October 23, 2024

Brand bias

The behavioural science behind brand building

an illustration of a person in the middle of a network of flowers and abstract shapes

A man walks into a bar and orders a Bud.

“I knew it,” cries a conveniently placed marketer sitting at the bar, “you’re the archetypal Budweiser man, you long for those lost moments of male-bonding, and Bud is your tribe’s shortcut to rediscover this”. The man stares, snorts and turns away saying “Nope, it’s just what I drink.” 

Who is right? Probably both of them.

Brands function as a shortcut to decision-making. They allow us to make thousands of decisions every day without spending loads of effort considering and comparing options. But how do companies create and maintain these shortcuts?

The answers lie in behavioural science, and they reveal two surprising truths:

  1. Maintaining shortcuts is easy, and most companies overcomplicate it: 
    For large brands with broadly positive associations brand building is largely about exposure – getting more of the right people to see your brand at the right time.
  2. Creating shortcuts is hard, but there is a formula:
    Provoke, Reframe, Reinforce. Getting these steps right is hard, but the upside for those who succeed is immense.

“Countless studies have shown that mere exposure to something makes us like it and trust it more.”

An introduction to (brand) decision theory

How do we make decisions? The answer is simple, and surprisingly non-contentious. Humans have two systems for decision-making:

  • System-1: The home of rapid, unconscious decision making. This system is always on, and provides an automatic, reflex answer based on shortcuts.
  • System-2: The home of slow, conscious decision making. This system is active only when forced, and runs analytical, sequential thinking to develop an answer.

To experience the two systems, answer the following question: a bat and a ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

Did you think 10¢? Say hello to system-1. Did you stop, think and compute your way to 5¢. Say hello to system-2.

95% of our decisions are governed by system-1. In these decisions we don’t stop and think, our brain intuitively shortcuts to a single answer, and we accept it. The same is true for brand decisions. In 95% of cases there is no comparison between brands at all. System-1 shortcuts to a reflex answer (your go-to brand), and system-2 is not involved.

Infographic showing the systems involved in decision making

Lippincott

Maintaining shortcuts: surprisingly simple

So how do you make sure your brand is first on the list? If you’re already in the running, the answer is simple and well covered by the likes of Byron Sharp, Andrew Ehrenberg and Jerry Zaltman. It’s largely about exposure.

Countless studies have shown that mere exposure to something makes us like it and trust it more.

In one study, the front-page of two American university newspapers showed an advert featuring one of five Turkish words. The advert had no design and no explanation, it was just a word. After the study, students were asked if the word meant something ‘good’, or ‘bad’. The results were clear – words that were seen more often were believed to be better.

This effect remains even if we aren’t consciously aware of exposure – a similar study interspersed words within a short film at a subliminal rate (too fast to consciously see). The results were even stronger. The more we see something, the more we like it, even if we aren’t aware of seeing it.

For marketers of strong brands this creates a simple, if uninspiring, brief: get more people to see your brand more often, as close as possible to the decision-making moment.

Side on how brand bias applies to CPG

Lippincott

Creating shortcuts: a dance with the devil

But what if your brand isn’t strong, and the shortcuts don’t exist? What if you’re entering a new industry where your brand doesn’t easily come to mind, you’ve built up legacy associations that are holding you back, or you simply don’t have the marketing budget to compete?

If any of these are true, mere exposure won’t cut it. You need something more radical. You need system-2.

Engaging system-2 is hard, but there is a formula for success.

“Brands function as a shortcut to decision-making. They allow us to make thousands of decisions every day without spending loads of effort considering and comparing options.”

Provoke – Reframe – Reinforce

Provoke

Remember that system 2 is normally asleep. It doesn’t get involved in decision making, even when it should. That’s why 80% of people answer the bat-and-ball problem with 10¢. So you have to spark it awake.

The form of provocation is irrelevant: it could be a new logo, product, name or campaign. It’s the scale that matters, and this is where most brand transformations fail.

Cars offer a great example – the big companies are all vying for position in the EV shift, and over the past 5 years Citroen, Peugeot, BMW, KIA, Nissan, Toyota and VW have all rebranded. Most, with the notable exception of KIA, have created zero shock factor, merging smoothly into the background. For some this may have been the intention. For all? I doubt it.

Reframe

Now system 2 is awake, it’s time to use it. The objective isn’t just to explain why your brand is best, it’s to create a new shortcut. You do this by redefining the frame in which the decision is made.

Airbnb’s 2014 rebrand offers a perfect example. The new visual system, coupled with their first major marketing campaign, created the provocation, but the key to success was the new positioning and how it reframed decision making.

‘Belong Anywhere’ split the holiday decision in two – belong (with us), or just stay (with anyone else). This appeals to the rationality of system 2 (I want my holiday to be an authentic, human experience, Airbnb’s community can deliver that) and is also simple enough to create a system-1 shortcut (holiday – belonging – AirBnB).

Reinforce

The final step is to make sure your brand is firmly placed on the right side of the line. Confirmation bias works in your favour here. Because you’ve already established the frame, system 1 is biased to look out for instances where you outperform. This means you don’t have to transform every experience or touchpoint.

A better shorthand is: your positioning needs to be very true sometimes. You need a few standout moments where your brand really embodies the reframe. System 1 will spot them, and form a strong positive association with them, because they align with what it expects to see.

One of the best examples of this is Swarovski. Their 2021 rebrand, developed by Lippincott, drew a line between wonderland jewellery and background jewellery. The positioning: “a wonderland of expression” provided the foundation, but it was the experience innovations launched alongside that put them firmly on the right side of the line. The wonderlab stores, Collection One from Giovanna Engelbert and partnerships with Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian all added up to a maximalist, colourful, radical wonderland of jewellery.

Conclusion: the behavioural scientist’s approach to brand building

So what do you learn when you put behavioural science at the core of brand building? Three surprising truths:

  1. Most companies overcomplicate brand building – for already strong brands, brand building is largely about exposure
  2. There is a formula for successful brand transformation – Provoke, Reframe, Reinforce.
  3. Evolution is harder than transformation – engaging system-2 requires provocation. Creating that without ripping things up and destroying what people already like about your brand is a tricky balancing act.