Interview: Sarah Carter, co-author of How Not to Plan, on using behavioural science to improve health and sustainability
Feb 13, 2025
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Join Sarah Carter, Global Planning Partner at Adam and Eve DDB and co-author of 'How Not to Plan,' as she delves into the fascinating world of behavioral science in marketing. She discusses how to effectively encourage healthier choices like eating vegetables and practicing safe sex. With insights on emotional engagement through music and storytelling, Sarah highlights innovative campaigns like 'Eat Them to Defeat Them' that make vegetables appealing to kids. She also explores the significance of empowering agency and tailored messaging in advertising.
Behavioral science can effectively guide marketing strategies by aligning them with consumer psychology to create resonant campaigns.
Sarah Carter's transition from the brand side to agency work highlights the value of understanding client perspectives for building credibility.
Utilizing storytelling and gamification, such as in the 'Eat Them to Defeat Them' campaign, can engage and empower consumers to change behaviors.
Deep dives
The Importance of Behavioral Science in Marketing
Behavioral science plays a crucial role in marketing, guiding strategies that align with consumer psychology. Understanding how consumers think and behave allows marketers to create more effective campaigns that resonate with their audience. Sarah Carter reflects on her transition from working on the brand side at Unilever to the agency side, noting that this experience helped her build credibility with clients by better understanding their perspective. She emphasizes that practical application of behavioral science can lead to more meaningful connections between brands and consumers.
Learning from Mistakes: The Mythbusters Approach
Sarah Carter co-authored a monthly column called 'Mythbusters' which aimed to debunk common misconceptions in marketing based on real-life experiences. Through discussing failures rather than success stories, the column encourages marketers to learn from past mistakes and improve future strategies. This approach highlights the importance of transparency and authenticity in advertising, particularly in overcoming the airbrushed narratives often seen in case studies. The resulting book from the column, 'How Not to Plan,' was developed to share these insights with a wider audience, providing practical tips for effective planning.
The Power of Normalization in Campaigns
Effective campaigns leverage normalization as a strategy to change consumer behavior, as exemplified by two impactful advertisements focused on condom usage in the 1980s. The first ad, featuring Mrs. Dawson, aimed to destigmatize condom use by presenting a relatable character who normalized the conversation around it. The focus on social proof and relatability helped to challenge the societal shame surrounding condoms, thereby increasing usage. By framing serious topics in a light-hearted manner, these campaigns encouraged engagement and behavior change while moving away from fear-based messaging.
Creative Strategies for Engaging Youth
The 'Eat Them to Defeat Them' campaign focused on increasing vegetable consumption among children through a gamified narrative. Instead of presenting vegetables as healthy options, the campaign reframed them as 'villains' that needed to be defeated, thus appealing to children's competitive nature. This strategic shift away from guilt-based messaging to one of empowerment helped make the idea of eating vegetables fun and appealing for kids. Moreover, the campaign utilized storytelling to foster a sense of agency among children, directly addressing their preferences and motivations.
Building Brand Identity Through Consistency
Consistency in advertising is a key factor for brand recognition, illustrated through the Great Western Railway's long-term campaign based on the Famous Five children's book. By creating an evocative animated world reflective of childhood adventures, the campaign effectively encouraged consumers to choose train travel over driving without explicitly focusing on sustainable messaging. This approach highlights the importance of building distinct brand assets that consumers can identify with easily. Such consistent storytelling not only resonates with target audiences but also reinforces brand identity over time, leading to lasting consumer loyalty.
In this episode we sit down with Sarah Carter and discuss how marketers can best use behavioural science. We focus on using behavioural science for good, whether that’s encouraging people to eat veg, take the train or practice safe sex. During a wide-ranging conversation with one of ad land’s brightest luminaries we cover biases from the ostrich effect to social proof, reframing to the illusion of control.
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