Explore every episode of the podcast BrainFuel

Alison Whitaker Stewart & Peter Dutton — localising We Are Undefeatable in Blackburn with Darwen

In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Alison Whitaker Stewart, Physical Activity Campaigns Lead at Together in Active Future (a Sport England place-based partner), and Peter Dutton, Senior Engagement Manager at the Richmond Group of Charities.

They share how they took the national We Are Undefeatable campaign and made it work locally — using real residents’ stories, strong system partnerships, and evaluation that goes beyond reach and impressions. This is a practical, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run a behaviour change campaign that actually lands.

🧠 What you’ll learn

• The three things to do first when starting a local campaign: stakeholder buy-in, strategic alignment, and realistic resourcing

• How they built community partnership by recruiting 16 local storytellers through trusted networks

• How to link inspiration to action by signposting directly to local sessions and services

• Why agile content wins (reels, WhatsApp-friendly edits, community-led tweaks)

• How they measured impact with both numbers and qualitative insight

• What “system change” looks like after the campaign goes live

📊 Outcomes & impact shared

• 85% said it showed people with health conditions can be active

• 87% said it showed being active helps you enjoy more of life

• 62% said it encouraged them to visit the campaign website

• Stakeholders reported strong fit with local needs and priorities (including 73% saying it reflected local demographics)

• The work helped trigger ongoing system activity (including funded local offers and continued partnership working)

🚪 Room 101

• Peter: bin “traditional before/after case studies” — the power is in lived experience, emotion, and solidarity

• Alison: bin short-term thinking — campaigns work better when you can build, iterate, and keep going

🎉 Free Event — Making Hidden Voices Heard (26 March 2026)

To celebrate five years of Hidden Voices Heard, we’re hosting a free training event:

📅 26 March 2026
➡️ www.hiddenvoicesheard.com to save your spot.

 In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Johanna Jefferies, Public Health Consultant and Associate Director at Hampshire County Council, and Jonathan Baker, Senior Insight Lead, to share how they’ve successfully embedded behavioural science into council and public health work in a way that’s practical, memorable, and genuinely usable.

Jo and Jonathan unpack what it really takes to roll behavioural science out across an organisation iincluding what didn’t work at first, what they changed, and why training alone is never enough. You’ll hear how Hampshire redesigned its approach to focus on real-world application, post-training support, and building confidence (not overwhelm).

We also dive into their personal behaviour change stories, the biggest myth they’d throw into Room 101, and the three ingredients they believe every council needs if they want behavioural science to stick.

  🧠 What You’ll Learn In This Episode

• Why “good training” isn’t the same as behavioural science actually being used in day-to-day work

• Why councils need to apply behavioural science to how they embed behavioural science

• Why training should focus on mechanism and practice, not just theory

• The biggest blocker: behavioural science being seen as “for frontline behaviour change”, not strategic council work

• Why follow-up support matters more than templates

• Three ingredients councils can copy if they want behavioural science to scale internally.

🚪 Room 101: Training Without Support

If Jo and Jonathan could throw one thing into Room 101 forever, it would be this:

The idea that you can train people in behavioural science and then leave them to figure it out alone.

Even great training doesn’t translate into real practice without follow-up support, confidence-building, and early case studies that show it working inside the organisation.

  🎉 Free Event - Making Hidden Voices Heard -  26 March 2026

To celebrate five years of Hidden Voices Heard (and our much-loved Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp training), we’re hosting a free event dedicated to just that 'Making Hidden Voices Heard' on:

📅 26 March 2026
➡️ Head to www.hiddenvoicesheard.com to save your spot.

 

 

In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Dr Paul Chadwick Chief Executive of the Behavioural Science and Public Health Network (BSPHN), clinical psychologist, and former Co-Director at the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change.

Paul shares what’s changing inside BSPHN, why the organisation is expanding beyond public health, and what it will take to embed behavioural science across the public sector in a way that’s practical, inclusive, and built for real-world complexity.

We also dive into Paul’s personal behaviour change story, why applied behavioural science can be a lonely job, and the big myth he’d send straight to Room 101…

  🧠 What You’ll Learn In This Episode

• Why BSPHN believes the question is no longer “Do we need behavioural science?” but “How do we make it happen?”

• Why behavioural science must expand beyond public health because everything connects back to public health

• The value of the applied behavioural science practitioner (and why their wisdom needs amplifying)

• The four strategic pillars shaping BSPHN’s next chapter:

  • Community of practice

  • Capacity building

  • Advocacy

  • Partnerships

• Why behavioural science should never be treated as something “only for PhDs”

• How BSPHN is redesigning its approach to be more useful to practitioners and academics

• Why we need to stop hunting for quick-win “magic fixes” and take complexity seriously

  ⭐ Standout Moments

📌 Paul on moving from clinical settings into public health:

“The origins of the behaviours I was trying to change had their roots in people’s childhoods… shaped by social and cultural circumstances.”

📌 Paul on community:

“Being a behavioural scientist or applying behavioural science can be a lonely business.”

📌 The best Room 101 moment:
The Behavioural Science Unicorn — the myth that tiny interventions must always create massive cost savings to be “worth it”.

  🦄 Room 101: The Behavioural Science Unicorn

Paul would send this idea into Room 101:

The belief that behavioural science is only valuable when it produces simple, tiny, low-effort interventions with huge measurable impact and cost savings.

Yes nudges can be powerful.
But chasing mythical “unicorn wins” can stop teams from doing the deeper work of embedding behavioural science in systems, services, leadership, and culture.

  📚 Mentioned in the Episode

Paul’s book: Do I Drink Too Much? 
A practical, psychologically-informed guide to reflecting on alcohol use and exploring a strategic break.

 

 

📅 BSPHN Conference 2026 (Don’t Miss This)

Paul also shares details of the upcoming BSPHN conference:

🗓 8–9 March 2026
🎯 Theme: Complexity — using behavioural science to make complexity more manageable (without dumbing it down)

 

Don't forget to register to x

Marketing & Psychology: Understanding Customer Behaviour with the ABC Approach

In this episode, Ruth Dale is joined by Luan Wise and Dr Tom Bowden-Green to explore their new book, Marketing and Psychology: Understanding Customer Behaviour with the ABC Approach — a practical, evidence-led guide for anyone working in marketing, communications, public health, or behaviour change.

This conversation bridges academic psychology and real-world practice, cutting through guesswork and pop psychology to show how behavioural science can be applied with confidence, clarity, and integrity.

If you work in comms, health promotion, social marketing, B2B or B2C, this episode is for you — regardless of whether “marketing” is in your job title.

  🧠 What you’ll learn in this episode

• Why this book needed to exist — and why now

• How the ABC framework (Audience, Brand, Choice) helps structure behavioural thinking

• Why behaviour change is about marginal gains, not silver bullets

• The danger of guessing behaviour based on demographics alone

• How to use personas properly (with evidence, not stereotypes)

• Why marketers often are using behavioural science — without realising it

• How academics and practitioners can (and should) work better together

• What it really takes to turn a huge academic field into a practical, usable book

  💬 Standout quotes from the episode

“There isn’t a silver bullet. Behaviour change is about marginal gains — lots of small shifts that add up to something meaningful.”
— Tom

“Most marketers are already doing behavioural science — they just don’t realise there’s evidence behind what they’re doing.”
— Luann

  🚫 Room 101 (what they’d happily bin)

• Over-simplified generational labels that flatten human behaviour

• Algorithm-chasing instead of focusing on real people and real decisions

  📚 BrainFuel Book Club

This book is officially on the reading list for the BrainFuel Book Club — a space for people who want smarter, evidence-led thinking without the academic fog or marketing gimmicks.

If you like books that make you better at your job, not just better at sounding clever, this one’s for you.

  🔗 Useful links

• 📖 Pre-order the book via Amazon 

• 🌐 Learn more at marketingandpsychology.com

• 💬 Connect with Luan and Tom on LinkedIn and follow their ongoing work and newsletter

• BrainFuel Book Club - FREE FOR EVERYONE JOIN US HERE 

 

If this episode sparked a new way of thinking, share it with a colleague or friend — and don’t forget to hit subscribe. It really helps 💛🔥

Final Episode of 2025

Guest: Stephanie Snow, Chair of CIPR Health
Theme: The future of health communications, behaviour change, and reputation as we head into 2026

Episode overview

We’re closing out 2025 with a thoughtful, energising conversation about where health communications is heading next. Recorded earlier this year but released now to harness the fresh start effect, this episode looks squarely at the realities communicators face as we plan for 2026.

Steph brings over 20 years’ experience across agency and in-house roles, and shares sharp insight on leadership, professional standards, and why communications has never been more critical—or more misunderstood.

A quote from Steph

“Reputations are long and hard to build, and very easily broken. Organisations that treat communications as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a strategic function are making themselves extremely vulnerable.”

