Nudge

In 1989, The Simpsons released Itchy & Scratchy & Marge.  It’s a classic Simpson’s episode filled with slapstick humour, dry jokes, and smart gags.  And yet, behind all the humour, there’s an important lesson about leadership.  Today, Chief Behavioural Scientist Micheal Hallsworth explains what Marge Simpson can teach you about leadership.   ---  Read the Hypocrisy Trap: https://amzn.to/47vhxbj⁠ S...

Are inspiring leaders born or are they made?  That’s what Adam Galinsky, the Columbia Business School professor, has spent the past two decades studying inspiring leaders.  On today’s episode of Nudge, he shares his groundbreaking research into inspiration, reciprocity, repetition and visionary statements that reshaped how I saw leadership.  ---  Read Adam’s book: https://amzn.to/4htZCGc⁠ Sign up...

Britain’s most popular pint has a major flaw.  It takes 2 minutes to pour.  This should put people off. Most of us don’t love waiting at the bar.  And yet, despite this flaw, one in every nine British pints sold is Guinness.  Why?  Well, today’s guest, behavioural scientist Richard Shotton, says it’s down to some evidence-backed consumer psychology.  ---  Read Hacking The Human Mind: https://amzn....

Five Guys was the fastest-growing fast food chain in the world.  And that’s partly due to one clever bit of menu psychology.  Today on Nudge, Richard Shotton explains:  - The psychology behind the Five Guys menu  - How Kraft made a healthier Mac & Cheese (without losing customers)  - Why 99% of marketers would have ruined Pumpkin Spice Latte ---  Read Hacking The Human Mind: https://amzn.to/47lpcb...

In 2020, the UK government told its citizens not to meet in groups of more than two.  Despite this rule, the UK government were caught holding lockdown-breaking parties, which involved the Prime Minister.  This ultimately led to Boris Johnson’s resignation in July 2022, but why?  Why did this specific scandal make voters so angry?  Today, with the Chief Behavioural Scientist at the Behavioural Ins...

Kipp Bodnar is HubSpot’s CMO. He’s also an AI expert. Today, I interview him about how he uses AI, how he expects marketing teams to change, and his four tips to help you adopt AI in your business. --- The Loop Marketing Playbook: https://clickhubspot.com/45054c Kipp’s podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MATGpod Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn...

In 2011, Coca-Cola introduced a white version of their Coca-Cola can. The drink inside was identical to original Coca-Cola, but customers drinking from this white can hated the taste.  The white can made buyers think the Cola tasted worse.  To explain why, I need to delve into the science of sensehacking. With Professor Adrian North, I’ll explain why tennis players grunt loudly, why cars smell dif...

Is the classic forming, storming, norming, performing model wrong? In this episode of Nudge, Professor Colin Fisher challenges one of the most famous team-building frameworks and reveals what really drives teams to succeed. ---   Read Colin’s book: https://amzn.to/4oaY9Yc Reading the Mind In the Eyes: https://embrace-autism.com/reading-the-mind-in-the-eyes-test/#test Sign up for my newsletter: htt...

Ever felt like your team isn’t pulling its weight or sat through a meeting where nothing gets done? In this episode of Nudge, Professor Colin Fisher reveals why sometimes it’s actually better to work alone than in a group. ---  Read Colin’s book: https://amzn.to/4oaY9Yc⁠ Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agn...

Most people prefer AI art until they know it’s AI-generated.  Today on Nudge, Professor of Consumer Psychology Matt Johnson explains why.  ---  Watch the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/5fa3398dfb   More on Matt's books, work and newsletters: https://www.neuroscienceof.com/ Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/p...

What determines who you vote for?  You probably think it's due to rational reasons. Economy. Sustainability. Immigration. Growth.  But research shows that your choice of vote isn’t as logical as you might expect.  In fact, all of our votes can be swayed by a largely irrelevant factor.  And this factor can be used to change what we eat, wear, drink and buy.  Hear how, on today’s episode of Nudge wi...

Have businesses become less accountable? If something goes wrong with your flight, train, or takeaway, you’ll probably struggle to get a helpful response from someone. Today’s guest on Nudge, economist Dan Davies, says this is by design. He calls them Unaccountability Machines, and they’re taking over. He explains that they’ve caused the world’s largest defamation settlement against Fox News, almo...

