the new way to win more support and save the world

THE NEW WAY TOWIN MORE SUPPORTAND SAVE THE WORLD

Behave.LONDON | BEHAVELABS.CO

“An important new agenda that can help achieve development goals in many areas, including early childhood development, household finance, productivity, health, and

climate change.”

“Using insights from behavioural science can have profound benefits across government and business.”

“The behavioural sciences have achieved remarkable success.”

“One of the hottest ideas in public policy”

“A behavioural approach is different…it has has profound implications for development”

“Where policies have been designed to reflect behavioural science insights they have substantially improved outcomes for individuals, families, communities, and

businesses.”


TODAY a new revolution is just beginning. A revolution in our understanding of why we do what we do.

For governments, development organisations, businesses and charities, the breakthroughs in the behavioural sciences provide a powerful new toolkit to find innovative ways to create a safer, more prosperous world.

At Behave, we have experience in four continents applying behavioural science to do more with less.

Here are 14 practical lessons we’ve learned.


How to overcome apathy and move people to action


Create calm out of chaos

1


HOW does an idea gain acceptance? Why are some leaders admired and others despised? What is it that causes changes to decisions, habits and lifestyles?

In this age of distraction there’s no doubt of the need for wholesale changes in people’s attitudes and behaviours for economic, social and planetary reasons.

Ironically, this is precisely the moment when mass media has become a blunt and expensive way to achieve this.

But there is hope.

The new toolkit offered by the behavioural sciences gives you the means to navigate this new world by creating frugal innovations - innovations that turn resource constraints into an advantage.

After all, within any democratic society, those entrusted with public funding are also dependent on public support to maintain their status.

Has there ever been greater pressure to achieve more with less? Has there ever been more of a need?

By understanding the means to influence and change behaviour, you can break through the noise and create calm out of chaos.

How can you understand the crowd? Now behavioural science reveals what moves them.


A new musical theory for the mind

2


BEHAVIOURAL science insights should not be viewed as scientific in the laboratory sense.

It’s scientific in the sense that use is based on definite knowledge drawn from direct observation of human behaviour.

It’s scientific in the sense that applications are based on consistent principles which have been demonstrated through repeated experimentation.

It’s scientific in the sense that objectives can be achieved through a repeatable process that minimises the risk of failure and waste.

Think of it as a new musical theory for the mind. Now you can find the right notes to play to create change - rather than relying on imprecise methods such as surveys or focus groups.

Naturally, a toolkit this powerful can be subverted. And those using these techniques must only use them to achieve commonly accepted objectives.

But, in responsible hands, those able to turn insights into actions are beginning a new creative revolution within business and society.

Walk or ride? In Denmark they turned the steps into keys and 66% more people used them.


Help people help you

3


HOWARD Gossage was the Ad Man who set-up the first behavioural change boutique, Generalists Inc., back in the 1960’s.

Unlike the Mad Men of the era, he understood how to create advertising that changed behaviour without the need for big budgets.

He, along his clients, became wildly successful.

One of these was The Sierra Club, which later become Friends of the Earth.

First Howard recognised the importance of having a warm and inviting name, rather than an austere sounding Club.

Then, when Congress proposed the idea of building a dam at the basin of the Grand Canyon, he created a single ad that flooded the mail boxes of the decision-makers in Washington. Fearing a public backlash, the idea was dropped within days.

If you want to make people feel guilty, tell them about your cause.

If you want to make people feel worthy, give them your petition to sign.

If you want to people to act, help them help you.

How to change the world with a single advert: Howard Gossage made it easy for people to help the cause with coupons.


Start with simple, timeless human truths

4


SCOTT Harrison was a heavy drinking New York City night club promoter. Until one day he stopped to look at his life.

After fleeing the city to volunteer in Liberia, he returned hell-bent on providing clean water to the one billion people in need.

At first he struggled to overcome people’s skepticism about donating to charity. Then he found the right path by creating two bank accounts - one for donations and one to fund operations.

His fortunes changed. And Charity Water was born.

This redemption story well-told, personal charisma, aspirational design and creative ideas like “donate your birthday” have raised over $155M (£101M) since 2006.

In a digital age, the ideas, causes and people that cut through are those that can best understand what moves us to action - stories, charm and personality are more important than ever before.

Your archetype - how you are perceived - determines the response you get, your impact and, ultimately, how you will be remembered.

As Bill Bernbach, the father of the first creative revolution, put it, “we deal in simple, timeless human truths”.