Steph’s top challenges for health communications in 2026

1. Fragmented information ecosystems
Audiences now live in highly personalised, often invisible digital spaces. Conversations are happening in places communicators can’t easily see, track, or respond to—raising both reputational and ethical challenges.

2. Communications being undervalued in tough economic times
When budgets tighten, comms roles are often the first to go. Steph argues this is a false economy: organisations that cut strategic communications weaken their ability to manage trust, credibility, and long-term impact.

3. Behaviour change in an environment stacked against health
From junk food saturation to commercial determinants of health, communicators are trying to influence behaviour in contexts that actively undermine healthy choices—making strategy, not just messaging, essential.

4. The shift from strategic leadership to tactical delivery
Despite rising complexity, communications is still too often reduced to outputs rather than influence. Steph makes a strong case for reclaiming comms as a core leadership and decision-making function.

5. Skills, confidence, and professional development gaps
As roles evolve, so must capability. Ongoing CPD, ethical reflection, and peer learning are no longer optional extras—they’re how the profession stays credible and resilient.

Stand-out moments from the conversation

• Why eye contact still matters—even in a Zoom-dominated world

• How being a “well-hidden introvert” can make you a better communicator

• What health communicators can learn from aviation, failure, and pre-mortems

• Why learning should feel energising, not like another item on the to-do list

• How community, connection, and shared thinking protect against burnout

Book recommendation

📘 Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed
A powerful reminder that progress comes from learning rigorously from what goes wrong—and applying that thinking to campaign planning, misinformation, and reputation management.

Why this episode matters now

As we step into 2026, this conversation is a call to take communications seriously again: as a profession, a strategic discipline, and a force for better health outcomes. It’s thoughtful, honest, and quietly galvanising.

If this episode sparked something for you, share it with a colleague and hit subscribe—it helps keep these conversations going 💛

Emergency Episode!

World Social Marketing Conference: Hot Takes & Game-Changing Ideas

Host: Ruth Dale 
Guests: Ed Gyde, Katherine Knight, Ian Fannon

We rushed home from sunny Spain with too much excitement not to podcast about it. This episode unpacks the World Social Marketing Conference, its biggest sparks, freshest ideas, and the vibe shift happening across global behaviour change.

  🔥 Theme of the Conference Social marketing isn’t social media. It’s a discipline that improves lives - at scale.

The event was bursting with:

• Planet-saving ideas 🌍

• New ways to boost agency + confidence 💪

• Serious ✨community power✨

• Big questions about equity + systems change 🏛️

  💡 Guest Highlights & Key Takeaways 🟦 Ed Joy – Audience, Social Marketing (UK) KEY TAKEAWAY: Stop peppering teens with single-issue campaigns. Build spaces and confidence instead.

Ed shared the Sky Girls campaign — an empowering pan-African platform helping girls say no to pressure and yes to themselves.

His energy:
👟 Less “don’t smoke”
🎮 More DJ booths, gaming, and real talk
💬 Real empowerment > behaviour nagging

Ed’s Big Thought:

“Create places and platforms where young people want to be - then the learning sticks.”

  🟩 Katherine Knight – Intelligent Health KEY TAKEAWAY: Boosting > Nudging. Joy is a public health tool.

Her Beat the Streets programme has already inspired 2 million people to get active, connect, and build community agency.

🔥 Massive shift at the conference:
Climate change + inequality + health?
➡️ One and the same mission.

Catherine’s favourite learning:

Boosting builds people's capacity to choose change — together, not alone.

Bonus: we want a whole episode on Catherine’s disaster-prep flannel story. 🚿🧽 Pure gold.

  🟥 Ian Fannon – Claremont Communications KEY TAKEAWAY: Behaviour change takes time. Build, boost, bond and evaluate rigorously.

Ian’s 3 B’s of brilliant behaviour change:
1️⃣ Building — long-term investment beats short campaigns
2️⃣ Boosting — focus on strengths + capabilities
3️⃣ Bonding — community + connection = magic ✨

His favourite takeaway:

“We strengthen the good already in communities - we don’t fix broken humans.”

    🧠 Big Ideas We’re Taking Forward

✔ Elevate agency over persuasion
✔ Build movements, not one-off messages
✔ Climate + health + equity are intertwined
✔ We need practitioners and academics working side-by-side
✔ Behaviour change isn’t instant -invest in longevity

  🤫 Room 101 — What We’re Banning

We nearly confiscated all bad PowerPoint slides forever…
… but the official Room 101 winner is:

🚫 Harm-reduction messaging that shifts responsibility onto individuals and deepens inequality.
👉 Behaviour change must tackle systems, not shame people.

  ❤️ Conference Vibes

• Sunshine + tapas 🌞🍷

• Inspiration + brilliant humans

• A real sense of movement and momentum

• A tribe found (but everyone’s invited)

Next stop? Montpellier 2026 🇫🇷
(We’ll race you to the plenary hall.)

  🔗 Connect on LinkedIn

Find Ed Gyde, Katherine Knight, and Ian Fannon over on LinkedIn 

  🌟 Final Thought

This episode is your postcard from Spain - minus the sangria.
The spark is real. The movement is growing.
Health change is joy-change.

Let’s boost a better world. 💥\

 

To stay up to date on behaviour change in health comms, and public health join BrainFuel over on Substack!

 

 

Ruth is joined by Caroline Latta, communications and engagement specialist and founder of OLOVUS, for a powerful conversation about what real co-design looks like when it moves beyond surveys, hypotheticals and “tell us what service you want.”

This episode tells the story of a short break service for people with learning disabilities—re-imagined from the ground up.

Instead of asking families to imagine a different service, Caroline and her team showed them what was possible.

They took families and people with learning disabilities on visits to alternative short break providers: outdoor activity centres, community-based supports, spaces full of independence and joy rather than hospital-style care.

The visits revealed moments of trust, connection and delight that completely reshaped the service design—and shifted the focus from “safe respite” to aspirational, joyful breaks that feel like holidays.

We also explore Caroline’s deeply personal experience with weight loss medication, what it taught her about shame and biology, and how it strengthened her commitment to non-judgemental, inclusive design.

A rich, emotional and practical episode - full of behaviour change thinking for anyone working across health, care or commissioning.

💬 Caroline's Quotes On co-design done properly

“You don’t realise how limited your imagination is until someone shows you what’s possible.”

 

 

On why surveys fall short

“You can fill in as many questionnaires as you like, but you don’t see the smile on someone’s face in a survey.”

On shifting the frame

“We weren’t trying to fix a ‘respite problem.’ We were asking, ‘What does a joyful break look like?’”

 

 

  📚 Book Recommendation

Invisible Women – Caroline Criado Perez

A sharp, essential read that reveals how system design often defaults to men—and how invisible data gaps create very visible barriers.
Perfect for anyone designing public health, social care or behaviour change programmes.

  🔍 What You’ll Learn

• How to run co-design that produces real insight

• Why showing beats asking people to imagine

• The shift from “respite” to aspirational breaks

• How field visits surface truths workshops never will

• How robust involvement frees commissioners to lead boldly

• Desired vs problem behaviours in behaviour change

• Why paying people matters—practically and ethically

• How privilege, hormones and biology shape health behaviour

  🎧 Links

Connect with Caroline on LinkedIn 

Check out Olovus

 

Training update 

🔗 Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp – 10 December
Misinformation, AI and behavioural science for health communicators.

"Must Listen for Everyone Working in or On Individual Change projects or Campaigns"

Is blaming “individual willpower”  one of the industry’s most successful PR tactics.Why do our environments make the healthy choice so hard? And who profits when they do?

In this powerful episode of the Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp Podcast, Ruth Dale sits down with Louis Bird, Principal in Public Health and national obstacle-course racer, to unpack the commercial determinants of health and what they mean for the everyday choices we think we’re making freely.

Louis explains how industries like food, alcohol, tobacco, and fossil fuels shape our behaviour, our environments, and ultimately our health; often without us realising.

And what you can do it about it at Local Authority level.

This conversation shines a light on how power, profit and public health collide.

But all is not lost. Louis shares his work in Swindon with tips on what you can do too.

If you work in public health, health marketing, or behavioural science, this episode will change how you see your town, your life and the choices you make. 

 

Quote from Lewis

“When profit depends on harm, it’s not personal choice -  it’s structural design.”

 

Useful Links

Transport for London - Food Advertising Regulations - NIHR Impact Study  - Easy Read

 

Welcome to another episode of Brain Fuel! I’m so excited to share my conversation with Dr. Heather McKee, one of Europe’s leading lifestyle behaviour change specialists. Heather brings a wealth of experience in health psychology and digital health, and her insights are both practical and inspiring.