I joined The Hustle Daily Show to chat about NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's and how his campaign cracked the code of modern political psychology by embracing vulnerability, leading with policy over aesthetics, and masterfully triggering psychological reactance against establishment dismissal. I chatted with The Hustle Daily Show's Jon Weigell about attention economy, authenticity and psych...

A few weeks back I debunked five studies on priming. But did I get it wrong?  Today’s guest on Nudge thinks I missed something.  Tune in to hear consumer behaviour expert Philip Graves explain his view on priming.  --- Phil’s book: https://shorturl.at/kzAta Phil’s consultancy: https://www.philipgraves.net/consultancy/ Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile  Connect...

In 1985, Coca-Cola changed its flavour. You probably know that this was a complete failure. ‘New Coke’ was discontinued after just 79 days. But you probably don’t know the true reason why New Coke failed. Many claim it was due to poor market research, but today’s guest on Nudge, leading consumer behaviour expert Philip Graves, disagrees. Philip says New Coke failed not because the research was poo...

Paul Zak can predict what customers buy without speaking to them.  He’s even able to boost charitable donations by spraying a donor with hormones. Find out how in today’s episode of Nudge.  ---  Read Paul’s book Immersion: https://shorturl.at/YcYxu  Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/  Watch...

97% of independent films fail. Boiling Point did not. Today, I chat with executive producer Paul Mellor to learn how this movie applied psychological principles to outperform its peers and compete against blockbusters like James Bond.  --- Join the Nudge Vaults waiting list: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults Paul’s 13.5 ways to grow an underdog: https://www.mellorandsmith.com/13-ways-to-grow-you...

How would you encourage sustainable behaviour?  You might assume logical messages work best.  Stuff like “the average three-hour flight creates ~250–400 kg of CO₂”.  But today’s guest on Nudge has tested logical messages.  And they don’t work.  Today on Nudge, Toby Park from the Behavioural Insights Team explains how renaming a meat-free dish doubled its sales. Why targeting home-movers made Ameri...

Super Mario Bros is 40 years old. It’s an incredibly simple game (it takes up the same memory as a smartphone wallpaper), yet it’s incredibly popular. Over 40 million people have played it. Why? Because it’s packed with psychological tips that hook players in and keep them playing. Today, Ramli John explains the subtle behavioural science tricks Super Mario games use to keep us playing. ---  Ramli...

Can one text message save 100s of girls from cervical cancer? Today on Nudge, Niall Daly and Dr Giulia Tagliaferri discuss their county-wide study involving 55,000 girls. Their experiment had some eye-opening results, so I decided to copy it. I ran my own study on my listeners to see if I could increase my sales. Did it work? Listen to find out.  My study emails: https://ibb.co/HTdMDHxT  My study...

It’s a psychological principle that helped end South African apartheid.  It reversed the Pope’s declining popularity.  It reduced university students’ binge drinking by 30%.  And can predict romantic breakups with 60% accuracy.  Today, bestselling author Will Storr reveals the surprisingly effective way to persuade (almost) anyone. ---  Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/0d88279296 Re...

I interviewed 60 Brits to debunk one of psychology’s greatest myths. Priming is one of the best-known biases in behavioural science. Kahneman mentions it 35 times in his best-selling book Thinking Fast and Slow. And yet, I’m not convinced it really works. In five separate experiments, I tested it. Does priming work, or is it a myth?  The studies:  Authenticity study: https://ibb.co/5W14DM2N Creati...

Most marketers will remember Apple’s 1984 ad.  Many consider it the “greatest ad of all time”.  But you probably don’t know that just 12 months earlier, Apple released a similar ad that failed.  Why?  Today on Nudge, bestselling author and storytelling expert Will Storr explains why.  ---  Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/0d88279296 Read Will’s book: https://shorturl.at/yUGRC Visit...

Instagram wasn’t always a runaway success. The first version of the app flopped.  However, the Instagram founders were taught a behavioural science model that transformed their work.  Today on Nudge, Bas Wouters, an expert behavioural science practitioner, explains Instagram's changes and how you can follow their model to improve your online marketing. You’ll learn:  How a simple question can incr...

I gave this marketing expert one hour to create an unforgettable ad.  I showed his ad to 30 Brits and measured exactly how memorable it was.  Does his marketing advice work?  Or is it a waste of time?  Listen to find out.  ---  Learn more about Voxpopme: https://www.voxpopme.com/ Kopi Luwak control ad: https://ibb.co/NgXY0HZ0 Kopi Luwak ad Louis’s variant version: https://ibb.co/ymQG433V Buy Louis...