Brand messaging that makes people eat insects

Agencies faced with challenging briefs are turning to behavioural research and psychologists to harness the power of consumers' minds

Many of us assume that humans think and act rationally, so when it comes to buying behaviour, we believe that people will buy the best things that they can for the lowest price. But research is revealing aspects of human behaviour that are surprising, suggesting that many consumers are far less calculative. Brands and ad professionals need to take note, because successful messaging doesn't always involve telling people that something is the best, the cheapest or the right thing to do. In fact, such messaging can often appear counter-intuitive.

Richard Shotton is head of insight at Zenith Optimedia. He spends much of his time poring through psychology textbooks, looking for theories that can be applied to ad campaigns. He says there are a growing number of instances where psychology has been used to create counter-intuitive messages, for example the budget airlines that played a masterstroke by admitting their customer service was poor.