In this episode, we explore the science of sustainable behaviour change, the promise and pitfalls of digital health, and how to make real, lasting improvements in our lives and organisations.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Intrinsic Motivation is Key: Real, lasting behaviour change comes from understanding and tapping into our intrinsic motivations—not just relying on external rewards or pressure.
2. Implementation Over Information: Most of us know what we “should” do for our health; the real challenge is turning that knowledge into action. It’s not an information gap, it’s an implementation gap.
3. Find Joy in Healthy Habits: Sustainable change is easier when we focus on the healthy habits we actually enjoy, rather than punishing ourselves or chasing short-term goals.

Quote from Heather:
“What we feed the mind is ultimately what becomes our behaviours. Be careful of what your media diet is, because what you consume, consumes you.”

Book Recommendation:
Heather recommends “Good Habits, Bad Habits” by Wendy Wood for a deep dive into the science of habits, and also gives a shoutout to “Atomic Habits” by James Clear for accessible, actionable advice.

If you’re interested in behaviour change, digital health, or just want some inspiration for making positive changes in your own life, this episode is packed with insights and practical tips. As always, if you enjoyed the show, please like, share, or leave a review. And if you have a project or story to share, get in touch at brainfuel@hiddenvoicesheard.com I’d love to hear from you!

A very different episode with Sabine De-Ville

Instead of talking about health

Let's embody it.

In all our behavioural insights work, there is one common theme - despite the subject.

It also appeared again and again in our training.

Your tired brain.

Breathwork can be a game-changer. 

Especially if you live meeting to meeting - Zoom call to Zoom call.

The air is free, you can do it anytime, anywhere.

Sabine has over 20 years of experience delivering breath work, mindfulness, and cognitive resets for tired brains.  

Enjoy x

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Eleanor Stanley, a coach and communication specialist, about her inspiring work with Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS and the British Association of Retinal Screeners.

Eleanor shared a powerful case study on using co-production and storytelling to increase attendance for diabetic eye screenings, especially among groups that are often harder to reach. We discussed the importance of authentic communication, the value of patient voices, and how even small-scale projects can drive real behavior change.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Co-production with clear roles is key: Involving patients directly in the creation of communication materials leads to more authentic and effective messaging, but it’s crucial to define everyone’s role and manage expectations, especially with limited resources.
2. Storytelling drives behaviour change: Crafting a compelling narrative, rather than just sharing facts creates emotional engagement and helps audiences connect with the message on a deeper level.
3. Measurable impact matters: Adding a patient story video to appointment reminders led to a 25% higher rebooking rate for diabetic eye screenings, demonstrating the real-world value of thoughtful communication interventions.

Eleanor's Quote

“You need to be very clear on your outcomes. You need to be measuring for results and all of that, but it’s so much nicer for you if you are doing it from a place of authenticity and also it’s so much more effective in what you can produce. It’s just people, and it can sound scary…but actually just one really good conversation with someone can just completely change everything.”

Book Recommendation

Eleanor recommends “The Advice Trap” by Michael Bungay Stanier. She highlights its focus on humility, curiosity, and changing the way you lead through better listening.

Resonance Programme

Resonance Programme is a bespoke journey for leaders and communicators ready to rethink how they show up at work and beyond. It is professional development - led by Eleanor - for mid-career senior leaders and communicators working in health social impact. Click here for more info. 

Come on the show

If you enjoyed this episode or have a case study to share, reach out at brainfuel@hiddenvoicesheard.com!

We explore the real reason why many health campaigns fail: a lack of clarity rooted in assumptions about the audience.

Over the past few episodes, Ruth has walked us through how brains get overwhelmed, how decision fatigue kicks in, and how even well-meaning messages can backfire.

This week’s episode brings it all together with a simple but powerful test:
👉 Do you really know your audience?

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Empathy fades under pressure: Deadlines and noise can push teams to default to generic messaging. The Clarity Test is your reminder to re-centre on people.

• Campaigns fail when insight is missing: If your work isn’t grounded in real understanding, you’ll see low engagement, low action, and lots of frustration.

• Assumptions ≠ empathy: Thinking you know your audience isn’t the same as truly understanding their world.

• Clarity is behavioural power: Clear minds craft better messages. Clarity isn’t a luxury — it’s a strategic asset.

In this episode, Ruth explores what happens when our brain’s decision-making battery runs flat — and why that matters deeply for health communication. Drawing on behavioural science concepts like ego depletion and bounded rationality, she shares how cognitive overload derails even the best campaigns. If your work relies on a calm, rational audience... it might be time to rethink.

This one’s short, sharp, and designed to make you pause.

Quote from the Episode:
“Are we adding pressure to a depleted brain — or clearing the way for action?”

What You'll Learn:

• What ego depletion actually is, and how it affects behaviour

• Why people don’t make ‘perfect’ decisions — and that’s okay

• The hidden mental cost of too many messages or choices

• How to design for clarity when your audience is distracted and overwhelmed

Why It Matters:
Health communication often assumes people are logical, focused, and ready to listen. But real-life decision-making doesn’t happen in a vacuum — it happens in a fog. Understanding the limits of mental energy can help you write, design, and plan with more compassion and impact.

Takeaway:
Clarity is a kindness. When you reduce the mental load for your audience, you reduce it for yourself too.

💌 Want the BrainFuel Breather ? Join us on Substack

Do Health Messages Nag or Nudge?
In this episode of BrainFuel: The Clarity Series, Ruth dives into psychological reactance — the powerful force behind why people reject health advice (even the good kind).

You'll learn:

• Why audiences push back (and how to stop pushing them)

• How clarity, tone, and choice impact trust

• Simple tweaks to make your message land better

🌬️ Want the BrainFuel Breather audio?
→ Join us on Substack

🎟️ Plus: Join our Social Norms Summer School on Aug 19 — only £49. Includes your Social Norms Starter Kit.
→ Grab your ticket

 

Ever poured your heart into a health campaign only to see… crickets?

You’re not alone. In this episode, Ruth dives into why clarity is the key to behaviour change — and why it’s so hard to find in a world of noise, deadlines, and overloaded brains (yes, yours too). We’re talking cognitive fatigue, irrational audiences, and the myth of "more info = better choices".

🎧 Plus, you'll hear:

• Why clarity starts with you — the communicator, strategist, planner

• How social norms quietly shape everything (and how to wield them with care)

• The secret sauce of choice architecture (used in canteens, emails & even inbox design!)

• An unfiltered behind-the-scenes peek into AI experiments gone wrong – including made-up research studies 😱

• The BrainFuel Breathers: guided reset sessions just for you (yes, really)

🧠 Key Takeaways

1. Audiences are overwhelmed. According to studies, we consume over 34GB of info a day — the equivalent of a million photos or 16 films daily. Design for this reality.

2. Rational choice is a myth. If your strategy is built on “if they only knew,” you’re missing the behavioural science.

3. You’re already nudging. Every piece of content you create shapes choices. Learn how to do it with intention (see: choice architecture).

4. You need inner clarity too. Your ability to influence others is directly tied to how clear you are in your own thinking, purpose, and planning.

🛠️ Tools, Resources & Offers

🎟️ Mini Bootcamp: Social Norms Summer School
→ A 2-hour online masterclass on August 19th
→ Tools, case studies, evidence-based strategies
→ Only £49 | Free for Substack Yearly Subscribers
👉 Sign up now — doors close August 8th!

🧘 BrainFuel Breathers
→ Weekly audio reset sessions created with Sabine (breathwork facilitator & yoga teacher)
→ Exclusive to Substack subscribers
→ Subscribe here

📚 Mentioned Study:

• Click & Crunch Canteen Study – Australian high school experiment on menu design & healthy eating (via choice architecture)

🧪 Experiments, Mistakes & AI Misfires

Ruth shares the truth about using AI in podcast production:

• Tried a chatbot co-host: fun but too chaotic

• Used AI for research: it made up studies (!)

• Takeaway? AI is powerful — but always, always fact-check

🗣️ Quote of the Episode

“You’re already nudging — whether you mean to or not. Every message, every menu, every layout is shaping choice.”

🧭 Final Thought

You’re not just delivering messages. You’re shaping behaviour, influencing decisions, and holding the power to make real change. But you can’t do that without clarity — for yourself and your audience.

Stay kind. Stay curious. And give your brain a breather 💛

💌 Stay Connected

→ Subscribe: BrainFuel on Substack
→ Join the Mini Bootcamp: BehaviourChange.Marketing/Social
→ Connect on LinkedIn: Ruth Dale

 

These show notes were developed using Otter AI.

This episode was sparked by a newsletter.

When Elina’s Artificial Thought landed in my inbox, it immediately lit a fire under a question I’d been sitting with: Where does AI fit in behaviour change work? I invited Elina onto BrainFuel — and this episode is where the conversation began.

Together, we dive into the emerging relationship between behavioural science and artificial intelligence — not as hype, but as a thoughtful, grounded exploration of where we go from here.

