Fluency Shortcut
Statements that are easier to understand are more believable
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.
Self-Expression
We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others
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.
Storyteller Bias
We’re more persuaded by and better recall those who tell stories
20 people were split into two groups. Half were asked to read the story of an unknown cosmetics brand & product and shown a photo of the store. Half were not given a story or photo. All were then asked for an estimation of the product’s cost range.
Those in the Story Group saw the item as of higher value and were twice as willing to pay for it.
Use the Fairy Tale Framework. Ensure that your brand story has a beginning, middle and end. Add in a conflict and define one easy-to-summarize message (Fog et. al, 2005). This should be told by identifiable characters who resolve the conflict, restore harmony and allow the brand to be valued positively. Add unexpected twists and finish on an emotional high, often the part most remembered (Guber, 2007).
Create positive persuasion, catching consumer interest and convincing through ‘narrative transportation’, where, once immersed in a story, the viewer’s mind alters (Escalas, 2004a). Stories trigger warmer, more upbeat feelings than regular ads, raise brand uniqueness, allow for product features to be conveyed without feeling commercial and are remembered by consumers in multiple ways: factually, visually and emotionally (Rosen, 2000).
Nostalgia Effect
Thinking about the past makes us want to spend more now
129 people were split into 2 groups, with half asked to either write about a time when they felt nostalgic or a neutral event. After writing, everyone was given $5 to distribute between themselves and a random other.
The results showed that on average, neutrals only gave away $1.43, whereas nostalgics gave $2.
Understand what nostalgia means for your target audience. Brands, products and campaign messaging can all gain from referring to the past to loosen our wallets. Nintendo are now rereleasing their 1985 NES console, for example.
Use to promote social behaviour. Since nostalgia causes a reduction in one’s desire for money, it can instead be used to increase charitable donations or promote participation in a charitable event.
Digital nostalgia is growing, as our online history of archived experiences deepens. The opportunity to capitalize upon this powerful effect will only increase. e.g. Facebook is now reminding us of our past experiences, using nostalgia to keep us emotionally bound to their network.
Rhyme As Reason Effect
Rhyming statements that you hear, they are seen as more sincere
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!
Halo Effect
We incorrectly transfer judgements of known attributes onto other unrelated or unknown ones
165 people were told of a printer maker and split into four 'halo' groups (environment, community, customers or employees) and a control. Each group were then told of its extra efforts in these areas and then quizzed about its Corporate Social Responsibility in general.
People assumed the halo groups to be more socially-responsible in unrelated areas, despite no evidence!
Invest in reputation.
Since we take shortcuts when judging brand character, first impressions matter. Where in society, the environment, with customers or with employees can you foster initiatives that will trigger the Halo Effect?
Spend wisely
i.e. investing in employee and community relations has been found to more persuasively impact the judgements of corruption prosecutors than promoting diversity or being environmentally friendly (Hong & Liskovich, 2015).
Consider co-branding.
Evaluations of new products are heightened by the presence of at least one high-equity brand (Besharat, 2010). Instead of launching a sub-brand, consider partnering with other brands that complement your values or already make CSR efforts that you aspire to.
Devil Effect
Our perception of a single negative attribute unfairly bleeds into other unrelated areas
247 people were told of an NFL player endorsing a shoe brand and shown a news item of the player being guilty of a drug deal, of the brand faking employee insurance, or a no-news control. They were then asked to rate feelings towards both celebrity and product.
Products were found to suffer from worse perception after a bad celebrity act, but the celebrity was relatively untainted following a company failure.
The Devil is everywhere...
...and not particular to just humans, but also found within places, opinions, brands or symbols. In being Fast and Slow Thinkers, we look for shortcuts as to how the world is, and who to trust.
Be careful of your associations.
Think carefully about the connections you make and the potential risk of doing so. Consider the campaign by watch maker Swatch, themed around the Brexit referendum to design your own watch. Nobody wants to be reminded of painful division, especially when reduced to a quick sales opportunity.
Don't let the Devil get in your way.
We’re biased against a great idea from someone we don't like or a delicious recipe recommendation from someone with differing political views. If you discredit x just because of y, try to recognize the source of the devil and accept that we can hold many conflicting views and also be of great value to one other.
Concise, short descriptions of product options help us to identify which is right for us. However, brands could go further and use these names to put a name to our own needs and desires.
For instance, food delivery service, instead of simply calling the product a "Mango, Lime and walnut salad", could put it within a set of options called "Energisers", emphasising a clear emotional outcome for the choice.
Similarly, a tea subscription service, instead of just giving 3x flavour notes of that choice, could bracket it within "Adventurous" or "Calming". A nice side effect of this is that it can act as a further filter, reducing choice overload.
How might you simply communicate your product options to surface customers own unrealised individuality?
