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Show Notes:
- [03:46] For Will, behavioral economics was the classic “I didn’t know it existed until I stumbled upon it.”
- [03:56] Will joined the military right out of high school. He then studied classical economics.
- [04:16] He discovered marketing research through a graduate program and fell in love with it. It wasn’t just looking at economics, it was looking at why people do what they do.
- [04:39] While working at PepsiCo, he discovered behavioral economics and behavioral science. In 2009, PepsiCo invested $20 million in a laboratory to study the neurological impacts of messaging.
- [05:08] Will was lucky enough to get to run behavioral science experiments, and he loved it so much he started his own business and wrote a book about it.
- [05:55] His favorite project was working on a brand new snack. It was a healthy baked hummus chip. The brand called Wicked Crisps was designed using purely behavioral sciences. The target market was the owner’s daughter (or millennial moms). Will helped design the name, logo, tagline, bag, and website. Behavioral science was behind everything that they designed from fonts to benefits.
- [11:58] Will studied economics. He didn’t want to just talk about theory. He wanted a practical book.
- [13:02] He conveys specific models through story.
- [14:01] He also dug into motivational psychology and goal theory. He looked at all six social sciences and found patterns.
- [16:25] Will thinks of mindstates as moments in time when we are being influenced. We aren’t always consistent with our beliefs and attitudes. Our environment changes us.
- [18:20] His book is about moments in time and why a certain archetype may behave outside of the norm for them. Applying mindstates can help understand beliefs and values and impacts of the environment on these moments.
- [20:57] Companies now look at how to help customers make better choices. Making their whole life better gives the company permission to sell them more. Brands are getting smarting and taking a holistic approach.
- [24:46] Will is the most excited about the idea of getting the mindstates out for everyone to use. They want to get more and more people to understand that there is science behind our decisions. There are also emotions around our decisions and just understanding a few small rules is a huge benefit.
- [25:57] We can sell more with behavioral economics. We can also reduce anxiety levels and create a better society.
- [26:30] Will is getting more excited about the education side and using these concepts to help understand and overcome biases.
- [27:02] He uses goal theory to help understand what people are trying to accomplish. Helping people reach their goals can create a better society.
- [29:39] The nine motivations are achievement, autonomy, belonging, competence, empowerment, engagement, esteem, nurturance, and security. Then find optimistic and cautious examples.
- [30:28] When guys are asked why they want to lose weight and get healthy the answer is usually so they can walk their daughter down the wedding aisle.
- [31:20] One reason why a dad would want to do this is nurturance. So a goal is “walk my daughter down the aisle” and the motivation is “nurturance.”
- [32:09] Promotion (or using an optimistic lens) is seeking to maximize losing weight. It’s about maximizing gains.
- [32:45] A prevention lens focuses on eliminating doing bad things.
- [33:10] These details matter when you frame your benefits. They are either using cautious nurturance or maximizing nurturance.
- [36:36] Be clear and stand for one thing. Take a stand and own it, and you will benefit tremendously.
Links and Resources:
- Melina@TheBrainyBusiness.com
- The Brainy Business® on Facebook
- The Brainy Business on Twitter
- The Brainy Business on Instagram
- Marketing to Mindstates: The Practical Guide to Applying Behavior Design to Research and Marketing
- 33. Inside the Texas A&M Human Behavior Lab
- 43. A Guide for You to Create a Brainy Brand
- 61. Color Theory: When It Comes To Color, This 1 Thing Matters More Than Anything Else
- 78. How to Become Indistractible, Interview With Author Nir Eyal
- 75. The Littery – Interview with CEO Michael Manniche
- 16. Framing: How You Say Things Matter More Than What You’re Saying: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
- 86. Peloton: A Behavioral Economics Analysis
- StoryBrand
- The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes
- @Trigger_pointer on Twitter
- Marketing to Mindstates on Facebook
- Marketing to Mindstates on Instagram
- William Leach on LinkedIn
- Marketing to Mindstates on Twitter
- TriggerPoint
- Will Leach
- BE Thoughtful Revolution Membership Group
- Wicked Crisps
- The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories
- E. Tory Higgins