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  • Bridge the Gap Bridge the Gap My friend Brian, who is an amazing creative director and designer, shared this story with me in response to my recent message on the framing effect. And he has graciously allowed me to share it with you. Many years ago, Brian and his partner, along with a couple of competitors, bid on a project. Brian and his partner agonized over the pricing, because they really wanted to win the job. Ultimately, they decided to reduce their fee as much as possible, believing this would make their proposal…Keep Reading
  • On a Mission On a Mission Have you heard about The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders? No, this is not the latest show streaming on Netflix. It's not an Isabel Allende novel or a short story from Neil Gaiman or an episode of the new Twilight Zone. It's a real thing. Actually, it's a series of pop-up eating experiences in and around Tokyo Japan conceived and produced by Shiro Oguni. The restaurant is staffed entirely by people with dementia and, yes, orders are mixed up all the time. But, the wonderful thing is that people…Keep Reading
  • Simply the Best Simply the Best! A few weeks ago Tina Turner passed away and I cannot tell you how sad this made me…still makes me. I recently shared a story from the early part of my career when I was working a dream job in TV production. (If you missed it, you'll find it here.) During that time, I had the pleasure of meeting many famous and not-so-famous artists from the music industry. For the most part, they were very cool, kind, and collaborative. Some were weird. And some were typical rock stars even if they weren't…Keep Reading
  • Loss Prevention Loss Prevention The last few weeks I've been deconstructing some very common behaviorial economic tactics that drive consumer perceptions, namely the Decoy Effect, the Anchoring Effect, and the Framing Effect. Each of these is based on a cognitive bias known as loss aversion. As humans, we're wired to avoid loss to a greater degree than we are to acquiring an equal gain. What this means is that we will make decisions that protect us from potential loss out of proportion to what we see as similar potential…Keep Reading
  • Have You Been Framed? Have You Been Framed? I guess I’m doing a series on the behavioral economic tactics used to influence or change perceptions of price and value as this week we're diving into the Framing Effect. You may recall that last week I discussed the Anchoring Effect and the week before I reviewed the Decoy Effect. So, what is framing? It’s when you actively impact people’s perception of value based on how you’re presenting information about what's on offer. An example might be listing your turkey burgers as being ‘97% lean…Keep Reading
  • Anchors Away Anchors Away Hi Reader, Ever watch an infomercial and get sucked into believing the amazing deal on offer? I sure have. Remember Richard Simmons’ Deal-a-Meal? How about the Shamwow or Chuck Norris' Total Gym? One of the hallmarks of any infomercial is the infamous and all important question, “How much would you expect to pay,” followed by a list of prices. This technique is all about what's called the Anchoring Effect. As humans, we are deeply influenced by the first piece of information we receive when…Keep Reading