Do you ever look at an ad and wonder, “What on earth does that mean?” That’s how I felt after viewing this Stripe ad.
Now, I love Stripe. Their product is tremendous in the world of payment processing, but this ad makes no sense. Not only is it confusing, but it’s missing all the elements that I think make for a good ad. The ad needs a refresh, and behavioral science can help.
Since starting the Nudge podcast, I’ve regularly interviewed researchers and other experts in order to glean insights from psychology and apply them to marketing. And over the past decade, I’ve come to believe that almost every message could be improved by behavioral science.
In this post, I've collected six successful messages with behavioral science principles behind them to prove my point. Once you see the science — and understand exactly why these ads work — using the same strategies to improve your own marketing messages becomes much simpler.
Six Successful Messages Using Behavioral Science Principles
1. Anchoring — De Beers
In the 1930s, only 10% of Americans bought diamond engagement rings. Most bought cheaper gems, spending a smaller proportion of their disposable incomes. To change buyer behavior, De Beers came up with a new anchor. They asked, “How can you make two months' salary last forever?”
Two months' salary was not the standard amount to spend on an engagement ring before this. But, the new anchor shifted perceptions of the norm. De Beers created a reference point (in this case, a higher price tag), which in turn influenced estimations of value. Buyers will spend more when it’s assumed that two months’ salary is what a ring should cost.
Today, 90% of engagement rings are diamond. And, Americans spend billions annually to purchase them.
2. Pratfall Effect — Avis
Rental car company Avis always lagged second for market share, behind Hertz. Most companies would hide this weakness, but Avis embraced it.
Behind this strategy is something known as the Pratfall Effect. Based on Aronson, Willerman, and Floyd’s research, the 1966 study found that we like smart people more if they have flaws. It boils down to the idea that if people seem too perfect, they’re not as easily liked. But if they make a mistake, they become a little more human like the rest of us, and thus more attractive.
So, Avis took this to heart and decided to flaunt their second-place ranking, showing that they were still among the best but just shy of perfection. This way, their weakness became a strength by making them appear more likable.
3. Generation Effect — Gut Foundation
There's a straightforward way to get someone to notice your ad: Remove a letter.
In a 2020 study by Burnett, Treharne, and Shotton (cited in Shotton’s 2023 book), the researchers showed participants brand names with missing letters. For example:
- H_BC, Goo_e, Li_erpool FC, N_dge.
It turns out that participants remember those brands 14% more than when the full brand name is written (e.g., HSBC), with a recall rate of 92% versus 81%. This is due to the Generation Effect, meaning that if you have to generate an answer yourself, it becomes more memorable and effective.
The Gut Foundation, a non-profit specializing in digestive health, applied this technique to their ads. They didn't tell drivers to get a checkup. Instead, they advertised 100% “anus beef”.
With the extra bit of effort required to understand it, the ad was both impossible to ignore and easy to remember.
4. Keats Heuristic — Tesco
Rhymes are potent messaging tools. To demonstrate the power of this, in one study, researchers McGlone and Tofighbakhsh showed participants two sets of proverbs. Some rhymed ( e.g., woes unite foes). Some didn't rhyme, but meant the same thing (e.g., woes unite enemies).
The study revealed that rhyming proverbs were deemed 17% more trustworthy and memorable than their non-rhyming counterparts.
The researchers coined this the Keats Heuristic (after the poet) to highlight the underlying idea that how pleasing we find something affects our perception of how true we believe it to be. Rhymes are pleasing and easy to process, making their content seem trustworthy and true.
The supermarket chain Tesco used this same principle to boost sales of its reduced-price veg. By creating an ad that rhymed (“Reduced in price. Just as nice.”), Tesco increased trust in the idea that low-priced produce was still of good quality and worth the purchase.
5. Endowment Effect — NHS
If you feel you own something, you'll value it more. This is known as the Endowment Effect, and it’s been studied in many situations throughout behavioral economics and psychology.
However, Katy Milkman, along with a large team of researchers, applied this idea to persuasive messaging in her fantastic 2021 study, which looked at how to encourage patients to get vaccinated for the flu at an upcoming doctor’s appointment.
Testing 19 different text-based messages, she found that stating, “Your vaccine is reserved for you,” made readers 4.6% more likely to get vaccinated, as the reservation language boosts feelings of ownership.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) applied this principle to boost uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination by changing its messaging language. Rather than having vaccines “available” to given populations, they were now “reserved” for them, suggesting the vaccine was already theirs and just waiting to be claimed.
6. Specific Numbers — Forest
In a 2006 study by Schindler and Yalch, consumers saw ads for a fictitious deodorant. Some were told it lasts “exactly 47% longer than rivals,” while others were told it lasts “more than 50% longer than rivals.”
Which message do you think worked? It's probably not what you’d expect.
The precise claim of 47% was deemed 10% more accurate by 199 participants. Why? Well, it's the specific number. Specificity enhances the perceived accuracy and trustworthiness of claims, while less precise numbers are assumed to be estimates or less factual.
Forest applies this brilliantly in its 2024 billboard ad for bike shares. Not only does it give the number of free minutes that users of its service have enjoyed, instead of a vague statement like “lots.” But it also uses an exact number (51,899,782), which is more persuasive than 50,000,000 on the dot.
Reframing Marketing Messages for Success
And finally, let’s go back to that Stripe ad. How could it be improved? Well, with just a subtle bit of reframing based on the behavioral science principles I’ve applied.
Getting specific about the speed makes the ad memorable, enhances trust, and influences perceptions about the amount of time it should take to analyze your data. Plus, it’s a whole lot less confusing to read.
The beauty of behavioral science in marketing is that strategic tweaks can dramatically improve results. In a world where consumers are bombarded with thousands of messages daily, the brands that understand the psychology behind persuasion are the ones that break through the noise and drive results.
