150  students completed a simple task and were split into two groups and given either positive or negative feedback on their performance. They were then shown either a one-off print or a mass-produced one and asked how much they’d pay for it.

Those given negative feedback were willing to pay almost 4x more on average for the unique print than those with positive feedback, showing how we use consumption to heal our sense of status.

There are multiple ways to elevate brand status:

‍Form strategic alliances with successful others with whom you share compatible goals (Thorndike, 1920), e.g. Go-Pro and Red Bull.

Develop your core purpose to raise your products’ perceived value (Chernev & Blair, 2015), e.g. Patagonia who “use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” 

Create and control new ways of promoting industry excellence. Dribbble, a platform for design teams to show off their work provides paid-for "Pro Business" status badges to distinguish the best from the rest.

Invest in a tiered loyalty scheme to elevate consumers’ status & brand attachment (Nunes & Dréze, 2006), e.g. British Airways Executive Club.

274 people were shown 10 t-shirts, split into 4 groups and then asked to rate the shirts on either likeability, casualness, colorfulness or how much it matched with a cap. They were then asked how fun the task was.

Those given the ability to express their like or dislike rated the task as much more fun than the other groups. Simply, we value ways to express how we feel.

Personalization pays.

Bold, scaleable self-expressive features increase loyalty and sales.

Coca-Cola’s #ShareaCoke campaign - switching out the product name for a person’s name - led to a 10% rise in 2014 sales and a 7% spike in Facebook growth.

An Australian store sold 400,000 customized jars of Nutella for $10 each, becoming their top seller.

Tie it back to emotions.

Though there are successes like Kraft Heinz personalized soup “Get Well Soon ___”, with consumers happy to spend five times more, know that personalization has upper bounds on price and has less impact as it becomes more common.

Like Heinz, the smartest brands will tie personalization to underlying product emotions - care and sympathy in this case.

What emotions do you want end consumers to feel? Use personalization to help express these publicly.  

• The Afterlife Effect states that if people are more explicitly shown what the products they are being asked to recycle will become, they will recycle more.

• It's driven by a mix of inspiration, a short story being told and a sense of closure from feedback as to what will happen if they choose to recycle.

• Producers should invest more time in closing this narrative loop to create the aha moment that compels people to recycle.

• The Afterlife Effect can be used to drive new circular economy partnerships and even rewards for the most environmentally-conscious consumers.

Did you know that since plastic was invented in 1907, a staggering 91% of the 8.3bn tonnes produced since has not been recycled (Geyer, Jambeck, and Law 2017)?

It's true that certain companies such as PepsiCo and Evian have already committed to 100%-recycled manufacture by 2020 and 2025, respectively. But more generally, we're still a long way off; plastics recycling actually fell in recent years from 9.5 to 9.1% (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] 2018a).

How then might we use our understanding of behavioral economics to improve the policies of government, industries and companies and speed up this process?

So far, a lot of behavioral research has been done on the more negative side of persuasive messaging to affect decisions to recycle (Bilandzic, Kalch, and Soentgen, 2017) which, though effective on some, can come across as coercive and trigger angry reactance in others, reducing its effectiveness (Griskevicius, Cantu, and Van Vugt 2012).

Despite the doom and gloom that surrounds the bigger question of our collective future, how instead might behavioral economics appeal to a more positive, inspirational side of our decision-making?

Well, some brilliant new research has just been released showing us how. It's called the Afterlife Effect, part of a growing trend of more positive behavioral nudges that you'll start to see a lot more of in future.

The concept

The researchers propose a new, positive way of increasing recycling that focuses on the story of what happens to old products after they've been recycled and what they turn into.

What lies at the core of these stories told? Inspiration, defined as an awareness of a new idea or concept that we didn't know before, so-called "aha moments" ("Oh, so that's what the cups become!"), followed by a new-found motivation to act on it ("That's so cool. It's great to see the impact of my recycling").

This short story provides a powerful, positive and understandable feedback loop as to why we should recycle.

Let's take a look at the research that demonstrates this concept to see the effect on people's recycling.

The research

Study 1 - Showing how a product's afterlife can boost recycling behavior

111 people were split into two core groups (a control and a product afterlife condition) and asked to perform a 'mind-clearing task' of doodling on a sheet of paper.

