewer will be curious about why the mechanics are included in the video, and by the time the owner mentions the process for faster oil changes and tire rotations, viewers will realize they’ve been watching that process in action all along!
When using foreshadowing in your marketing, keep in mind that it must always be done strategically. Every foreshadowed element should relate directly to the final offer. If you introduce an idea that leads nowhere, your audience will feel confused rather than satisfied. It would be ill-advised to hint at your shop’s friendly-than-average receptionists in the example above, because they have no bearing on the deal being offered in this marketing message.
Always remember the core rule of the Chekhov’s Gun principle when implementing foreshadowing: if an element is introduced, it must serve a purpose in the final outcome.
More Examples of Foreshadowing in Marketing
Here are a few more examples of ways you can use foreshadowing in your marketing:
- Written Content Example: Blog Post for a Financial Services Company
- Goal: Convince readers to sign up for a premium investment newsletter.
- Foreshadowing Strategy: Early in the article, introduce a brief mention of a “little-known investment strategy” that has helped many investors succeed. Do not explain it fully yet.
- Priming Effect: Readers become curious about this strategy and subconsciously anticipate its reveal.
- Suspense Effect: They continue reading to learn what this strategy is and how they can use it.
- Resolution: Near the end, the article reveals that this strategy is available in the premium newsletter, giving the audience a satisfying resolution and a clear call to action.
- Video Content Example: Product Teaser for Technology Company
- Goal: Generate excitement for an upcoming product launch.
- Foreshadowing Strategy: A teaser video shows quick, cryptic glimpses of an innovative new feature without revealing what it is.
- Priming Effect: Viewers begin forming theories about what the feature could be.
- Suspense Effect: The incomplete information sparks curiosity, increasing engagement with future updates.
- Resolution: The full reveal in a later campaign satisfies curiosity and drives purchase interest.
- Email Marketing Example: Subscription-Based Service
- Goal: Encourage users to upgrade to a premium plan.
- Foreshadowing Strategy: A series of emails hint at an exclusive upcoming feature but do not disclose full details.
- Priming Effect: Users begin to anticipate what the feature could be, making them more receptive to the final pitch.
- Suspense Effect: The mystery keeps them opening emails, increasing engagement with the brand.
- Resolution: A final email reveals the feature and includes a limited-time discount to encourage upgrades.
These examples show how foreshadowing can build audience engagement and subtly guide them toward a marketing conclusion that aligns with your business objectives.
In Summary
Foreshadowing is a powerful storytelling device that has been used for centuries to captivate audiences. By understanding the psychological effects of priming and suspense, marketers can apply this technique to increase engagement, guide their audience toward a desired conclusion, and improve conversion rates.
When using foreshadowing in marketing:
- Introduce elements that hint at your key message early on.
- Create suspense by delaying the reveal of these elements’ significance.
- Ensure that every foreshadowed element leads to a meaningful resolution.
Now, it’s time to experiment. How can you use foreshadowing in your next campaign to activate your audience to accept your deal? Start crafting your marketing narratives with this powerful literary device in mind, and watch how it transforms engagement and conversions.