One of the biggest themes? Bias. And Spaniels.
We explore how:

• AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and others inherit human bias, baked into training data and system design

• Behavioural science has its own blind spots, often shaped by the same cultural assumptions and power dynamics

• And why it’s not enough to be evidence-based — we have to stay curious, critical, and open to new ways of thinking

Elina said something that stayed with me:

"Behavioural science is all about looking for a problem to solve—even if that search sometimes leads us to frame challenges in ways that mirror our own biases."

We also discuss how we’re using AI in our day-to-day work:

• ChatGPT and Claude as brainstorming buddies and thinking partners

• AI for creative workflows (like these show notes!)

• But never in analysis or insight work, where data sensitivity and confidentiality come first

   In this episode:

• The risks and responsibilities of integrating AI into behaviour change

• How bias shows up in both datasets and frameworks

• The practical limits of AI in public health work

• Why we need more human judgment, not less

👉 If you do one thing - check Elina's newsletter Artificial Thought 

Today's episode continues exploring Social Marketing with Communications Strategy Consultant Neil Hopkins. Neil is also he founder of the Secret Social Marketers Club on LinkedIn. He has extensive experience in public service, particularly in road safety and local government communications. 

Listen to the episode to as we explore

• what social marketing is (hint - not social media)
• where it sits in behaviour change.
• why it is the solution if you want to move beyond awareness raising campaigns

Because Social Marketing:

• Empowers target audiences
• Shifts power dynamics from deficit-based to skills-boosting approaches
• Fcuses on understanding lived experiences

We tackle industry challenges head on including 

• Disconnect between marketing, communications, and academic research
• Pressure on professionals to perform multiple roles
• Limited resources in public sector communications

Quote from Neil:

"Social marketing is the application of commercial marketing principles for those social good outcomes that result in behaviour change. It's using that understanding, based in understanding of people and rooted in empathy for those people as well, and what will work for them."

 

If you enjoyed this episode (and Nedra's last week) you could:
- Join the Secret Social Marketers LinkedIn group
- Attend World Social Marketing Conference (5-7 November in Alicante, Spain)
- Attend the CIPR Ethics Webinar delivered through a social marketing lens

Special Offer:
Get 10% off the World Social Marketing Conference using discount code BRAINFUEL10 at www.wsmconference.com

 

p.s. for more on Social Marketing check out:

E22 - The TITE Process - 4 steps to applying theory in social marketing

E10. Don't engage too late! How to use social marketing concepts reward & exchange

E8. Segmenting Your Audience Don't overcook then undercook your audience: Social marketing & segmentation

 

This week is an exploration of social marketing, challenging misconceptions, and driving meaningful behaviour change with one of the field's most respected practitioners, Nedra Weinriech.

Nedra is founder of Weinreich Communications, and an editorial board member for Social Marketing Quarterly. She has been practising social marketing for over 30 years. 

Highlights:

Nedra's Personal Productivity Hack:
- Discovered virtual co-working
- Uses "body doubling" technique
- Increased focus and productivity through intentional work sessions

What is Social Marketing?
- Not social media
- Systematic approach to behaviour change
- Focuses on audience insights and making desired actions easier
- Integrates psychology, design, and marketing principles

Case Study: California Teen Suicide Prevention Campaign
- Campaign: "Never a Bother"
- Target: Low-income teens
- Innovative co-design process with youth
- Addressed key barriers to seeking mental health support

Social Marketing vs. Behavioural Science:
- More than just awareness
- Systematic research-driven approach
- Audience-centered design
- Scalable behaviour change strategies

Quote:
"Social marketing is applied behavioural science at scale." - Nedra Weinreich

Free Resources:

• Social-Marketing.com (or to go directly to my library of articles including my free ebook: https://Social-Marketing.com/library
• The Social Media for Behavior Change Toolkit can be downloaded from my website above or here is the “official” page with more resources: https://preparecenter.org/site/sm4bc-toolkit
• Creative Mornings - their "virtual field trips” are where I first encountered the idea of virtual co-working, but they have lots of fun free online events - https://creativemornings.com/fieldtrips/brows
• Flown - they give you a free month to try it out, and after that it’s subscription based. Nedra's referral link includes 25% off (and she gets a free mug if someone signs up ): https://flown.com/join-flown-referral-page?referral=nedra-weinreich-fb9c2
• The Never a Bother campaign - https://neverabother.org/

Don't forget your 10% saving: BrainFuel10 World Social Marketing Conference

 

This week, we’re celebrating 10 years of the EAST Framework (Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely) and asking a powerful question:

How often do we reflect on our own behaviour as change-makers?

We explore why simple frameworks still work in a complex world, what the “toothbrush problem” is, and why mastering a few tools beats collecting many.

🛠️ Action tip: Start by checking in on your decision-making and how you use behavioural frameworks to support change—not stress you out.

 

This week on BrainFuel, we’re taking a moment to turn the lens inward—not just on the behaviours we’re trying to shift, but on our own as the people designing change.

We’re celebrating the 10th birthday of the EAST Framework—Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely. It’s still our go-to tool when we need something clear, fast, and grounded in how people actually think and behave. But we’re also asking a deeper question:
Do we ever pause to reflect on our own behaviours when we’re planning programmes for others?

We share thoughts on a brilliant article by Michael Holdsworth, written for EAST’s 10-year anniversary, exploring whether simplicity still holds up in today’s world of generative AI, personalisation, and complexity. Spoiler alert—we believe it does. Simplicity cuts through the noise.

We also dig into the “toothbrush problem” (you’ll have to listen!) and remind ourselves that frameworks are tools, not trophies. Mastering a few—and using them well—is often more powerful than collecting many.

🧠 Episode Outline

• We ask: what if the first step in designing change is understanding ourselves as practitioners?

•  Is that why E.A.S.T. Still Works?

Reflecting on the E.A.S.T. Framework

• We share some highlights from Michael Holdsworth’s anniversary article, “Why Simplicity Can Be Strength in a Complex World.”

• HIs article asks: does a simple framework still hold value in a world of complexity and AI?

• We say yes—and talk through why simplicity still has real power in our work.

The Role of Frameworks in Behavioural Science

• We remind ourselves that frameworks aren’t for show. They’re here to serve the change, not our egos.

• We talk through why E.A.S.T. is so memorable, and how new frameworks often muddy the waters.

• We highlight the “toothbrush problem”—how everyone wants to invent their own framework—and suggest we focus on mastering a few instead.

Embodying the Principles of Behavioural Science

• We reflect on what it means to embody behavioural science—not just use it.

• That means making things easy for others, reducing stress for our teams, and staying clear-headed ourselves.

• We encourage everyone to ask: are we making our work easier or harder? Are we showing up in the way we want others to?

 

Our show notes are generated by AI then read through for clarity and sense-checking. 

 

Hi everyone,

this is a reflective episode, and a soft announcement - softly very softly!

We are ...rebranding the Podcast!
Transitioning from "Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp" to "BrainFuel"

This is allow us to focus more on our core mission which is to focus on health and reducing health inequalites fueling brain power and decision-making skills.

Our vision is for the episodes to spark curiosity and creativity combined with practical decision-making insights.

We will still deep dive into behavioural science, AI and if there is an evidence-based approach that helps the health communicator we will share it!

Stay tuned for exciting new episodes.

As part of our revamp we have the next Behaviour Change Marketing Boootcamp training on May 15th 2025.

Ir promises to be an exciting day!

Only 5 spots left - click here for more

 

 

This week, we dive into a fascinating conversation with Daniel Preece, Public Health practitioner extraordinaire. Daniel sits with the Plymouth City Council and commissions the local Stop Smoking Service. 

We explore insights from our recent Behavioural Insights Deep Dive where we listened to routine and manual workers and why the want to - or don't want to - quit smoking tobacco. 

This episode is packed with actionable insights and real-world examples.

3 Aha Moments:

1. Autonomy is Key:
   Many people who smoke want to feel in control of their quit journey. They prefer an approach that keeps them in the driver’s seat.

2. Vaping is complex:
   Vaping is a hugely complex behaviour and plays many different roles. For some it's a help, for some it's confusing and for others it started them smoking tobacco. Understanding this reality is critical to effective services,

3. Knowledge doesn't matter if the offer is wrong
   We often see a COM-B analysis that highlights the lack of the knowledge of the service and so we may then think - oh we need a communications campaign. But taking a behavioural insights approach means you consider beliefs too. And if the offer is wrong it doesn't matter how much you communicate. The service offer needs to match the needs - then you market it to the audience.

  Quote

"Quitting is like walking a tightrope. People need to find their balance and build confidence on their own, with services acting as a safety net beneath them rather than pulling them along." Daniel Preece

 

Links

Hidden Voices Heard is the home of the popular Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp where we run the behavioural insight deep dives - www.hiddenvoicesheard.com

 

 

In today's episode we are joined by Stuart King. Stuart founded BeeZee Bodies 17 years ago whilst working in public health. A hugely successful service it supports people all over England. At Public Health England he was senior scientist in the obesity and healthy weight team and he still works closely with Public Health producing and hosting The Real World Behavioural Science podcast with the Public Health & Behavioural Science Network.