All were then shown one of three advertisements for product recycling (shown below) and asked to rate it for how likely they'd be to recycle.

They were then asked to clean away their desks, putting their paper either in a recycling container or the trash.

The results fascinatingly showed that those that saw the control with no afterlife information recycled their paper 51% of the time, whereas those in the Afterlife condition recycled 80% of the time! A staggering increase.

Study 2 - Higher click-throughs for ads with product afterlife

The researchers also wanted to see what impact the Afterlife Effect would have on click-throughs on a real advertising campaign.

They worked with clothing company Madewell, who were running a jeans recycling campaign at the time, where old jeans would be turned into household insulation.

Two Google Adwords variants were set up to test to see if the effect held both with and without the Afterlife Effect applied.

After running the campaign for 5 days, the researchers found that click-throughs were significantly higher (26%) for the Afterlife ad over the control (18%), even without any optimization!

The paper lists a further four studies that show the impact of the Afterlife Effect on decision-making.

In summary, given the urgency to act, there is a strong motivation to find new ways to help people to change their environmental consumer behavior.

Using storytelling, feedback loops and triggering inspiration in people can act as a much more positive and powerful motivator for behavior change that won't trigger negative reactions.

• The Afterlife Effect states that if people are more explicitly shown what the products they are being asked to recycle will become, they will recycle more.

• It's driven by a mix of inspiration, a short story being told and a sense of closure from feedback as to what will happen if they choose to recycle.

• Producers should invest more time in closing this narrative loop to create the aha moment that compels people to recycle.

• The Afterlife Effect can be used to drive new circular economy partnerships and even rewards for the most environmentally-conscious consumers.

Did you know that since plastic was invented in 1907, a staggering 91% of the 8.3bn tonnes produced since has not been recycled (Geyer, Jambeck, and Law 2017)?

It's true that certain companies such as PepsiCo and Evian have already committed to 100%-recycled manufacture by 2020 and 2025, respectively. But more generally, we're still a long way off; plastics recycling actually fell in recent years from 9.5 to 9.1% (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] 2018a).

How then might we use our understanding of behavioral economics to improve the policies of government, industries and companies and speed up this process?

So far, a lot of behavioral research has been done on the more negative side of persuasive messaging to affect decisions to recycle (Bilandzic, Kalch, and Soentgen, 2017) which, though effective on some, can come across as coercive and trigger angry reactance in others, reducing its effectiveness (Griskevicius, Cantu, and Van Vugt 2012).

Despite the doom and gloom that surrounds the bigger question of our collective future, how instead might behavioral economics appeal to a more positive, inspirational side of our decision-making?

Well, some brilliant new research has just been released showing us how. It's called the Afterlife Effect, part of a growing trend of more positive behavioral nudges that you'll start to see a lot more of in future.

The concept

The researchers propose a new, positive way of increasing recycling that focuses on the story of what happens to old products after they've been recycled and what they turn into.

What lies at the core of these stories told? Inspiration, defined as an awareness of a new idea or concept that we didn't know before, so-called "aha moments" ("Oh, so that's what the cups become!"), followed by a new-found motivation to act on it ("That's so cool. It's great to see the impact of my recycling").

This short story provides a powerful, positive and understandable feedback loop as to why we should recycle.

Let's take a look at the research that demonstrates this concept to see the effect on people's recycling.

The research

Study 1 - Showing how a product's afterlife can boost recycling behavior

111 people were split into two core groups (a control and a product afterlife condition) and asked to perform a 'mind-clearing task' of doodling on a sheet of paper.

All were then shown one of three advertisements for product recycling (shown below) and asked to rate it for how likely they'd be to recycle.

They were then asked to clean away their desks, putting their paper either in a recycling container or the trash.

The results fascinatingly showed that those that saw the control with no afterlife information recycled their paper 51% of the time, whereas those in the Afterlife condition recycled 80% of the time! A staggering increase.

Study 2 - Higher click-throughs for ads with product afterlife

The researchers also wanted to see what impact the Afterlife Effect would have on click-throughs on a real advertising campaign.

They worked with clothing company Madewell, who were running a jeans recycling campaign at the time, where old jeans would be turned into household insulation.

Two Google Adwords variants were set up to test to see if the effect held both with and without the Afterlife Effect applied.

After running the campaign for 5 days, the researchers found that click-throughs were significantly higher (26%) for the Afterlife ad over the control (18%), even without any optimization!

