Epi #42 ~ From Failures to Favourites: The Behavioural Science of Brand Experience

How come some seemingly amazing BX campaigns crash and burn, while others soar?

I often hear "we were able to meet the cultural zeitgeist with a message that resonated"or something to that effect. Sure, but it's not exactly a scaleable model to do it again.

Behavioural Science provides the human-centric answers; the psychological and behavioural reasons campaigns work.

So we can do it again and again and again.

If we grasp the psychological nuances behind why our latest campaign either skyrocketed or nosedived, we’ve essentially unlocked a scalable cheat sheet. This model not only charts a course for repeat success but also deftly steers you clear of future flops.

Let's look at some common BX and perhaps even some new concepts, unpacking why and how they work.

Authenticity: Crafting Genuine Brand Rituals

BX: Brand Pilgrimages

• Immersive brand experiences where consumers visit key locations related to your brand’s story. Think of it as a modern-day pilgrimage, like visiting the Heineken Experience.
• Cognitive Bias: Endowment Effect - We value an item we own more highly than an identical item we don't own, simply because we own it. This often leads to overpricing when selling personal belongings. In the context of a BX customers feel a sense of psychological ownership over a brand or product, even without actual ownership. This perceived ownership enhances perceived value, driving stronger emotional connections and higher willingness to pay. By physically engaging with your brand’s history and culture, consumers are more likely to develop a sense of said ownership and loyalty.

Method: Transparent Innovation Labs

• Open your innovation process to a select group of customers. Allow them to participate in ideation sessions, giving them a behind-the-scenes look at product development.
• Cognitive Bias: Ikea Effect - We place a higher value on products we have partially created or assembled ourselves. In a BX context, this effect enhances customer satisfaction, loyalty and propensity to buy, through involving them in the creation process, making them feel more invested in and proud of the final product. When we contribute to the creation process, we value the final product more.

Data Privacy: Building Trust Through Rituals

BX: Data Diaries

• Sending monthly “Data Diaries” to your customers, detailing how their data is used to enhance their experience, much like a personal financial report.
• Cognitive Bias: Information Bias - The tendency to seek excessive information even when it does not affect decision-making. In BX, it leads customers to over-research products, which can either build trust or overwhelm and delay their purchasing decisions. So it's critical to use 'exec summary' style insights.

Omnichannel Experience: Ensuring Consistency

BX: Sensory Synchronisation

• Multi-sensory experiences that remain consistent across all channels. For example, use a signature scent, sound, or visual element that’s present in-store, online, and in your app.
• Cognitive Bias: Sensory Bias - Consistent sensory cues enhance memory and emotional connection to the brand.

Hot tip: Smell is an underrated and underused tactic, that bypasses our rational brains and gets straight int the control room where decisions are really made: the subconscious

Personalisation: Making Experiences Memorable

BX: AI-Powered Ritual Companions

• AI-driven virtual companions that interact with customers, offering personalised advice, reminders, and content based on their preferences and behaviours.
• Cognitive Bias: Anthropomorphism - We attribute human characteristics, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities like animals, objects, or gods. It's our way of making sense of the world by imagining non-human things acting like humans. In short, we relate more deeply to personalised, human-like interactions.

Leveraging Cognitive Biases In Your Day-to-Day

Here’s a summary deeper dive into the common cognitive biases at play with BX campaigns:

1. Endowment Effect: Engaging consumers in the creation process increases their sense of ownership and loyalty.
2. Ikea Effect: People value products more when they have a hand in creating them, even partially.
3. Information Bias: Transparent communication reduces anxiety and builds trust.
4. Authority Bias: Positioning your brand as a knowledgeable authority enhances credibility.
5. Sensory Bias: Consistent sensory experiences strengthen memory and emotional connection.
6. Narrative Bias: Compelling stories keep consumers engaged and connected. We prefer stories to facts.
7. Anthropomorphism: Human-like interactions foster deeper emotional connections.

Conclusion

Leveraging the power of BX rituals, fuelled by behavioural science elevates your strategy, provides clearer answers and create lasting loyalty. By addressing authenticity, data privacy, omnichannel consistency, and personalisation through innovative rituals, we create brand experiences that resonate deeply and drive long-term success.

About the Author: Nicholas R. Mason | Behavioural Strategist

Studied psych and 8-years into working in the best funded social science in the world (advertising) I came across behavioural science. To me, it answers my perennial question: why campaigns soar or bomb and provides a language that resonates with c-suites, non-marketers and creatives alike.

In my 15th year in advertising and working as a strategist, I find the counterintuitive ideas BeSci provides endlessly fascinating.

I love unpacking the 'why and how' of campaigns that change behaviour, start trends and shift cultural norms. If you're into that too, drop me a comment here and let's jam.

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