Behavioral Science For Brands: Leveraging behavioral science in brand marketing.

In this episode, we chat with Phil Graves, author of Consumerology. As a leading voice on the flaws of traditional market research, he explains why what customers say often differs from what they do. He also highlights the mechanisms behind purchase decisions and explores how behavioral science offers a more reliable lens for understanding real consumer behavior. 

In this episode we sit down with Rory Sutherland, author of Alchemy. As one of advertising’s most original thinkers, he makes the case for embracing irrationality in marketing, argues why logic is overrated and explains how small shifts can lead to big behavioral effects. 

In this episode we explore how behavioral science can be applied to media planning. We discuss the fundamental attribution error and why this suggests brands should spend less time thinking about target audiences and more time thinking about target contexts.  We then look at some specific moments that brands can target – such as when people are in a good mood or when their age ends in nine.

In this episode, we look at the story of Five Guys and how they used behavioral science to become one of the most successful brands in the ‘better burger’ category. We identify some of the secrets to their success such as ending the experience on a high, harnessing the illusion of effort by letting dinners see into the kitchen and - perhaps most importantly of all – harnessing the power of simplic...

In this episode we speak with Steve Martin, co-author of Yes! 60 secrets from the science of persuasion which has sold over 1.5 m million copies. We talk to Steve about his latest work on the messenger effect and the eight traits that make a messenger influential. 

In this episode, we explore how Oatly became a billion-dollar brand by using behavioral science in clever, unexpected ways. We unpack how the launch of their Barista Edition—crafted specifically for coffee shops—tapped into the Messenger Effect, where who delivers a message matters as much as what is said. Along the way, we break down what makes a messenger truly persuasive—and how your brand can...

In this episode we speak with Adam Ferrier, founder of Australian ad agency, Thinkerbell. Adam is the author of The Advertising Effect, one of the best books on applying behavioral science to advertising. On the podcast he talks about some of the most effective Australian campaigns of the last few years and why listening to your customer creates bland advertising.

Everlane’s success has partly been driven by differentiating themselves from the rest of the fashion industry. Crucially they have reframed the competition as behaving unfairly.  In this episode we look at a series of behavioral science experiments that show brands can disrupt consumer apathy if they position the competition as having behaved unfairly. We cover a range of studies by Werner Guth, S...

Katy Milkman has described Ayelet Fishbach as the foremost expert on motivation in the world. In this episode we speak to Ayelet about her work and how marketers can harness it to change the behavior of their users. In a wide ranging conversation we discuss Ayelet’s research on variable rewards, the goal dilution effect and the problem with setting avoidance goals. 

GEICO have created some of the most effective US advertising in recent years. The GEICO gecko is one of the most popular characters in advertising. But what makes him so memorable?  In this episode we discuss Ian Begg’s research into concreteness which showed that people are much better at remembering visualisable things compared to abstract concepts. We argue that GEICO’s success has been driven...

In this episode we talk with Gareth Harvey. Gareth was previously a professor of consumer psychology but now advises companies about how they can apply findings from behavioral science. In this episode he discusses some of his work with retailers showing how they can better frame special offers, use music more effectively and adjust the shopper journey.

In this episode we look at one of the world’s most successful gins: Hendrick’s. We explore three behavioral science principles that explain their growth: distinctiveness, consistency and nostalgia. In particular, we look at the experimental evidence from psychologists such as Von Restorff, Zajonc and Sedikides.

In this interview, we catch up with Melina Palmer who has released a new book: The Truth About Pricing. She discusses how brands like Hermes and Costco have applied principles from behavioral science. We cover ideas like scarcity, reciprocity and the importance of in groups.

In this episode, we discuss how behavioural biases can be applied by brands in a B2B setting. In particular, we look at how Zoom credibly used social proof in their earliest days and the evidence that suggests this works well in a professional setting. We also cover the principle of make it easy and the evidence of this occurring in B2B. Finally, we discuss why, if behavioural science is so effect...

In this week's episode, we chat with Charles Spence—Oxford professor, author of Gastrophysics, and the world’s leading expert on how our senses work together to shape flavor. We discuss how brands are leveraging sensory cues to make their products more appealing, and discover practical insights for anyone who wants to understand the power of taste beyond the plate.

In this episode we talk with Nir Eyal, author of Hooked, and one of the world's leading experts on the topic of habits. His work is of particular interest as his focus is on how brands (rather than individuals) can create habits. Nir walks us through the four elements of his model and gives lots of practical advice on what marketers can do differently.

In this episode we explore the behavioral science principles behind Aviation Gin’s success. In particular we look at why humor is such an effective (but underused) tool for brands.  We cover work by Nisbett on the halo effect that shows if a brand improves its standing in one particular metric (like being funny) it will improve even unrelated characteristics, such as being perceived as trustworthy...

In this episode we talk with Roger Dooley author of Brainfluence. In a wide-ranging conversation, we start by covering the importance of focusing on making whatever behaviour you want to encourage as easy as possible. Then we move on to the importance of experimentation and how brands can work out which, of the many behavioural biases that have been discovered, they should prioritize. 

In this episode we look at the rise of Eleven Madison Park to become the most critically acclaimed restaurant in the world. In particular we focus on their legendary customer service and how they used techniques like the peak-end rule to enhance diner’s memory of the visit. The lessons are relevant for all brands - not just those involved with fine dining.

In this episode we sit down with Sarah Carter and discuss how marketers can best use behavioural science. We focus on using behavioural science for good, whether that’s encouraging people to eat veg, take the train or practice safe sex. During a wide-ranging conversation with one of ad land’s brightest luminaries we cover biases from the ostrich effect to social proof, reframing to the illusion of...

In this episode, we look at the behavioral science secrets behind the success of Kraft Mac and Cheese. We focus on two broad areas. First, how they managed to launch a new version of the product (with all the artificial colourings removed) without damaging sales. That’s an impressive achievement, as often if you stress that a product has become healthier it damages taste expectations. Second, how...

In this episode Richard interviewed Harvard professor Todd Rogers. Todd’s experiments apply behavioral science principles to copywriting to make it more effective. In this discussion we cover Todd’s key findings, such as the proven value of brevity, simple language, and designing for easy navigation.  The episode is full of simple tactics that you’ll be able to apply immediately to your writing.

In this episode, we look at the success of Pret a Manger – especially how they managed to recover so strongly after the pandemic, despite increasing numbers of office workers staying at home. We look at two main biases that they have successfully harnessed: the sunk cost effect and the power of variable rewards

We talk with Seth about how to best understand people's motivations and why direct questioning sometimes fails. We cover ideas like the illusion of effort, the curse of knowledge and how to respond when different datasets give conflicting answers.

In this episode, we discuss the replication crisis. By that we mean, when academics have re-run some behavioural science studies, they have found different results to the original experiment thereby invalidating it. We cover some of the most famous studies that need to be avoided and how you can have confidence in the findings that you’re applying.