We look deeper into an ethnographic video Stuart developed on behalf of the London Borough of Hounslow. The video walks you through a day in the life of Veena a mum so you can see the influencers and patterns that are we are being exposed to every day. Shining a spotlight on the importance of the wider determinants of health.

Three key aha moments

• On a short walk Veena was exposed to fast food advertising 27 times. This is important because when running a healthy weight messaging you need to remember what else people are seeing. 
• Dogs motivate because they are external triggers - they will nudge you into movement. Do you know what other external triggers your audience may have that you can draw attention to?
• Does is the environment your audience is exposed to bombard them with negative triggers? Such as the 'food' options in local shops and are these triggers the norm? If so recognise and celebrate the resilience it takes to overcome them. 

 

Links

Veena - A Day in the Life - 

Real World of Behavioural Science podcast

 

Books

The Spirit Level  by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson

Loonshots  by Safi Bahcall

Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed

Japanese Art Of Kaizan

Linchpin by Seth Godin

 

 

 

This episode deep dives into 8 top tips for effective Smokefree messaging this No Smoking Day - 13th March.

 

For details check out our blog

Want to do more?

Come to the Smokefree Training Day 2024  - the day after No Smoking Day on 14th March 2024

Early bird is on!

 

 

 

 

Happy 2024!
 

In today's episode we welcome Nathan Monk and Rebecca Roberts as we go deep into Behaviour Change and Further Education and Higher Education. 

Nathan Monk is cofounder of Smile and one of the brains behind Prospectus Plus, the innovative and personalised prospectus solution that is transforming the conversation around digitally tailoring recruitment journeys. We talk about how those shifts in recent years align to wider behaviours when it comes to tech, and why understanding human nature can help advance your campaign strategies. 

Rebecca Roberts is founder of Thread & Fable a youth agency and an expert in Higher Ed & Further Ed marketing. A specialist in youth agency she is a huge advocate for putting the audience at the centre of planning and targeting your audience - knowing where you fit in their lives.

 

To go deeper into Behaviour Change Marketing and FE&HE join us on 29th February 2024 

www.behaviourchange.marketing/FEHE

 

In today's episode we highlight 3 books recommended by 3 of our 2023 podcast guests and an ask for you (see below!)

 

1) Mistakes Were Made But Not By Me - Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions & Hurtful Acts by Carol Travis & Elliott Aronson 

Recommended by Samuel Salzer from E40 How to build Habits that Stick.

 

2) A more Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas  by Warren Berger

Recommended by Melina Palmer E43 Applying Behavioural Science to Internal Comms

 

3) Made to Stick By Chip & Dan Heath

Recommended by Nedra Weinreich E57 Top Mistake When Communicating Mental Health

 

Perfect for colleagues secret santas or your 2024 reading list.

 

Do you want to join the Bootcamp BookClub?

We're touting for interest.

Would you enjoy a relaxed, informal bookclub reading the latest behavioural science, marketing & comms books and... coming on the podcast to talk about it (not obligatory!)

We are at the very early stages. 

We all love books, read books, share books - seems bonkers not to talk books too!

Email ruth@behaviourchange.marketing and we'll chat!

 

This episode takes a slightly different approach to our usual style.

To celebrate our behind the scenes working together Rebecca & I interview each other and look back at top tips we would give ourselves and also we look forward to our future events.

The title does give away the unveiling - but as they say the devil is in the detail so for more information go to www.behaviourchange.marketing/FEHE

🐓 Don't miss the Earlybird too!

For more on Rebecca and to listen to her youth focussed podcasts go to https://www.threadandfable.com/podcasts

 

Summary

• Marketing and education news with Rebecca Roberts. 0:02

•  Teenage years, hobbies, and identity. 1:35

• Marketing careers in higher education and public health. 5:14

• TV shows, including "Stranger Things" and "Selling Sunset". 10:01

•  Self-belief and self-care for working mothers. 12:58

•  Work-life balance and career development for working mothers. 14:33

• University decisions and the impact of cost and pressure on students. 19:20

• Student debt, decision-making, and marketing strategies for higher education. 23:48

• Using behavioural science in higher ed marketing. 28:20

 

 

This week we are joined by Jen Clinehens from Choice Hacking to chat all things social proof!

She is an expert in applying behavioural science to marketing and you can check out Jen's work over at Choice Hacking,

We chat canned laughter, the need to be part of a social group, how Apple took it a new level, why disaster preparedness never happens, The Bear and much more.

Listen to understand how we use social proof to signal our social norms.

Why it's important to think beyond messaging to product details - Jen talks through the classic Apple example.

How social norms can be used to drive action.

 

Recommended book

"Unreasonable Hospitality - the remarkable power of giving people more than they expect" by Will Guidara 

 

Check out Jen's work

 https://www.choicehacking.com/

The episode we chat about is Social Proof: The Persuasive Power of Crowds

 

 

 

 

 

This episode explores the murder mystery genre and how thinking like a detective can help you understand your audience - the first step to communicating change.

The three key questions -

1. Do they have the means (to make the change)?

2. What is their motive? 

3. Do they have opportunity!

 

Anyone near Plymouth, UK on 7 November - come along to our in-person live workshop to find out more! 

Click here for more info

Anyone not online - keep an eye out for our murder mystery meets behavioural science challenge - coming soon!

 

 

 

 

This episode talks through what habits are and how to write a behavioural statement so you can get clarity on the challenge you are working to solve.

3 AHA moments 💡

Your audience may not be aware of their habits. They are behaviours that take place on autopilot. 

Habits are contextual so by focussing on the trigger and time before the behaviour takes place is key to changing behaviour.

Once formed habits do not need rewards but they will use them when forming. When thinking about your audience's barriers and rewards ask if they are still relevant and if the barrier is now lack of reward.

 

Subscribe to BrainFuel 🧠

To get the Habit Worksheet join the podcast's sister newsletter 'BrainFuel' 

www.behaviourchange.marketing/subscribe

 

Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp News ⚡

Final date for 2023 announced 

Wednesday 13th December 2023

 

 

Today's episode welcomes Nedra Kline Weinreich, president and founder of Weinreich Communications. Nedra has over 25 years experience delivering social marketing to create positive change on health and social care issues.

 

 Quote from Nedra

"I would say the the biggest issue that I see in campaigns that are trying to reduce stigma, whether it's around mental health issues, or any other kind of stigmatised issue is you want to avoid the S word, which is stigma.

If you keep talking about how there's a stigma to mental illness, or to getting treatment, and that we need to remove the stigma, what that actually does is reinforce that there's a stigma. We shouldn't be talking about the stigma over and over again."

What is social marketing?

Nedra explains what social marketing is in 60 seconds and how it is different to a traditional behavioural science research approach. 

Social marketing Mental Health Campaign

Nedra shares the campaign "Take Action for Mental Health" a campaign designed to help you check in, learn more, and get support for your own mental health or the mental health of someone you care about. 

3 aha moments 💡

1. Stigma is not the main barrier. Tools to talk are.

2. Talking about stigma normalises stigma. Avoid the 's' word

3. When talking about suicide, don't normalise it as an option instead talk about the hope and help. Hope that it can be stopped. Help - where the services are. Who people can turn too.

  Nedra's book recommendation

Made to Stick by Chip &  Dan Heath 

Links

• Take Action for Mental Health - https://takeaction4mh.com/
• Take Action for Mental Health evaluation - https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2101-1.html
• Suicide prevention messaging toolkit -https://www.suicidepreventionmessaging.org/
•  Nedra's website includes free social marketing resources - https://social-marketing.com/

  Few seats left! Join us at Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp 

The next Bootcamp training takes place on 31st October 2023. 

➡️Click here to find out more. ⬅️

 

Today's episode explains why Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp training is not a course!

Not because we don't love training.

But because the training is designed to focus on skills development and for busy pros who are short on time.

It accelerates your learning through a dedicated one-day where we can kick-start your application of behavioural science to your work. 

This November we have four weeks follow up for everyone - so that when you get going back at the ranch you can check in with questions that you never thought of in the day.

Plus we're all about stopping the duplication and starting to stand on each others shoulders by sharing our wins and hints and tips!

That's why - once you have been through Bootcamp ALL MASTERCLASSES are then free!

So you can keep learning and growing.

This episode is late out and we missed the early bird - so for any Podcast fans reading this - use the coupon code PODCAST and it will give an extra 25% saving!

 

 

   

Episode 52 dives deep into uncertainty and how you can use it to write killer messaging - specifically key messages.

We share why uncertainty is a decision killer - not great for behaviour change comms! 

And how you can turn that around.

