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I spend 18 hours each week turning marketing psychology into readable newsletters.

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Can a walk outside make you ๐’”๐’Ž๐’‚๐’“๐’•๐’†๐’“? | Nudge Newsletter

The Nature Effect Read online Are you happier outside? In one 2013 studyยน one million iPhone notifications were sent to 20,000 Brits at various times of day, over a six-month period. The app prompted participants to report their happiness. The app used in the study The phone's GPS determined if the participant was outside or inside. Turns out, those outdoors were much happier. Compared to those inside, participants outside were "significantly and substantially happier", according to the...

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The Framing Effect Read online Many plant-based products are failing due to bad naming. In 2018ยน, a study was conducted with 727 Brits who already ate meat. Renaming the โ€œ๐ฆ๐ž๐š๐ญ-๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ž๐ž ๐›๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ค๐Ÿ๐š๐ฌ๐ญโ€ to โ€œ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ž๐ฅ๐-๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐›๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ค๐Ÿ๐š๐ฌ๐ญโ€ made diners 200% more likely to pick the plant-based option. Similarly, renaming โ€œ๐ฆ๐ž๐š๐ญ-๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ž๐ž ๐ฌ๐š๐ฎ๐ฌ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฌ๐กโ€ as โ€œ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ž๐ฅ๐-๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฌ๐š๐ฎ๐ฌ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฌ๐กโ€ made it twice as popular. The paper went on to find that a Veggie Burger will be more popular if itโ€™s called a โ€œ๐‹๐จ๐š๐๐ž๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ž๐ซโ€. And...

The Framing Effect Read online Here's a thought experiment. You've been told you have lung cancer. The doctor asks if you want treatment. She tells you: "68% survive one year after surgery" Hearing this, you'd probably opt for surgery, that's what the majority pickยน. But what if the doctor said: "32% die within one year after surgery" Now, if you're like those in thisยน study, you'd be less likely to choose surgery. It's the same odds of survival. But the wording changed behaviour. This is the...

Target Timely Moments Read online Want someone to adopt a new habit? Contact them after a significant life event has occurred. This studyยน conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team proves it. They found that a promotional leaflet for a cycle share scheme in Portland, USA was nearly 4 times more effective when they targeted ๐ก๐จ๐ฆ๐ž-๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ, compared to ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด. BIKETOWN was launched in Portland. All residents were sent this leaflet, but focusing on new movers is more cost-effective....

The Red Bull Story Read online Dietrich Mateschitz discovered an energy drink in Thailand. It was cheap and used by factory workers to stay awake. Mateschitz took it back to Austria and set up focus group taste tests. They didn't go well. Red Bull was describedยน as: "Awful", "horrible to taste", and "disgusting". And yet, this "disgusting" drink sells 12.6 billion cans a year. Here are three possible reasons why. Anchoring Price can act as a signal of quality. Rather than charging the Thai...

AI + Psychology Read online Thereโ€™s a 2023ยน study I think of whenever I read about AI. The scientists ran four experiments and found that social proof massively improved AI suggestions. For example, people were: 17.6% more likely to buy a pair of sneakers when the AI explained, โ€œItโ€™s the most purchased item.โ€ To me, it showed that to succeed, AI needs to understand human psychology. And if youโ€™re working with AI, so do you. Adobe's London Summit Adobe was kind enough to invite me to their...

The Anchoring Effect Read online Let's start with an experiment. Consider the following two calculations and attempt to guess the answer. Don't use a calculator, take 10 seconds, and make your guess. 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 = ? 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = ? What did you guess? Were your guesses different? The average guess for the first sum is 512, for the second it's 2,250 (4x higher). Many of you will have figured out that the actual answer is exactly the same. It's 40,320 for...

The Psychology Of Smell Read online I've got a shameful secret. My mouth salivates when I walk past Subway. I know the food is dire, the lettuce is plastic, and the bread is like a sponge. Yet I can't help but feel an urge to go in. After reading Consumerologyยน, I think I've learnt why. The Psychology of Smell You'll smell a Subway before you see it. The yeasty, sweet, toasty smell is pumped out onto the street. And I think it's on purpose. Just looking at this image reminds me of the smell....

Losses Feel Worse Than Gains Read online Kahneman proved that "๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฒ๐˜ถ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด". So, Nationwide don't say:โŒ "We've kept our Holloway store open. So you can keep banking in-person."They say:โœ… "Santander is leaving Holloway. Maybe it's time you left Santander." It's the best ad I've seen in weeks because it concretely applies behavioural science. Highlighting what a customer will lose is often more persuasiveยน than highlighting what they'll gain. Richard...

"I'm A Student Here Too" Read online In 1994ยน, researchers asked 100s of college students for charitable donations. All were told to interrupt the students and solicit a donation. But there was a twist. Half were told to make a straightforward request, with no extra commentary. Half were told to emphasise a shared identity, saying "I'm a student here too". The results were astonishing. Only 9.8% of students in the control group made a donation. While 47.1% donated in the variant group, a 3x...