205 people were shown a description of a digital camera printed in a font that was either easy to read (high fluency) or hard (low fluency).

Results found that when easy to read, only 56% delayed choosing the camera, next to 71% when hard. Why? Fluency breeds familiarity, which we value greatly, because it’s unlikely to be harmful (Zajonc, 1968).

Keep it short. Whether for marketing, nudges or political persuading, low syllable, easy-to-conceptualize slogans will feel dramatically more intuitive for consumers. Next to a competing message, they’ll believe the one that’s easier to understand (Schooler & Hertwig, 2005).

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. The mere act of repeating your message will increase its familiarity, which itself increases the extent to which it’s seen as true (Reber & Schwarz, 1999). Keep it consistent across your team and put it everywhere.

Keep product benefits concise. Consumers actually like a product less the more positive traits they bring to mind (Menon & Raghubir, 2003).  This is because they start to associate your product with greater complexity and lower fluency. 

100 people were split into groups and shown a list of sayings about human behavior that either rhymed or didn’t (e.g. “Woes unite foes”  or “Fools live poor to die rich”). They were then asked how accurate the sayings were.

Those in the rhyming group believed their sayings to be more true than those in the non-rhyming group.

A little play to make them pay.

‍Where can you use rhymes to heighten belief and persuade in a playful way?

Combine with the Humor Effect and a short jingle for an extra boost.

Repeat to defeat.

‍Fluency Shortcut says that short, easy-to-understand sentences are believed and repeated more.

Where can you use short rhymes to speed up familiarity of new ideas and create memorable vocal repeatability?

Localize to vocalize.

‍Consider the 1970s ad in the UK by vacuum manufacturer Electrolux. Though the claim might have been true, 'to suck' more isn't always a good thing.

However, the negative meaning hadn't yet entered British English, so rhymes can be crimes, but only in certain climes!