We talk about the Status Quo Bias and The Curse of Knowledge Bias - two cognitive biases it is worth comms leads being aware of.

 

AHA moments

1) Your audience would rather not make a decision and revert to the status quo bias than make a wrong one! Check if you are overloading, too many choices, being vague or too technical.

2) You are not the best editor! Sorry! But you need someone who isn't part of the work to check your messaging. This is due to the Curse of Knowledge bias where we - as experts - just can't help forgetting what it was like before we had he knowledge.

3) Check your content is using concrete language. Has your creativity trumped clarity? 

 

In one-day figure out HOW to use all this knowledge....

Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp takes place on 31st October.

It is one-day where you learn then apply the behavioural science. Bring your work because you will get loads done!

You then get TWO bonus masterclasses after the Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp day.

Why?

Because you will need time to digest the day. But also so you can laser focus in on your speciality. 

Because your get FREE access to ALL MASTERCLASSES for LIFE!

Join us at Bootcamp - doors only open 4 x a year!

www.behaviourchange.marketing/bootcamp

This episode is a Behind the Scenes look at the reality of using behavioural science in the workplace. Alison Trout works with Ruth the host to run behavioural insight deep dives and shares the a behind the scenes look at the framework COM_B.

 

Quotes

"you have to quite courageous to use this approach...!" Alison Trout

 

Three aha moments

1. 1. Be prepared to tell people what their real problem is!
   2. Be prepared to get comfortable - uncomfortably
   3. Be prepared to check for unintended consequences

 

Book

Thinking Fast & Slow, Daniel Kahneman, 2011 

Chapters

    Applying behavioural science in public health. (2:35)   Applying behavioural science in local councils. (7:16)   Using behavioural science in organizational projects. (11:18)   Using behavioural science in marketing campaigns. (16:53)   Applying behavioural science in organizational change management. (22:59)   Using Combi and TDF for behaviour change insights. (29:58)   Applying behavioural science in the workplace. (35:43)

Case study - internal comms. 89% increase in actual change

This episode welcomes Josephine Graham.

Josephine is a communications and marketing writer and strategist with a couple of decade’s experience across the private and public sector. Josephine aims to raise the bar of how we communicate with sometimes neglected audiences, such as internally with colleagues, by using behavioural science and testing to achieve measurable results for stakeholders. 

After Bootcamp she applied the theories to her day job with brilliant success.

She saw an 89% increase in actual change!

In this episode we focus in on COM_B and discuss the reality of using behavioural science in the workplace.

Quotes

…it was really satisfying to do something properly, and do something that made a difference. Because, you know, you know, what it's like when you're on that hamster wheel of just churning stuff out, and to actually be able to take the time to step back. And think through, like you say that the journey that people were going on, and, and, you know, what their blockers actually were… Josephine Graham

Three aha moments

1. You can use COM_B as an effective prompt tool as an exercise at your desk. It doesn't need to be overcomplicated. The end result was the tone and messaging within two emails!

2. The upfront time means you have saved so much time for the future. Audience insight has a long shelf life.

3. Josephine had a clear measurable goal … so she can share it …and we can learn from it! Did I mention two emails!

Josephine recommends to just get going - start small, use the skills regularly!

Book

The Inner Rebel came out of Josephine. She highly recommended a journal instead of a book!

Chapters (time-stamp)

• Introductions. (0:01)
• Meeting John Peel and Bootcamp. (2:13)
• The importance of a COM-B. (4:24)
• What are the capabilities people are missing out on? (6:53)
• How did you build the email campaign? (9:07)
• The importance of content. (11:33)
• How much time did you spend on the course? (14:01)
• How to start with behaviour change? (16:21)
• One book that changed her life. (18:45)
• The power of journaling and the importance of memories. (20:15)

 

Join us at the final Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp of 2023! 🧠

Every training day has been booked out this year.

The last one is 31st October 2023 with two extra bonus masterclasses.

One on Internal Comms and one on Insight Mapping. 

Check out the day here. 💗

 

 

 

 

 

Four signs your comms won't shift behaviour

 There are 4 cornerstones or ‘must haves’ to using behavioural science effectively in comms & marketing. If you want to shift from raising awareness to action - to get started - you need to tick four boxes.

Remember behavioural science is of great interest because it helps us understand our audiences. To find the best way to communicate and get max results.

In other words - it is a way to deeply understand our audiences.

And that is the secret sauce.

That is why we love it.

Yes there are loads of biases and loads of frameworks …..

But to get started there are four cornerstone points you need must have clarity on.

 4 signs your comms will add to the noise and not activate action

1. You don’t know the vision. The ultimate why you are doing it.
2. You don’t know who else in delivering or influential in your space.

1. You target everyone.

1. You do not measure your work.

  So to help you find out we developed a fun quiz so you can test yourself.

Take the Impactful Change Quiz

It takes three minutes tops.

It will show you how strong your foundations are and where you need to focus and what behavioural science tools and frameworks can help you do that!

Plus.

You get the Interactive Communicator to Changemaker Dashboard which will talk you through the ‘why’.

Because this stuff will often get skipped to get to fun creative part - design and content. But that will never create sustainable change.

I highly recommend you do them in order as they are like the building blocks to your foundation of success.

 

Timestamps

 How to get started with Behavioural Science. (1:58)  

You don’t know the vision of your stakeholders. (6:25)    

Know your stakeholders and your audience. (11:26)    

Set a measurable goal. (15:19)

 

Are you an idiot magnet?

Todays episode is a short and sweet one following the excitement of the Unleash Your Inner Rebel conference led by Advita Patel. 

The day was headlined by Thomas Erickson, author & behavioural scientist and Sam McAllister, Broadcaster & soon to be Netflix star with many other incredible speakers. 

It was a day about leading change – it offered a huge amount from both a personal and professional perspective.

 We ran the behavioural science session so folk could get going in this wonderful stuff and get active in making positive change.

 You may tell when listening we were very excited! And sorry I think I mispronounce the name of the Unleash Your Inner Rebel conference is my haste to share the many insights from the day.

Listen in for a dose of inspiration and to challenge your thinking so you can accelerate change.

 

Quote

“If you cannot communicate you cannot lead!” Thomas Erickson, Author & Behavioural Scientist

 

3 AHA moments

•  Own your decisions especially those made in moments of change.
• If you think someone is an idiot maybe you need to reflect on your need to right.
• You don’t influence people by being right, you influence people by listening.

 

Timestamps

 Are you really surrounded by idiots? (1:36)

Leadership is a communication process. (3:08)

The problem with confusing clever words with personality. (5:17)

Own your decisions when things don't go right. (6:53)

Leaving the BBC to write her book. (8:45)

Behavioural Science Workshop. (10:17)

The importance of having a framework. (11:51)

Two fab quotes (14:04)

 

 

Links

Unleash your Inner Rebel

 

Want your team to get on the same page around behavioural science? Book a call with Ruth to discuss your needs.

* disclaimer* written by AI

In this episode, we welcome Phil Barden author of Decoded and Owner & MD of Decode marketing consultancy.

There are exciting developments happening at Decode, a consultancy focused on applying behavioral science to marketing. We talk about how Decode has incorporated AI into their work, specifically in the area of human vision and testing creative artwork.

The AI developed by Decode has been trained using 15,000 hours of human eye tracking video and has achieved an accuracy of nearly 99%, replicating human vision. This AI can analyze videos and static images in minutes, providing insights on areas of interest, legibility of text, reading time, word familiarity, visual complexity, and even memorability.

 

The book "Decoded" written by Phil, the founder of Decode, is praised for its valuable insights and case studies that apply behavioral science to marketing strategies. 

We chat about how that understanding goals and motivations is crucial in developing effective marketing strategies, and that Decode's approach helps bridge the gap between engagement and application of this knowledge in marketing campaigns.

 

Timestamp:

Phil’s most memorable marketing moment. (2:36)

Why do you not believe in change? (6:48)

How to link goals and motivations to the value proposition? (9:05)

How to link the value chain. (14:24)

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. (16:48)

Creative effectiveness measure at scale fast. (21:38)

Solving a real problem in marketing. (23:31)

Optimising the implementation gap. (28:35)

Why writing in capitals makes it harder to read? (31:40)

In this episode we welcome Advita Patel to the studio. Advita is the founder of Comms Rebel, a consultancy that helps organisations cultivate inclusive cultures through effective communication. She is also an experienced confidence coach and the co-founder of A Leader Like Me and Comms Edged Rebels. Vita shares her journey and discusses her book, "How to Build a Culture of Inclusivity," which focuses on building a culture of inclusivity through effective internal communication for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

But that's not all! Advita is also organizing a remarkable event called InnerRebel 2023, an inclusive Manchester-based event dedicated to doing things differently in the world of work. Advita's frustration with attending events that lacked diversity and different perspectives led her to create the Underrepresented Speaker List, which features over 180 names of individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences. InnerRebel 2023 aims to showcase what a great inclusive event looks like, featuring high-energy speakers and topics that challenge the status quo.