A good story well-told: How Scott Harrison raised over $155M (£101M)


How to do more good


Small things can make a big difference

5


THE difference between a no and a yes is often very small. Because we now know that decisions are made in systematic and predictable ways, the impact of “trivial” things can be dramatic.

WE’VE SEEN: A simple check-list half the rate of fatalities from surgical procedures.

A new form design increase organ donation rates from less than 10% to over 90%.

23% more patient’s take their medicine correctly as a result of a lottery incentive.

An SMS reminder result in 2.6 times more savings.

A clearer process result in 50% less violent and aggressive behaviour in hospitals.

A public pledge increase healthy eating decisions by 9.5%.

These were all from small interventions. And are a fraction of the 537 case studies we’ve collected.

With a simple redesign - making the steps clear - this A&E cut aggression towards staff by 50% (worth £35M per year)


Context matters as much as (maybe more than)

motivation

6


DECISIONS are not just based on motivation. The context of the decision plays a huge role, often subconsciously. Timing, mood, the way choices are presented and environmental cues all influence behaviour. This is known as Choice Architecture.

For instance:

18% more school children choose healthy food when it’s the first choice they see.

More people buy German wine in a shop playing German music. And more French wine when French music is playing.

Reducing the plate size from 12-inches to 10-inches results in 22% fewer calories being consumed.

Try changing the context before trying to increase motivation. You’ll find it that’s where you can have the biggest immediate impact for the lowest cost.

Want to get children to eat their greens? Don’t nag them, nudge them by changing

the choice environment.


Try reframing the problem

7


SOME problems appear impossible. Take the problem of seal hunting.

Governments have tried imposing quotas or difficult to enforce bans. Environmental groups have tried following hunters or tracking seals. Both are expensive and reactive.

But what if they’re trying to solve the wrong problem?

That’s what a few Greenpeace activists realised.

They couldn’t stop hunters hunting, but, with a can of green spray paint, they could stop the fur being valuable. Seal deaths plummeted.

Remember: the person who frames the problem, frames the solutions.

Before you commit to a large, complex project, consult with a behavioural scientist to see how the problem has been framed.

You may save yourself, and you organisation, months of toil and be celebrated for your ingenuity.

Saving seals with a can of paint: How activists managed to reduce hunting by reframing the problem.


Help people make better choices

8


FERTILISERS result in higher crop yields and higher profits for a tiny investment. So why do so few Kenyan farmers use them?

The answer isn’t ignorance; the farmers are well aware of the benefits. It’s simply that purchasing the fertiliser is effortful, meaning the majority put it off.

Numerous government agencies and NGOs have tried subsidies, which are costly and can distort markets. Instead the Kenyan branch of International Child Support tried something different: offering free delivery to the farmers.

The result?

Up to 60% higher fertiliser usage, which meant farmers make better use of the land and raised their incomes at the same time. Over years a simple solution like this could have a dramatic effect on the economy.

If you want to make a big impact on millions of lives, start from an individual’s decision and make it easier to help them help themselves.

Want to help her help herself? Try making it easier for her.


How to change more lives


Technology provides radical new opportunities

9


HOW can you save thousands - even millions - of lives from thousands of miles away?

The mobile phone is the world’s first universal technology. By 2020, Ericsson estimates there will be 6.1BN connections in service, 2.3x the number in mid-2015. And usage in the developing world is only accelerating.

For those looking to change behaviour - be they health decisions, wealth decisions or other decisions - the opportunity is unprecedented.

Take healthcare as an example. Often the problem isn’t diagnosis, it’s adherence. Imagine if you could persuade more people to take life-saving medicine at the right time.

SMS reminders have been found to be highly effective. And, best of all, they don’t require thousands of professionals to be stationed around the world, they can focus on high-risk priorities.

If you want to scale your impact, combine behavioural insights with technology to create the change you desire.

Your impact will grow. Your costs will shrink. Isn’t that the purpose of creativity?

How can 1+1 =3? By combining the technological revolution with the psychological.


Trials save lives and make miracles possible

10


WHERE does innovation come from? How do miracle breakthroughs happen?

Ask the investors of the microwave, the post-it note, the corn flake, the slinky, potato crisps, fireworks, play-doh, viagra, penicillin, velcro (and many more) and they’ll tell you it comes from testing assumptions.

But that doesn’t mean being reckless. As the Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman put it, “Creativity is imagination in a straight-jacket”. That straight-jacket is experimentation.

