It's rhyme time. Rhymes are strangely powerful. Researchers McGlone and Tofighbakhsh found that rhymes boost believability by 17% Filkukova and Klempe found that rhyming slogans are rated at 22% more accurate. Shotton and Thompson found that rhymes boost recall by 29%. So it's no surprise that Tesco now use rhymes to reassure customers that its reduced produce is still "just as nice". There's not a single reduced item remaining. Clearly, the rhymes are working. But Tesco is hardly alone....

Flawless is worthless. Adam Grant shared a study of world-class sculptors in his book Hidden Potential. It turns out that world-class sculptors were average students. 66% graduated high school with Bs and Cs. A similar pattern emerged when comparing America's most influential architects. The great architects had rarely been great students: they typically finished college with a B or C average. Adam Grant writes how, in their quest for flawless results, research suggests that perfectionists...

How I pitch Nudge. I sent marketing influencer Tom Goodwin a cold email asking him to come on Nudge. He responded with this. What a lovely thing to say. Buoyed by this praise, I thought I'd break down the nudges I included in my pitch. 1: Credible social proof This one speaks for itself. 2: Input bias Most pitches don't bother to research guests and suggest a bespoke topic. I do. 3: Halo effect Picturing well-known marketing profs beside my dumb face will make Tom believe I'm more credible...