The event boasts an impressive line-up of keynotes, including Thomas Erickson, the author of "Surrounded by Idiots," a book on human behaviuor and communication; Sam McAllister, the ex-Newsnight producer known for bringing controversial figures to TV; and Nisha Katona, the founder of Mowgli restaurants, who will share her inspiring journey of humanizing leadership.

Alongside these keynote sessions, the will be there running a workshop on behavioural science in marketing!

Advita is kindly offering listeners to the show a 20% discount 💪🏿💪🏿🔥🔥

Unleash Your Inner Rebel 2023 takes place on Wednesday 14th June 2023 in Manchester.

Check out the agenda at https://www.commsrebel.com/events/unleash-your-inner-rebel

Use coupon code: RebelRebel20 

Come say hi! 

 

It's one thing for you to love behavioural science. To read the books , get some training and get going - but you need to take your team and stakeholders with you.

This weeks episode explains how to do that.

The idea is based on a decades experience selling in to public health as the lone marketer in the team and selling in to the corporate comms team. A double whammy of selling in - selling up and pushing the vision. 

See what you think!

Let us know!

If it peaks your interest the final one-day Bootcamp training until the Autumn is on June 7th 2023.

Come see what you're missing!

 

 

Today's episode explains what behavioural science is in 3 fun ways.

Listen in to understand behavioural science from different perspectives.

This is the question many people want to ask but don't because you feel like you should know.

Enjoy!

 

 

This episode is an interview Nancy Harut author of Using Behavioral Science in Marketing and co-founder and chief creative officer at marketing agency HBT.

 Quote from Nancy

“all of us really are our choice architects, when you think about it, there really is no neutral way to present information, you know, how information is presented, influences how people decide about it. And that's, that's essentially the core of choice architecture, how you present, you know, options or choices, determines or influences, see decisions people make about them.”

 

Three Aha Moments

1. Nancy highlights how behavioural science tells us people use shortcuts top make decisions and they will follow automatic, instinctive reflective responses. As marketers we need to add this understanding into our strategies and creative executions.
2.  To do this (esp if you have no market research) ask why your audience may not want to do what you need them to do. What will they lose of they don’t do it? What is stopping them. Then look to see which of the behavioural science strategies can help you reframe or overcome this barrier. For example if you need to build trust and people don’t know you then the authority bias is a good start. (Nancy includes 25 principles in her book).
3.  We are all choice architects.  Whether you like it or not how you frame and the words you choose influence people so you may as well be sure you are influencing them positively in the right way. 
4.  

Nancy’s Book

• Influence by Robert B Cialdini

Link to Nancy’s own book – MUST READ

  Using Behavioral Science in Marketing by Nancy Harhut

 

Chapters

4:19

The importance of behavioural science in marketing.

The barriers and levers in a creative brief.

The best arguments to overcome barriers to do something.

 

6:25

Three reasons why someone may not want to buy a product.

 

8:15

The importance of market research and customer testimonials.

 

 

11:05

Loss aversion and the endowment effect.

The biggest mistake in health.

 

 

13:27

Nancy shares one of her favourite client case studies.

What is Choice Architecture and how does it work?

 

15:15

How to get a triple digit increase in meeting attendance.

What is choice architecture in messaging, and why it matters.

 

18:36

One book that changed Nancy's life

 

Bootcamp News

The next Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp is on the 7th June 2023. The Early bird ends 1st May.

This episode explores 'Beat the Street' a behaviour change game that gets people up and moving, connecting and has a little bit of competition thrown in to help motivate people to keep playing. Katherine Knight former Head of Communications for women’s football at the FA and now Director of Intelligent Health shares how this behaviour change game is helping reduce health inequalities whilst also encouraging people to have fun.

Beat the Street has been run in 150+ towns across England and also internationally.

Three Aha Moments

1) Beat the Street works because the focus is on small, everyday changes people can do for themselves. It celebrates and rewards these changes.

2) Beat the Street is a public health consultant’s dream behaviour change intervention because it tackles multiple determinants of health inequalities including moving more and connecting with towns and countryside and it focuses on the most vulnerable and it provides the data!

3) Beat the Street works because it is driven by engagement & behavioural science, the start focuses on bringing people together to plan together to ensure they get it right for their town.

 

Quote from Katherine

“We're not trying to make them play football or stop lacrosse, we're trying to get them to make those small changes in their environment and own them and feel like and be able to celebrate the fact that change they've done rather than it's been done to them.”

  The book that changed Katherine's life

• Utopia for realists: and how we can get there by Roger Bregman

Links

• Beat the Street https://www.intelligenthealth.co.uk/programmes/beat-the-street/

 

Chapters

2:26 The importance of understanding the audience.
4:28 What is Beat the Street? -.
9:02 How do you make people feel safer in their town?
13:23 How do you engage with communities to get a project started?
16:22 What’s next for Beat the Street?
18:48 One book that has changed Catherine’s life.
21:30 What’s coming up at the Bootcamp.

 

🧠The June Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp half price early-bird finishes on the 1st May 2023. Click here to grab one of the few spots left.

Today's episode is for busy communicators and changemakers who have very little time to scope a project and get to know their audience.

You may be firefighting incoming requests, or were simply brought in too late to do the level of audience understanding you would like to. But playing this simple game can really help.

The Who Am I Game

Answer all questions as though you are the person. Have fun with it. Step into their shoes.

Who am I - step inside of their skin. 

Where am I when I perform the behaviour change

When do I do it?

Why do I do it? 

What must I overcome to get it?

Think of a dragon...who or what is your audience's dragon? What barrier stands in their way?

Remember this is about understanding where you fit in their life and having a go at understanding their motivator not your product benefits.

This episode also includes a quick tip: stop talking about behavioural science with your stakeholders. If you are having trouble getting buy-in use the words decisions. I need to understand the decisions people need to influence. Then explore those decisions in the Who Am I? game. 

 

 To delve deep into behaviour change join likeminded souls at the June Bootcamp. This will be last one until October 2023. The early bird is tweeting away - its a whooping 50% saving. Don't miss out!

 

 

This episode welcomes Melina Palmer to talk about her new book "What your employees need and can't tell you". She has also published "What your customer wants and can't tell you."

Melina is an applied behavioural economist with a passion for helping people use behavioural economics aka behavioural science. In the episode we explore the difference between behavioural economics and behavioural science and Melina explains in a fun, engaging way how change is like riding an elephant and what to do when you smell cookies.

Melina runs the global consultancy The Brainy Business, teaches  behavioural economics and hosts the incredible podcast The Brainy Business.

Timestamps

6:25 What is the difference between behavioural economics and behavioural science?

10:10 Change doesn't have to be bad

12:05 How to brace for change at work

14:51 Why reducing the cognitive load is so important

19:17 Deadlines deadlines deadlines

21:34 It's not about the cookies

24:00 How to use behavioural economics to get people to buy in to your idea

Quote from Melina 

"So in your brain, you have that logical conscious writer that has a plan, you know, where you're supposed to go, what you want to do the best way to get there, you're set, however, you are at the mercy of the elephant, which if it wants to, like run in another direction, or just sit down and not do anything, you can't push or pull or logic it to do what you want it to do." Melina Palmer

Three aha moments🧠

One: Cognitive load is everything. Why do we keep on pushing out more and more information on people during stress times? Melina explains the importance of cognitive load and the importance of not tipping into it when you are leading change management.

Two: It's not the change - it's how you communicate it. Melina shares a fantastic example of cookies to illustrate how the way the change is presented is the as - if not more - important that the change itself. (or cookie!)

Three: We are all elephant riders trying to calm our brains! A lovely way to understand system 1 and system 2. Where is your elephant taking you...?

 

The book that changed Melina's life

A more beautiful question.  The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas by Warren Berger

 

Useful links

Free chapter:  ➡️ https://thebrainybusiness.com/ruth - use this link to get the first chapter of What your employees need but can't tell you free plus you will find all of Melina's podcast episodes here. They are all worth a listen! 

 Don't forget the next Behaviour Change Marketing  Bootcamp is on the 7th June 2023 and it's currently half price via the Earlybird! 

https://www.socialinsightmarketing.co.uk/bootcamp

 

 

 

 

 

Today's episode is about our yearly survey Help I'm not a behavioural scientist get me out of here!

For the third year we are asking what is working for you and what is not.

We are pondering whether the term behavioural science is one of the blockers to adopting this work and proposing that maybe you do a lot of this work already but just don't know it.

So this years survey is slightly different as we try to chunk down - what exactly is behavioural science - and which part do you actually need to know to get the best results for your project/campaign.

Everyone that completes the survey before the end of March 2023 get sweets! 