By trialling your ideas you open yourself up to successful new ideas, new interventions and new ways to do more with less - without risking budgets and lives.

Because if you have a responsibility to “do no harm” then you have a responsibility to know what impact you’re causing.

Trial, review, improve: three steps to creating miracles without casualties.

Trial, Review, Improve: How to continuously improve and make miracles possible.

3. IMPROVE 2. REVIEW

1. TRIAL


Expand your window of acceptability

11


JOSEPH Overton was a political theorist interested in how ideas catch on.

He found that only a very limited set of ideas are deemed “reasonable”, placing a limit on innovation and progress. This became known as the Overton Window.

In the 20th Century economists set the Overton Window, with the theory and research papers that framed policy debates. Then the 2008 Crash happened and we realised the flaws to their assumptions (to our immense cost).

Behavioural science insights provide you with the means to expand your Overton Window and base radical ideas in reality, since these insights are grounded in the rigour that responsible leaders demand.

For instance, when you realise people are not only motivated by financial incentives then why not try a lottery instead of a reward?

When you realise people respond to social norms then why not try informing them when most people do the right thing?

When you realise people use heuristics - or rules of thumb - to make decisions, why not try making it easier to behave responsibly?

Are you out of ideas? Or are you afraid to test expand your Overton Window?


How to save the world


“Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human

destiny is beyond human beings.”

- John F. Kennedy


Small beats big

12


HOW do you solve a problem like global poverty?

Ask Esther Duflo, the behavioural scientist who’s re-thinking how we address social problems with immense success.

Starting with behavioural insights at the human-level, she’s discovered ingenious ways to raise living standards in the developing world.

For instance, how do you encourage teachers to turn up to teach in developing countries?

By requiring them to take a photo with their class each day, and adjusting pay accordingly, absenteeism was cut in half.

Instead of big, complex solutions that involve huge budgets and immense risk, now there is a viable alternative. Start at the human-level and combine behavioural insights with creativity.

Just think, how many of the world’s biggest problems - corruption, obesity etc - are really all about behaviour?

Esther Duflo: The woman saving lives by thinking big but starting small.


A

B

C

CLIMATE CHANGE

BREAK ONE BIG PROBLEM…

…INTO DAILYDECISIONS…

…AND TURN INSIGHTS INTO

TRIALS

1. RECYCLING

2. GREENER ENERGY CONSUMPTION

3. HOME INSULATION

THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH TO SOLVING BIG PROBLEMS


Emotion beats education

13


EVERYONE knows smoking causes cancer. But millions of cigarettes are smoked worldwide each day.

Everyone knows fast food causes obesity. But millions eat it daily.

Everyone knows climate change is a threat. But millions of decisions are made each day that make that threat greater.

We’re struggling to solve many of the world’s biggest problems - obesity, poverty, climate change - because we’re using the wrong tools.

Rational tools like education and information only go so far. You need irrational tools to solve irrational problems.

As the Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman has shown us, our decisions are based more on emotion than on reason.

If you want to change what we do, start with emotion. As hardened salespeople will tell you, “facts tell, stories sell”.

What do men care about more? Organs they can’t see? Or one they see every day?


Prevention beats cure

14


BENJAMIN Franklin once said “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

Imagine if he were in charge of healthcare policy. Because across the EU-24 countries an average of just 2.9% of healthcare budgets are spent on preventative programmes.

In the UK, obesity costs the National Health Service £5.1BN annually. In the US this figure is $61BN. And both numbers are trending in the wrong direction.

A preventative solution to this, and other, health epidemics would surely be worthy of a Nobel Prize.

But what?

By applying behavioural science insights to these problems - understanding how choices are made, why choices are made, how habits are formed, how lasting change happens - governments can transform healthcare from a reactive approach to a proactive approach.

And why not encourage the private and third sector too?

Innovative new funding models - such as social impact bonds, that pay by results - are kick-starting a new golden age for preventative healthcare.

Given the potential impact, healthcare organisations would be wise to invest in incubators to test behaviourally informed ideas.

SOURCE: OECD

Proactive and preventative: How healthcare organisations can win the Nobel Prize.


Ready to make change happen?


THERE are dozens of practical ways behavioural science can help you achieve more with less.

But only when implemented with care.

At Behave we combine a comprehensive body of knowledge with the creativity to turn insights into reality.

We share this experience generously with our clients.


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Curious to learn more? Get in touch.

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the new way to win more support and save the world

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