‘Science of Experience’ and Behavioral Breakthroughs

What I Heard (WIH) Series - My Notes from Nudgestock 2020 and Cannes Lions Live 2020

This week on Outside In, we cover ‘What I Heard (WIH)’ sessions on the ‘Science of Experience’ and Behavioral Breakthroughs.  We are sharing my summary notes and highlights from truly insightful presentations on the Science of Experience by Ogilvy Consulting’s Jack Duddy at Nudgestock 2020 and WARC Toolkit of Behavioral Breakthroughs at Cannes Lions Live 2020.  For the readers of Outside In, here’s a quick snapshot…

A) What I Heard at the ‘Science of Experience’ Session at Nudgestock 2020

You can check it out at length here at:

1) Why Behavioral Science?

• It gives us an understanding of why and how people do the things they do. It allows us to look at what we already have with a completely different lens of understanding

• Until recently the world has been viewed through broken binoculars:

  • We are always rational

  • We can make hypothetical decisions

• In the case of Red Bull vs. Coke competition for market share, both the above points have been nullified: A rational approach would have led Red Bull to be double the size of its can at half the price, whereas in reality it is actually double the price and half the size. And it does not taste as good as Coke, though as an Energy Drink with a different taste, it has connected with Customers

• Illustration: Which square is darker A or B? When we remove context from the picture, we find that both are exactly the same shade. It proves the fact that we don’t see with our eyes, but we see with our brains – Our brains love patterns and seeks one even when there is none. In this illustration, it misses the effects of possible shadow effect on both the squares A & B

  

• Why does our brain work in such a fashion? With reference to Daniel Kahneman’s seminal work in Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow, the above behaviour is an example of System 1 thinking

  

• Research indicates that nearly 90-95% of our daily lives are spent in System 1 mode, while most of our Experiences are designed keeping System 2 reference in mind – which will not resonate with the Customers

2) Behavioral Science and Designing Experiences

• When we talk about shaping Experience Design, we are essentially talking about creating value for the customers

• Insight: There is no sensible distinction to be made in a restaurant between the value created  by the person who cooks the food and the value created by the person who sweeps the floor – Ludwig Von Mises > Meaning: Each element of your experience has an impact on the other and influences the overall value of the experience. So, all elements of your experience need to be working together to deliver value

• There are 3 important things to remember while shaping Experience:

1. Experience shapes our decisions, attitudes and behaviours

2. Exploring psychological friction

   • Travel websites typically design easy to explore and checkout user interfaces to reduce anxiety about travel planning and booking hassles

   • IKEA, on the other hand, encourages store exploration and DIY furniture assembly experiences to let customers feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of their journey

3. Context is King – Value of experience relies heavily on the context of a customer

• Examples of applying Behavior Science in Digital and Physical Experiences:

1. An e-commerce player managed to increase conversion by 45% and earning $300 million in sales in one year by simply changing the checkout process and thereby the button name from registration to ‘continue’, because it seemed to create friction for the customers who were keen to complete the purchase without having to first register for the same

2. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport reduced spillages in men’s urinals by 80% by introducing a fly for them to aim at

3) Additional Reading:

For additional Nudgestock 2020 Insights, check these resources below:

• Krisztian Komandi: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/86-things-you-could-learn-from-nudgestock-2020-krisztian-komandi/?articleId=6679776353824452608

• Brainy Tab: https://brainytab.com/blog/nudgestock2020-highlights/

B) What I Heard at the WARC Session of Behavioural Breakthroughs at Cannes Lions Live 2020

You can check it out at length here at: https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/news/cannes-lions-and-warc-reveal-secrets-to-creative-effectiveness/43765

Behaviour Breakthrough Campaigns use creativity to change the purchase behaviour of customers – or to change other forms of behaviour relevant to the success of the Brand. Getting consumers to behave the right way is a crucial pre-cursor to driving sales up. Behaviour change, and applying the academic learnings of behavioral economics, has consequently become a major focus of marketers. WARC analysis reveals a host of interesting ways that marketers can ‘nudge’ consumers in the right direction and reward them for their behaviour with novel emotional and rational incentives. The key considerations are as follows:

1) Set a Clear Behaviour Goal:

Behaviour change begins with identifying a current behaviour that’s holding the business back and a corresponding goal to change that behaviour. The trick is being clear and singular. OPSM knew that parents getting their kids’ eyes checked led to sales. Gillette knew that as long as stubble was fashionable, sales would be depressed. Aeromexico knew that empty planes flying back from the US to Mexico meant low profitability. A single, lucid behavioral objective makes for a strong brief.

2) Orient the Creative Idea around a Clear Behavioral Outcome

In studying behaviour change campaigns, one thing that stands out is how many of them simply ask for the behaviour change in the campaign tagline. It seems almost too obvious – but Coke was as clear with their drinkers that they wanted them to ‘Share a Coke’ as Ariel were telling Indian Dads to ‘Share the Load’. Expedia told Brits and the French to ‘travel themselves interesting’ and Pedigree issued a clear directive to aging parents: ‘when your kids leave home, replace them.’

3) Make the New Behavior More Attractive

While getting people to think or feel differently about a brand can’t be incentivized, getting them to behave differently can be. Incentives can be as traditional as a discount, or as progressive as changing the insurance model to pay people to take action that will make future claims less likely. Or enabling people to vote in order to bring them in-store. Or making a washing powder targeted at lazy men.

In Conclusion

Behavioral outcomes are often very closely linked to commercial results. Brands must understand and measure the financial implications of behaviour change as a way to validate marketing’s contribution. In most cases there’s a clear line of sight between Behavior Change and Sales Growth. However, Brands should be working to isolate the areas of the business that are affected by the behaviour change and measure the impact on Sales, Market Share or Profitability of that Change. Recall, that a fielder just runs… But Brand Marketers must analyze the process & outcomes after “Catching the Ball”…

References and Sources

1) Nudgestock 2020 ‘Science of Experience’ Session:

2) WARC Session of Behavioural Breakthroughs at Cannes Lions Live 2020: https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/news/cannes-lions-and-warc-reveal-secrets-to-creative-effectiveness/43765