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 participants¹. Some...

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 It’s a reminder that so many of the norms of marketing have fundamentally changed. I remember my old...

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...