Why Your Brain Falls for the Casting Trick
In my neighborhood there are two coffee shops. The first serves only white, middle-aged businessmen in suits. The second buzzes with customers of all ages, ethnicities, and styles. Without reading a single menu, which shop do you think offers more variety?
Your brain just made a snap judgment. And it probably got it wrong.
This isn't about coffee shops. It's about a fascinating quirk in how we process information. When we see different types of people using a product, we automatically assume the product must cater to different types of needs. It's logical, intuitive, and an interesting tool for marketing.
Stanford researchers call this the Variety Perception Effect. And smart marketers are already using it to make their brands look bigger without spending a dime on product development.
Posted in Archive, Advertising
published on Tuesday, 09 September 2025
It’s June 22nd, 2015. Chevrolet sends out a press release to announce the reveal of the new Cruze. But guess what? It’s all written in emojis🤔 No words, just funny pictures (some even made up by Chevy, like its own “bow tie” logo.) The goal was to appeal to the younger generation of buyers. But that backfired, as it was a real struggle to make sense of it until they provided a ‘translation’ - the standard press release using English written words.
Nobody can deny the popularity and impact of emojis in modern digital communication, from social media to email, SMS and websites. The current version 16.0 of the emoji encyclopaedia (Emojipedia.org) boasts 3790 pictographs and is constantly growing (Unicode.org 2024). In the last ten years, almost 22% of global tweets (close to 3 billion) contained at least one emoji! And 92% of the world's online population uses emojis (Daniel 2021).
Posted in Research, Archive
published on Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Did you happen to stroll through the busy streets of Italy in 2011? If you had, you’d have stumbled upon a unique pedestrian crosswalk—where all its stripes were grey, except one. A brilliantly white stripe standing out, with Mr. Clean logo on it. The unexpected contrast stopped people on their tracks and instantly communicated the brand’s promise of superior cleaning. This guerrilla marketing stunt by Procter & Gamble is a type of surprise marketing that successfully captures consumer attention through unexpected moments.
Posted in Archive, Strategy
published on Monday, 17 February 2025
Presentation matters. How we perceive objects, events, and people has a direct impact on our thoughts, feelings, and motivations toward them. Neuromarketing, also known as consumer neuroscience, examines how the human brain processes stimuli and uses that information to make a decision. With the right stimuli, consumers can, ideally, be encouraged to make decisions about products and services.
When it comes to food, people eat with their eyes first. The expectation theory suggests that without even tasting a dish, we are able to anticipate how it would taste based on how it looks. That anticipation plays a key role in how well the dining experience will turn out.
Since food is a multi-billion dollar industry across the globe, it’s worth looking into the impact of plating and portion sizing on consumer behavior. The accomplishments of successful food establishments are not only a result of delicious food and impeccable service. Experts agree that a good, holistic dining experience is key to attracting and clientele.
Posted in Research, Archive
published on Tuesday, 03 December 2024
