Goal Dilution Effect Read online Keen listeners of Nudge will have heard Richard Shotton explain how Five Guys succeeded because they limited the number of items on their menu. Taken from Shotton's episode in late 2025. They focused on just burgers and chips. That helped them improve and benefit from economies of scale. But it also helped them psychologically, due to the goal dilution effect. Here's why: In a 2007 study by Zhang and Fishbachยน, participants were given information about how...
8 days agoย โขย 1 min read
Pratfall Effect Read online A few months ago on Reddit, someone asked, "Is this the best Black Friday marketing campaign?" Personally, I think it's disingenuous garbage, but clearly, something about this type of ad resonates with some. And it might be because of the first two words. "We're sorry." In 2024ยน a number of researchers from Belgium ran four experiments. They tested what happened when a company apologised for a trivial mistake. In one study, participants were shown an email from a...
15 days agoย โขย 1 min read
Price Transparency Read online I spent far too much time moaning about the price of pints. I'd harp on about the ยฃ3 ales I used to buy and how they're ยฃ5.50 today. And then I saw this image. Taken from The Times based on figures from Ukospitality and the British Beer and Pub association 13p profit!? Suddenly ยฃ5 for a pint seems quite reasonable. And there's evidence to prove this price transparency tactic works. In 2020, Harvard researchersยน tested the effects of showing a product's...
22 days agoย โขย 1 min read
Humor Effect Read online Are funny ads actually more ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐? That's what seven Californianยน researchers set out to test in 2014. A group of participants were instructed to remember a long list of words. 50% of the participants then waited for 20 minutes in silence. ๐คซ50% of the participants then watched a funny 20-minute video. ๐คฃThe researchers asked both groups to recall as many words as possible. Those who sat in silence remembered just 20% of the words. ๐คซFor those who watched the...
29 days agoย โขย 1 min read
Barnum Effect Read online Why does the ad on the ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ capture attention? Well, it might be down to the question.Rohini Ahluwalia and Robert Burnkrant's studyยน in 2004 tested two types of ads. Statement-based ads: "You haven't had a pear in a while."And... Question ads: "When was the last time you had a pear?" The researchers found that ads using questions are rated 14% ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฒ than statement-based ads. So, why not turn your statement into a question? I tested this myself in two...
about 1 month agoย โขย 1 min read
The Country-of-Origin Effect Read online Youโre thinking of buying a new pair of running shoes. Usually, you go with Nike. But this time, youโre considering Umbro (a lesser-known brand). Then you find out: Umbro makes their shoes in the UK. Nice. It's always good to find locally made brands. Youโre willing to pay a decent price. But the next day, you hear Umbro are moving production to South Korea. Now, would you still pay the same? Probably not. Thatโs exactly what these researchersยน found....
about 1 month agoย โขย 1 min read
The Anchoring Effect Read online In the 1970s, Tversky and Kahnemanยน ran a simple experiment. They asked people: "What percentage of African countries are in the UN?" But before answering, participants had to spin a wheel with numbers from 0 to 100. The wheel was rigged to land on either 10 or 65. Then came the important question: "Is the actual percentage higher or lower than that number?" After that, participants gave their best estimate. Hereโs what happened: People who saw 10 guessed 25%...
about 2 months agoย โขย 1 min read
The Illusion of Choice Read online Give people $1 and two identical packs of gum. Same flavour. Same price. What happens? Most people aren't interested. Thatโs what Kim, Novemsky, and Dharยน found in a South Korean experiment. They gave participants โฉ1,000 and two gum options, both priced at โฉ630. Only 46% bought anything. But then they did something clever. They made the prices slightly different: โฉ620 vs. โฉ640. Now 77% decided to buy. Same gum. Slight price difference. Big impact. Why? When...
about 2 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Input Bias Read online Does the ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ put into a shop display ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ influence sales? That's what Moralesยน set out to answer in 2005. Participants were shown round the same store, except half saw the shelves ๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก-๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ. The other participants saw the same products, but with a ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ-๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฒ. The results are striking. Those who saw the high-effort display were willing to pay 24.4% ๐๐๐๐. After seeing a store display like Boots, customers were willing to pay...
2 months agoย โขย 1 min read