Check it out here: https://www.socialinsightmarketing.co.uk/help

 

Our guest this week is Jennifer Clinehens, founder of behavioural science based customer experience consultancy Choice Hacking. Choice Hacking is a consultancy, book, podcast and TikTok sensation with millions of views.

In this episode Jennifer explains how to use behavioural science to improve  our customer/patient's experience. Jennifer shares how customer journey mapping can be used to think beyond the nudge and elevate conversations around behavioural science in organisations. She also discusses how behavioural science can be used to strategically navigate the psychological biases that exist in customer journeys.

Jen uses Netflix to demonstrate what she means and includes the cocktail party effect and peak end rule.

 

Quote from Jen

 “you can't really have a culture where behavioural science is taken seriously without a culture where experimentation is also taken seriously.” Jen Clinehens

No every moment punches at the same weight shouldn’t your marketing budget be doubling down on understanding them” How are people creating memories, the experiences they are creating.” Jen Clinehans

  Three aha moments

• The Cocktail party effect is the bias that drives personalisation. It claims that our brains will focus in on the information that is most relevant to them. In other words it will zone in on cues such as your name.
• Netflix shows us the many opportunities to personalise when you plan across the whole customer experience. Have you ever been lured in to a show using this tactics. (I have!)
  • Top 10
  • Because you watched
  • Trending (herding bias also)
• When reviewing or reflecting on an experience people don’t average out the experience they will focus in on the peak and the end. Aka the Peak End rule. Know your peaks and invest accordingly.

 

The book that changed Jen’s life

 Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, Nancy Duarte

 

Useful links

 Check out Jens episodes on the biases here  - https://www.choicehacking.com/podcast/

 Check out Jens customer experience and other online courses here - https://choicehacking.academy/silo-all-courses/

This episode features an interview with Samuel Salzer about building habits. Samuel is a renowned expert on the topic, and he shares his insights on how to effectively change your habits. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who wants to learn more about building habits and how to make lasting change

Quotes from Samuel:

• “The whole idea here is that even if we give people the right information, they might go from knowing something to having the intention to do something. But that's still not enough. People have the best intentions. Doesn't really change the world. What changed the world is what people do.” Samuel Salzer

 

• “Get comfortable with getting uncomfortably specific” Samuel Salzer

 

Three Aha Moments

(There are so many it was really hard to pull out three aha moments. Your Brainfuel newsletter has a greater breakdown so if you are not subscribed you’re missing out!)

But if we had to choose our top three insights

• Habits make up almost 50% of our autopilot behaviour! Which makes changing habits especially difficult. Don’t take for granted your audience is aware of the habit you are asking them to change!
• Reward matters when you are forming a habit but not so much when it has shifted into your
• There is no neutral environment. We are always being influenced – intentionally or not. IKEA are a good example of intentional when we know it. Samuel shares a Google work project that increased water consumption 5 x and decreased biscuit consumption by 30%.

Extra one for luck

• Social belonging is the key that can unlock the door to change. There are lots of ways to adopt social proof to increase the desire to belong. FOMO is alive and kicking.

The book that changed Samuel’s life

• Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions and hurtful acts by Carol Tavris, Marsha Mercant et a

  Useful links

•  Habit Weekly https://www.habitweekly.com/ & Behavior Design Podcast
•  More on the popcorn study here it’s a blog from Cornell University who ran the study – the claim is that when people have greater portion sizes they overeat. Samuel uses it as an example to explain why – habit of eating popcorn meant people just kept on going – on autopilot despite it being stale. The participants claimed they had eaten a smaller amount. They were unaware.

Chapters

[00:55] - The King of Habits Samual Salzer

[02:52] - Samuel Salzer working at improve

[06:48] - Understanding Habits

[08:00] - Components of Habit

[11:00] - The Role of reward

[13:00] - System 1 and System 2

[15:13] - Engaging with Long-Term Behavioral changes

[15:26] - Breaking down into steps

[19:11] - Duolingo Failing users

[20:30] - Easy or Rewarding

[26:09] - Understanding Motivation

[31:11] - The goal is not to motivate people

[32:20] - Autonomy Buy-In

[33:36] - Creating Intervention

[35:22] - Changing minds with Canvasing

[36:59] - Accessible Science

[39:26] - Dive into the driving forces of behaviors

[42:30] - Habitual Coach Professionals

[45:20] - The One Book

In today’s podcast we dive into our top four favourite behavioural science podcasts. 

The recommendations are divided into two sections: Behavioural Science and Applying Behavioural Science to Marketing. Discover how to set your content and marketing to new heights, while also learning key insights from the world's top behavioural scientists. Get ready for your AHA moments today!

Core behavioural science 🧠

- Behavioral Grooves hosts Kurt Nelson, Ph.D., and Tim Houlihan 

-The Behavioral Design Podcast hosted by Aline Holzwarth and Samuel Salzer 

 

Behavioural science applied to marketing & comms 💞

 -The Brainy Business Podcast hosted by Melina Palmer 

- Choice Hacking hosted by Jen Clinehens 

  Links

Behavioral Grooves 

The Behavioral Design Podcast 

Habit Weekly https://www.habitweekly.com/

The Brainy Business podcast 

Choice Hacking 

 

Timestamps

[01:10] - Recommending 4 Podcast

[01:40] - Our favorite behavioral scientist’s podcast

[01:59] - The Behavioural Grooves Podcast

[04:35] - Habit Weekly Pro

[04:49] - Behavioural Design Podcast

[06:46] - Behavioural Science Applying to Marketing

[06:56] - Brainy Business

[08:39] - Choice Hacking

[11:12] - The Recap

 

This week's episode is on books. 

We tried to use AI to write the show notes.

It didn't work.

But we did write a blog - or I should say - I -  a human named Ruth - wrote a blog that lists all of the books talked about in today's episodes.

Click here to head over to the full blog. 

Thanks for listening & reading.

 

In this episode we chat with the King of COM_B Professor Robert West as we discuss his popular behavioural science model --- COM_B --- As one of the original authors alongside Susan Michie and Lou Atkins we explore with Professor West how he feels about the success and popularity of the framework.

We cover the basics

• What is COM-B and how did it come about?
• What are some of the benefits of using behavioural science?

We chat about his current work with the new Welsh Behavioural Science Unit and their joint publication Improving health and wellbeing: A guide to using behavioural science in policy and practice: (Co-Author Ashley Gould) with a focus on:

• What is the egocentric bias and how can it be overcome?
• The NEAR and AFAR framework.

3 AHA moments

• The COM_B framework was inspired by Perry Mason. We didn’t know that when we developed the Murder Mystery COM_B training! (We were inspired by Death in Paradise.)
•  Egocentric bias is where we rely too heavily on our own opinions. We all have it to some degree so when running the COM_B analysis to overcome the egocentric bias always treat your perspective as a hypothesis until and unless you get insight or data from other sources to make you more confident.
• NEAR and AFAR are frameworks to help you design your intervention once you have completed your COM_B analysis. It works with the Behaviour Change Wheel.

Episode Outline

[00:01:07] - Thank you for your support

[00:02:11] - 2022 By the Data

[00:03:07] - 2023 2 Words to live By

[00:06:00] - A dosage of Kindness at the core

[00:08:15] - Introducing guest Robert West

[00:10:06] - Rise of COM-B Model

[00:12:56] - COM-B Model value in other markets and vertices

[00:14:51] - Wales creating a behavior science guide

[00:19:30] - Straight from the principles

[00:23:07] - Breaking down Egocentric bias

[00:25:57] - Energise: The secrets of motivation

[00:28:13] - Treat your Perspective as a Hypothesis

[00:29:13] - The NEAR-AFAR framework

[00:33:57] - Health and Well-being is a shared responsibility

 

Quotes

“The popularity of COM-B is due to its ability to provide a formal framework for a concept that has long been intuitively understood by many” Professor Robert West

Approximately mentioned @ 00:10:06

  “The COM-B model provides a starting point for understanding behaviour change, allowing you to use the four elements of normal, easy, attractive, and routine to determine the right behaviour change techniques to use in a given context.” Professor Robert West

Approximately mentioned @ 00:29:33

 

Recommended Book

Tools for Thought, by Waddington (1977)

 

Guest Resources/useful links

• Improving health and wellbeing: A guide to using behavioural science in policy and practice – https://phwwhocc.co.uk/resources/improving-health-and-wellbeing-a-guide-to-using-behavioural-science-in-policy-and-practice/
• Robert West YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange
•  Academic publications here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=cU9Sx1IAAAAJ&hl=en
• (2022) Harness your animal brain. Robert West & Jamie West
• (2021) The Secrets of Motivation. Robert West & Jamie West

 

Subscribe

Our February bootcamp sold out before the end of January. Be the first to hear about the next Bootcamp training by signing up to our weekly podcast email called Brainfuel - it's a mini breakdown of what we covered in the podcast and useful links to events and what's happening in the busy world of behavioural science. 

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