Exorcists and Aliens.

Next time you’re at your local Redbox or Best Buy, notice how similar — and similarly gruesome — all the covers are for horror movies. Now think back to two of the biggest and scariest: The Exorcist and Alien. The poster / cover for the former? A nighttime image of a man standing under a streetlight outside a home. The latter? A strange-looking egg beginning to crack, with light seeping through the fissure (and the admonition, “In space, no one can hear you scream.”) No gore. No monsters. All suggestion. Here’s the takeaway: trusting your target audience to have an imagination can help you produce marketing that engages them more.