Fluency Shortcut
Statements that are easier to understand are more believable
Fluency Shortcut
Statements that are easier to understand are more believable
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.
Self-Expression
We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others
Self-Expression
We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others
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.
Storyteller Bias
We’re more persuaded by and better recall those who tell stories
Storyteller Bias
We’re more persuaded by and better recall those who tell stories
20 people were split into two groups. Half were asked to read the story of an unknown cosmetics brand & product and shown a photo of the store. Half were not given a story or photo. All were then asked for an estimation of the product’s cost range.
Those in the Story Group saw the item as of higher value and were twice as willing to pay for it.
Use the Fairy Tale Framework. Ensure that your brand story has a beginning, middle and end. Add in a conflict and define one easy-to-summarize message (Fog et. al, 2005). This should be told by identifiable characters who resolve the conflict, restore harmony and allow the brand to be valued positively. Add unexpected twists and finish on an emotional high, often the part most remembered (Guber, 2007).
Create positive persuasion, catching consumer interest and convincing through ‘narrative transportation’, where, once immersed in a story, the viewer’s mind alters (Escalas, 2004a). Stories trigger warmer, more upbeat feelings than regular ads, raise brand uniqueness, allow for product features to be conveyed without feeling commercial and are remembered by consumers in multiple ways: factually, visually and emotionally (Rosen, 2000).
Nostalgia Effect
Thinking about the past makes us want to spend more now
Nostalgia Effect
Thinking about the past makes us want to spend more now
129 people were split into 2 groups, with half asked to either write about a time when they felt nostalgic or a neutral event. After writing, everyone was given $5 to distribute between themselves and a random other.
The results showed that on average, neutrals only gave away $1.43, whereas nostalgics gave $2.
Understand what nostalgia means for your target audience. Brands, products and campaign messaging can all gain from referring to the past to loosen our wallets. Nintendo are now rereleasing their 1985 NES console, for example.
Use to promote social behaviour. Since nostalgia causes a reduction in one’s desire for money, it can instead be used to increase charitable donations or promote participation in a charitable event.
Digital nostalgia is growing, as our online history of archived experiences deepens. The opportunity to capitalize upon this powerful effect will only increase. e.g. Facebook is now reminding us of our past experiences, using nostalgia to keep us emotionally bound to their network.
Rhyme As Reason Effect
Rhyming statements that you hear, they are seen as more sincere
Rhyme As Reason Effect
Rhyming statements that you hear, they are seen as more sincere
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!
Halo Effect
We incorrectly transfer judgements of known attributes onto other unrelated or unknown ones
Halo Effect
We incorrectly transfer judgements of known attributes onto other unrelated or unknown ones
165 people were told of a printer maker and split into four 'halo' groups (environment, community, customers or employees) and a control. Each group were then told of its extra efforts in these areas and then quizzed about its Corporate Social Responsibility in general.
People assumed the halo groups to be more socially-responsible in unrelated areas, despite no evidence!
Invest in reputation.
Since we take shortcuts when judging brand character, first impressions matter. Where in society, the environment, with customers or with employees can you foster initiatives that will trigger the Halo Effect?
Spend wisely
i.e. investing in employee and community relations has been found to more persuasively impact the judgements of corruption prosecutors than promoting diversity or being environmentally friendly (Hong & Liskovich, 2015).
Consider co-branding.
Evaluations of new products are heightened by the presence of at least one high-equity brand (Besharat, 2010). Instead of launching a sub-brand, consider partnering with other brands that complement your values or already make CSR efforts that you aspire to.
Devil Effect
Our perception of a single negative attribute unfairly bleeds into other unrelated areas
Devil Effect
Our perception of a single negative attribute unfairly bleeds into other unrelated areas
247 people were told of an NFL player endorsing a shoe brand and shown a news item of the player being guilty of a drug deal, of the brand faking employee insurance, or a no-news control. They were then asked to rate feelings towards both celebrity and product.
Products were found to suffer from worse perception after a bad celebrity act, but the celebrity was relatively untainted following a company failure.
The Devil is everywhere...
...and not particular to just humans, but also found within places, opinions, brands or symbols. In being Fast and Slow Thinkers, we look for shortcuts as to how the world is, and who to trust.
Be careful of your associations.
Think carefully about the connections you make and the potential risk of doing so. Consider the campaign by watch maker Swatch, themed around the Brexit referendum to design your own watch. Nobody wants to be reminded of painful division, especially when reduced to a quick sales opportunity.
Don't let the Devil get in your way.
We’re biased against a great idea from someone we don't like or a delicious recipe recommendation from someone with differing political views. If you discredit x just because of y, try to recognize the source of the devil and accept that we can hold many conflicting views and also be of great value to one other.
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