Variable Rewards Read online This video of a smart gas station owner went viral a couple of months back. Here's the original. The video shows dozens of customers failing to balance 25 cents on a lemon. A chance to win $100 is a carrot large enough to make customers bet. It shows something that many marketers have known for decades. We love a gamble. People prefer a gamble In 2025, researchers Gaertig and Simmons offered either a gamble or a certain reward to hundreds of participantsΒΉ. Some...
8 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Adobe Summit London 2026 Read online Last week, I had great fun attending the Adobe Summit London 2026. Partly great hearing about the latest innovations in AI and partly great catching up with the friendliest man in marketing, Joe Glover. Two stats from the opening keynote that stuck with me. 1: Organic web search traffic is down 20% 2: Conversion rate for AI search is 42% higher then before Itβs a reminder that so many of the norms of marketing have fundamentally changed. I remember my old...
10 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Transparency Read online For his book Influence, Robert Cialdini went undercover as a waiter at a high-end restaurant. He spent his time shadowing Vincent, who consistently received the largest tips. Turns out, Vincent had a counterintuitive tactic. When it was time for the first person, normally a woman, to order, he went into his act. No matter what she picked, Vincent reacted identically: his brow furrowed, his hand hovered above his order pad, and after looking quickly over his shoulder...
15 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Pratfall Effect Read online A few years back I received this review. It hurt me a bit and knocked my confidence. I was desperate for listeners to leave some positive reviews so others wouldn't see it. I tried to cover it up, but other brands do the opposite. Spa Diner promotes "the worst breakfast one man on Yelp ever had". Snowbird put their 1-star review in a double-page magazine ad. The Antelope pub share their negative reviews on Facebook. This sandwich shop printed out their 1-star...
22 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
The Issue With AI Read online There's a community on Reddit where users debate if an image is AI-generated. This image was subject to fierce debate. Turns out it is AI-generated. This is an AI pizza. In the comments, most users say they'd stop visiting a restaurant that used AI in its photos. Another user shared an example of their local pizza joints doing the same. Sarno forgot to erase the Papa John's logo from their AI pizza. Reddit users hate these AI images. One commenter said: "this...
29 days agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Negativity Bias Read online You'd be forgiven for thinking this ad is nonsensical. I've always liked it. The reverse psychology makes it stick in my mind. But recently I read a study which explains why it works. Negative framing. In 2025, researchers Wallach, Blair and Tanenbaum published a paper titled 'This Article Is Not for Everyone'. For the study, participants were shown one of the following slogans for a new dark roast coffee. Half saw positive framing: 'This is the coffee for you if...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
The Halo Effect Read online The World Cup is here, and England's kit looks a bit naff. Cole Palmer wearing a shirt that looks 2x too big. The kit seems ill-fitting; it looks far too baggy around the shoulders, and the neck is too wide. If Nike surveyed my opinion for their market research, I'd give it a 1/5. But my opinion could change very soon. Success shifts perception. In 2019, researcher Gerd NuferΒΉ asked 3,178 football fans to rank the quality of their club's kits. For the study, six...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 1 min read
Specific Number Bias Read online I stumbled across this Reddit post a few weeks back. Everest surveyors added two feet to their measurement to appear accurate. Rather than listing the exact measurement of 29,000, the British Royal Geographical Society declared Mount Everest's elevation at 29,002. Clearly, the surveyors thought that rounded numbers seem less believable. Something that numerous studies have since proven. Can You Spare 17 Cents? In 1994, Santos, Leve and Pratkanis asked three...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
The AI Contradiction Read online I just generated an image in the style of Monet using AI. Have a look, and think about what makes this inferior to a real Monet painting. Made with AI* A few weeks back, X user "SHLOMS" did the same. SHLOM's post on X. 1,300 people responded. Most said this AI art was pure crap.They said it lacked "coherent composition". The colours were an "incoherent muddle". Some said it was "trying too hard". Others called it "obvious AI slop". Replies to "SHLOMS" included...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