The paper lists a further four studies that show the impact of the Afterlife Effect on decision-making.

In summary, given the urgency to act, there is a strong motivation to find new ways to help people to change their environmental consumer behavior.

Using storytelling, feedback loops and triggering inspiration in people can act as a much more positive and powerful motivator for behavior change that won't trigger negative reactions.

111 people were split into two groups and asked to perform a mind-clearing task of doodling on a sheet of paper.

People who were shown the afterlife information (doodled paper being recycled into a new paper or a guitar) were more likely to recycle their paper than those who were not given this information (control).

‍Close the loop with a simple, inspiring story.

Consumers value the powerful stories told by products made from recycled material (Kamleitner, Thuerridl, and Martin 2019).

Get people to think about the transformative effects of turning old products into new ones with a story.

For instance, UK retailer Marks & Spencer is now rolling out a scheme where you can recycle any plastic in-store to be turned into shop fixtures and playground equipment for schools. They could use the box to show off the intended afterlife to inspire customers, as shown here.

If you sell a physical product, how can you build in and communicate the story of its afterlife?

Positivity is persuasive!

We are seeing a growing trend away from negative interventions (Moller, Ryan, and Deci 2006) with new research showing that positive, inspirational nudges can be more effective in motivating behavior change!

Although triggering Loss Aversion, for instance, can be effective, you may see greater results with a positive nudge.

How might you use inspirational nudges over negative, shaming ones in an environmental context?

Make it timely.

Organisations and Governments can also do a better job of motivating recycling at the point of disposal with the Afterlife Effect.

Recycling rates will be increased if we can see, at the point of disposal, what our efforts will turn into.

Consider tie-ups with complementary products / brands.

Though Nespresso recycle the aluminium from their coffee pods, they currently have no Afterlife Effect in place.

They could alternatively use recycled materials to make some of the complementary metal-based products on their site and gift them to those with a decent level of recycling.

Over 27,000 Israelis were mailed a self-administering Colorectal Cancer test kit. The kit either included an “if–then” leaflet with instructions of when, where, and how to perform the test or a standard leaflet with no such planning instructions (control group). They were then asked 2 and 6 months later whether they took the test.

71.4% of the If-then plan recipients took the test compared to 67.9% of the control group meaning If-Then plans resulted in 6.6% more of participants taking the test.

Whether designing for yourself or for others, here's how to make an easy, effective If-Then Plan:

First, define the goal.

If for you, it might be to exercise more. If for others, it might be to reduce an organisation's water waste. What existing behaviour are you looking to reduce or reinforce? Alternatively, what new, aspirational behaviour might you be looking to foster?

Identify your "If" context

This will become the future cue or environment that we'll recognise. It'll provide a clear, detectable moment to do something, even if you're busy or tired. Pick scenarios that are encountered often (E.g. on a daily basis, like an office lobby) to boost effectiveness.

E.g. "If/when I'm waiting for the elevator…"

Choose a behavioural "then" response

This is the specific behaviour that will get you closer to the goal you defined. The easier it is to recall and do, the more it will be done. For instance, what small, relevant and easy-to-recall behaviour can I do IF I'm waiting for the elevator?

E.g. "I will take the stairs"

Planning these steps out in advance and defining exactly how one should respond in the situation creates a strong, repeatable link between seeing and doing.

E.g. "If I have to wait for the elevator, then I will take the stairs"

Note: If designing for others, to ensure it'll be easy and fits within the context you're designing for, consider roleplaying it out before you roll it out. Role before you roll, if you will.

Inform, do not instruct.

A vivid, relatable and subtly persuasive image or message will be more effective to change consumer behaviour, whereas instructing them could be met with reactance. Remove this threat to personal freedom by giving consumers more autonomy when they make decisions.

Ideally, If-Thens should be defined at least in part by the person themselves. However, there are creative workarounds; companies could set and share strategic goals, with employees writing their own If-Then Plans to help achieve such goals.

Information has a wonderful way of looking very different, depending on how it’s communicated.

From turning glasses half empty into those half-full, as Designers, we have a great role to play in using framing to help people see things differently and hopefully, for the better too.

Framing is one of your most powerful behavioral tools. Everything can be reframed, depending on what you want.

