Never Lead With Negativity Read online Last week, a student enrolled in the Nudge Unit asked me: Should I show my negative reviews? The answer is yes but with a heavy caveat. Studies show that consumers prefer a 4.8-star rating to a 5-star rating¹. The 4.8 rating feels more believable and trustworthy. So, you'll need to include a few negative reviews. In fact, an analysis of New York Times book reviews found that negative reviews increased sales by 45%² for unknown authors. A poorly reviewed...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Distinct But Not Different Read online Last week, I gave a keynote speech in Reykjavík for the ÍMARK conference. Want me to speak at your event? Email me (I'll give you mates' rates) I spoke about standing out and why marketers are obsessed with differentiation. It all starts with the Von Restorff effect. Distinct images stick in our minds 👇 Distinct items stand out in our minds. Not only are distinct things 30x¹ more memorable, they bend our perception. That's why the heavy metal band Party...
21 days ago • 1 min read
Seven Tips in Seven Minutes Read online Before Twitter turned weird, I had great fun sharing before and after tips. The good old days. I've now ditched Twitter/X because I'm an algorithm-addict and value my time. But, a few days ago, while preparing for the Nudge Unit, I stumbled upon my archives. I thought they'd make a good newsletter. So, here are the top seven psychology-inspired marketing tips: 7 Psych-Inspired Marketing Tips 1) Von Restorff Effect = distinctiveness increases recall 💡...
28 days ago • 1 min read
Showcase Operational Transparency Read online In Will Guidara's book Unreasonable Hospitality, he talks about a dessert trolley. It's a small anecdote in a book about the "world's best restaurant". He took Eleven Madison Park from zero to three Michelin stars. And yet, the dessert trolley story sticks in my mind. This isn't the EMP trolley, but one from its sister restaurant. Will stacked the trolley with pies, cakes, and tarts and pushed them by the table. He did this during lunch when even...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Negative Social Proof Read online In the early 2000s, communications professor Bob Hornik¹ wanted to see if anti-drug ads worked. He gathered data on thousands of teenagers. He tracked their exposure to anti-drug ads and their marijuana use over time. Anti-drug ads from 2000. The results? The ads didn’t reduce drug use. They increased it. Teenagers who saw the ads were more likely to smoke marijuana. Why? Because the ads unintentionally reinforced the idea that drug use was common. This is...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
"Pre Season SALE" Read online Marketing scientists Eric Anderson and Duncan Simester¹ had a simple question: Does the word “sale” boost sales — even if the price doesn’t change? To find out, they teamed up with a clothing catalogue company. Anderson and Simester sent out two versions of the catalogue to 50,000 people. In one, some dresses were labelled “Pre-Season SALE.” In the other, those same-priced dresses had no sale tag. The result? Simply adding the word “sale” boosted purchases by...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Scarcity and Exclusivity Read online Credit for this story goes to Jonah Berger and his book Contagious¹ In 2005, Ben Fischman was CEO of SmartBargains. It was a discount website selling everything from bedding to luggage. Deals were great. Prices up to 75% off. SmartBargins.com April 5th 2006. But by 2007, the buzz was gone. Competitors cropped up. The site was floundering. So Fischman tried again. He launched Rue La La in 2008. It sold the same products. Same dresses. Same shoes. Yet Rue La...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Showcase your benefis Read online In 1844, in London, a new company became a viral sensation. Wenham Lake Ice Company placed a fresh block of ice in their shop window each day. No Londoner had seen a block of ice that size before. The ice wasn't just big. It was clear. To prove this, Wenham propped the day's newspaper behind the block. Passers-by could read the newspaper through the ice¹. A Wenham Lake Ice Company delivery. N(ice). Queen Victoria insisted on Wenham ice at Buckingham Palace....
2 months ago • 1 min read
Two Pizza Teams Read online Here’s a myth that refuses to die: If you want a winning team, fill it with the smartest people you can find. For a football team, that's Mbappe upfront, Vinicius Junior on the wing and Bellingham in midfield. Surely the same applies in business? That’s what Google thought. Lesson: Google’s Secret to Great Teams In 2012, they launched Project Aristotle¹ to uncover the formula for building high-calibre teams. With access to more data than most companies could dream...
2 months ago • 2 min read