Surprise marketing is Target previewing Alexander McQueen at a pop-up store on Manhattan’s far West Side. It’s a phone number on customized Levi’s jeans that leads to the brand’s concierge service.

It’s not simply offering excellent service or quality products.

Although many marketers are hitting notes considered comfortable and familiar because of the recession, sounding chords of surprise has merits, marketing consultant Andy Nulman said. This form of marketing creates a sense of “pow,” versus those moments of “wow,” he explained. It’s the difference between “total shock” (pow) and “exceeding expectations” (wow), like the difference between a “major upset” in sports (pow) and a “great game” (wow), or a “new hair color” (pow) and a “haircut” (wow).

“It can make it more palatable, more bearable to take something on” in a weak economy, said Nulman, the author of Pow! Right Between the Eyes (John Wiley & Sons; $22.95). “It can give you a jolt. You may not buy, but you’ll get a lift from it.”

Surprise is stumbling upon Target’s McQ Market, which was so far over on lower Manhattan’s West Side it was practically in the water. Surprise marketing is finding the gift of a commemorative Citi Field key fob on opening day on a table at Blue Smoke, a Danny Meyers restaurant in the FlatIron District with an outpost at the Mets’ new home. It’s viewing a silent, 30-second TV commercial for Carmel Car and Limousine Service on ESPN, CNN and MSNBC in which the nationwide firm promises in words crawling across the screen: “In times of economic turmoil, we want to give you a moment of peace and quiet…on us.”

Surprise marketing offers “quality that fascinates,” such as Nulman experienced in a visit to Japan, where he rode in taxi cabs with “lace-covered seats,” was offered umbrella covers at stores so the umbrellas didn’t drip while he shopped, and was provided with “sparkling clean” shirts and shorts to wear for his workout at a gym.

Nulman said surprise marketing moves beyond “quality that is expected,” beyond the quality that would characterize, say, enjoying a good meal from Whole Foods or discovering cutting-edge designer fashions from Barneys New York.

Taking things out of context is one way to stir surprise, like playing classical music in a locker room before a big game, serving Coca-Cola in Champagne flutes, or as Nulman put it in “Pow!”: “Anything that switches two norms into one abnorm.”

This tactic was used in February at Target’s McQ Market, one of 10 pop-ups it has staged since its first temporary shop in 2002. The pop-up provided a sneak peak for shoppers and potential buzz for Target: McQueen’s apparel and outerwear, priced from $19.99 to $129.99, wasn’t being sold at the chain until 18 days later.

By the second afternoon—Feb. 15—of a two-day, limited engagement, more than 1,000 fashion aficionados and others had found their way into the Target McQ Market, which housed Alexander McQueen’s new McQ collection that drew a total of about 4,800 visitors, including guests at a preview for celebrities and media, said Joshua Thomas, a Target spokesman. The dates were chosen to coincide with New York Fashion Week.