Behavioural economics meets social marketing in Rotterdam

Great to hear that our presentation Behavioural Economics – Enemy or Friend of Social Marketing? has been selected for the European Social Marketing conference, taking place in Rotterdam this September. The presentation will include insights from the research and analysis that went into our chapter in the forthcoming Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing (more details to follow). Hope to see you at the conference.

Nudging the way to better food choices: Brighton and Hove in 2024?

The latest Annual Report of the Director of Public Health NHS Brighton & Hove City Council, which has just been published, has taken an innovative approach to its subject by projecting the story 10 years into the future. The report describes the population demographics, morbidity and mortality, lifestyle, behaviour, education, social and healthcare systems, housing and major project completions as they could be in Brighton and Hove in 2024. Whilst it may be conjectural, the report is based on evidence from the Office of National Statistics population estimates, published literature on developments in health and social care and extrapolation of data from past trends to 10 years hence.

The author of the report is Dr Tom Scanlon, Director of Public Health, Brighton & Hove City Council, with sections written by members of the public health team. The report looks at demographic trends and lifestyles, including an epidemic of obesity – plus education, housing, mental health, transport, and the economy: all factors which will affect public health.

The section of the report on obesity reflects Public Health England’s recommendations on food availability in schools, colleges, leisure centres and other places where children gather and notes that “in 2018 the last vending machine was finally removed from the city’s education establishments, and a year later from the city’s sports venues and leisure centres.” On page 24, the following appears,

“The Healthy Partners Award scheme, now in its seventh year means that over 300 of Brighton & Hove’s cafes and restaurants now routinely offer ‘Me Size’ plates – proportionately sized and priced to help families make healthy choices. The city’s annual ‘Nudge’ competition regularly rewards schools, leisure centres, cafes, bars and restaurants for innovative design, lay-out and incentives to promote healthy eating.”

Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler (authors of ‘Nudge’) - Brighton and Hove salutes you! 

Seafront Cycling Nudge in Brighton & Hove

Recently arrived next to the seafront cycle lane in Hove – a handy reminder to pedestrians not to wander in front of bikes. And a way of steering cyclists towards the bike lane that is an improvement on the usual admonitory signs.

MINDSPACE goes west as Behavioural Insight Team heads EAST

In 2010 the Behavioural Insight Team (BIT), the guys formerly co-located at no 10 Downing Street tasked with bringing behavioural science to government, published MINDSPACE. 

Now the BIT has published the latest mnemonically-inclined guidance paper, EAST. It’s aimed at helping to ensure that when policy makers design interventions, they:

Make it Easy

Make it Attractive

Make it Social

Make it Timely

As the BIT says, “In the early years, we often used the MINDSPACE framework, and indeed some of the team were centrally involved in developing it. We still use this framework.”  But the BIT found, “in our day-to-day trials and policy work that some of the most reliable effects came from changes that weren’t easily captured by MINDSPACE, or indeed by much of the academic literature. For example, we have often found that simplifying messages, or removing even the tiniest amount of ‘friction’ in a process, can have a large impact.”  Fair enough. Then, more worringly, the BIT guys go on to say, that they’d found in seminars that the nine elements of MINDSPACE “were hard for busy policymakers to keep in mind (itself reflecting ‘cognitive chunking’).” 

This is a sad reflection on the policy makers and the policy making process – is it really so hard to use a framework with nine elements, handily combined into a simple mnemonic?  We have used MINDSPACE in our workshops (see Is A Nudge Enough) and in conference presentations, and delegates find it insightful and useful.

Anyhow, the EAST framework was developed by the BIT from early 2012, tested in seminars with UK Civil Servants, and delivered in a short series of lectures in Harvard and Washington by David Halpern. Since then, the BIT has refined and developed some of the core concepts and ideas, based on new findings and feedback. As the BIT notes, “Getting familiar with the EAST framework won’t turn you into the world’s leading expert on behavioural insight. There are more complex frameworks and typologies, and many subtle and fascinating effects that EAST does not cover. But if even a small percentage of policies and practices are adapted as a result, EAST should lead to services that are easier and more pleasant for citizens to use, and more effective and cheaper too.”  And it’s hard to argue with that.

8.5k hits on SlideShare – our talks on behavioural economics and social marketing

Back in the day there weren’t many SlideShare presentations on the subject of behavioural economics. Now there are lots – some better than others, but many worth a look. My slides “An Introduction to Behavioural Economics,” for a workshop organised by Brighton agency Nixon McInnes in 2011 have now had nearly 5,500 views.  And there have been more than 3,000 views of ”Is Behavioural Economics the New Social Marketing?” a presentation with Viv Caisey delivered at a Charity Comms conference.

Since then, we have run many more sessions, updated and expanded on many of the earlier themes, and run workshops on behavioural economics, social marketing and behaviour change. Want to find out more? As well as this blog, you can follow Behaviour Workshops on Twitter @BehaviourW or check out our latest workshop: Is a Nudge Enough?

You can get in touch by email to behaviourworkshops@gmail.com. Or talk to us on 0845 094 5581.

Football in Pub Nudge for Beery Brits

Behavioural economics meets football in this variant of a classic Dutch nudge, combining two British obsessions: beer and football. No-one who has read ‘Nudge’ could forget the classic Schipol airport fly-on-the-urinal to aid straight-aiming in the Gents.  

But this variation on a theme was spotted whilst taking refreshment on a carfree walk in Kent, at The Pilot Inn, Dungeness. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether the landlord is well versed in behavioural economics, but it’s a great place to stop off on a walk, eat freshly cooked fish & chips and down a beer or two. As Elvis Costello might say, with this kind of helpful nudge, “My Aim is True.”

Green Nudge on Italian trains

This was on Life Outside The Box. Now re-purposed.