For example, online second-hand clothing marketplace Vinted has devised a clever strategy to reframe the commonly-used “Service Fee” as a “Buyer protection fee”.

‍
By reframing it as buyer protection and clearly communicating how this amount is calculated, this assurance goes beyond merely paying for the item.

Now, customers will also feel confident that they’re taking extra steps towards safeguarding their purchase.

Information has a wonderful way of looking very different, depending on how it’s communicated.

From turning glasses half empty into those half-full, as Designers, we have a great role to play in using framing to help people see things differently and hopefully, for the better too.

Framing is one of your most powerful behavioral tools. Everything can be reframed, depending on what you want.

For example, online second-hand clothing marketplace Vinted has devised a clever strategy to reframe the commonly-used “Service Fee” as a “Buyer protection fee”.

‍
By reframing it as buyer protection and clearly communicating how this amount is calculated, this assurance goes beyond merely paying for the item.

Now, customers will also feel confident that they’re taking extra steps towards safeguarding their purchase.

96 people were told they’d be given some ground beef to taste, with half told it’d be  “25% fat” (negative frame) and half told it’d be “75% lean” (positive frame). They were then asked to rate the quality of the beef out of 7.

‍Those presented with a positive frame rated the beef as higher quality than those presented with a negative one.

Create a frame using context, words or imagery to help others  to see things according to your needs. 

Wildly different perceptions are made possible by reframing the same evidence.

Reframe statistics as factually-accurate positives against competitors. 

Facts are dramatically reinterpreted when set amongst different data. 

• Create an opportunity to act.

We’re more likely to take up a special offer when the marketing message is framed as a potential loss than a gain (Gamliel and Herstein, 2012). 

172 people were told of a fundraiser called Sheila who needed to sell 100 candy bars for her sports team and told she had to sell either 1 or 21 more bars to meet her quota. They were then asked how likely they were to buy a candy from her.

Those in the almost-complete task state were far more likely to help than when there were many left.

Visualize to motivate.

‍Showing quantifiable task progress  with a visual and numerical indicator will increase completion speed (Cheema & Bagchi, 2011).  

How can you heighten desire to close in on the reward?

Note that effort levels will fall after the current reward has been attained, so reframe progress around the next goal.

Be ahead of the curve. 

‍Endow Progress and put more weight on task completion at the start than when close to the goal. 

Place easier tasks at start and middle, saving harder or bigger ones for just before reward.

Reframe task size.

‍Motivation to complete a task is directly proportionate to its size. So, for viewers new to Breaking Bad, instead of Netflix initially highlighting all 5 seasons, reframe the task as a single season with a sense of completion.

Once season 1 is watched, reframe season 2 as a natural extension of 1 but distinct from 3-5.

77 people were asked to choose between an entirely certain win of $30 and an uncertain 80% chance of winning $45.

78% of people opted for the significantly smaller, certain reward, despite the risk-adjusted payout being higher for the uncertain reward (0.8 * $45 = $36).

Certainty is valued highly.‍

What ways can your business create reassurance or guarantees that make consumers feel safe?  How can you use exclusive certainty to reward and foster a sense of status with your brand?

Stick to your promises!

Letting consumers down, even once, will trigger uncertainty in the quality perceptions of your brand. If making claims about being the best at something, don’t ever give consumers reason to question that and turn a selling point into an unsustainable headache.

Reframe uncertain offers to appear certain.‍

The uncertain frame here requires consumers to calculate proportional savings, but the certain frame removes this by showing certainty of a zero-priced third lemon.

City Planners of Garden Grove, California installed Active Radar Speed Signs at 5 locations to provide real-time feedback on the speed of 58,000 drivers. LEDs would also flash if drivers exceeded speed limits by more than 5MPH.

After installation of the feedback systems, average speed dropped 22% from 44 to 34mph.

First, determine the behavior to change. Measure, capture and store the relevant data. 

Communicate it back to the individual in a relevant, context-sensitive way that ultimately provokes an emotional reaction.

Provide clear consequences for action or inaction. It’s critical to get the right balance between not being too subtle and not being too intrusive or authoritarian (which we filter out).

Lastly, allow for opportunities to immediately rectify the behavior - which should also be tracked - completing the loop and eventually changing the behavior pattern.  Remember to reward compliance as much as you penalize inaction to increase effectiveness.