Behavioral Science For Brands: Leveraging behavioral science in brand marketing. Inside Hacking the Human Mind: lessons from the world’s most effective brands
Jan 28, 2026
They celebrate a new book and highlight favorite chapters that pair brand cases with behavioral research. Topics include how expectations shape taste, the illusion of effort in product design, and stacking biases like repetition and precision. They discuss making insights actionable, agency-scientist collaboration, and expanding the book into a masterclass.
AI Snips
Chapters
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Transcript
Episode notes
Taste Follows Expectation
- Expectation assimilation means taste depends heavily on what consumers expect to taste.
- Kraft quietly sold millions of boxes with the new recipe before revealing it to avoid negative expectations about 'healthy' taste.
Fake Label, Real Ratings
- Ragunathan's 2006 study showed identical mango lassi was rated 55% worse when labeled 'healthy'.
- Kraft used this to hide the healthy change until customers had already tried and liked the product.
Marry Insight With Creative Execution
- Combine behavioral insights with creative execution to amplify impact rather than relying on the insight alone.
- Give creative teams a behavioral sandbox and collaborate humbly with them to get better results.
