Inbox in Action - May.

Big Cat Insight - How do Brits really feel about lockdown easing?

The day that millions of Britons have been looking forward to is seemingly right around the corner (pending any changes by Boris of course). Whilst this day may be heralded as a watershed moment for some who have been dreaming of this day since March 2020, recent studies have found that many Britons feel conflicted about their rekindled liberties.

• A study commissioned by Virgin Media has shown that over 25% of adults feel overwhelmed at the thought of life after lockdown, and 38 per cent are now used to living in the ‘slow lane’. A third of those surveyed are not looking forward to being in busy, crowded spaces in the near future and 18 per cent don’t want the pressure of making small talk. Interestingly, 30 percent admitted they will find it annoying having to book in advance rather than making spontaneous plans in the future.
• A separate study by YouGov found that for 42% of people they surveyed, seeing their friends and family again after lockdown was their main priority. The majority of this number were women.
• What can we learn from these tidbits? Brands must be sensitive to the mix of emotions that will be felt around the period of unrestricted freedom, whenever that may be. It’s been an emotionally taxing year and a half for huge swathes of the population and brand messaging must be receptive to public sentiment.
  Focus brand messaging on what people say they feel good about. Family, friends, and the close connections they have with those closest to them.

Big Cat Behavioral Science - Social Proofing your business

Social proof is one of the most robustly researched biases in social psychology, and by emphasising the norms of group behaviour, brands can gently nudge more people to make positive decisions for both parties. 

• People have a deep rooted psychological bias when it comes to making decisions, and we tend to implicitly trust the choices of the majority. (Think of a time when you were in a new group environment, I bet you looked to see how everyone else was acting!) 
• This deep-rooted bias, known as ‘social proof’, is exacerbated in times of uncertainty. Right now as the population wrangles with how to approach coming out of lockdown, brands should consider employing social proof to help ease consumer fears of returning to normality. 
• Emphasise how many people are making positive decisions around your brand, gently encourage those who may be sitting on the fence, and leverage the power of word-of-mouth. 

Big Cat Business – Clever Cats

Big Cat Webinar - How to Influence People to Buy Your Brand

• Our strategist Aaron Wells recently hosted a Behavioural Science webinar for brands to join and dip their toe into the water of behavioral science. Aaron covered an array of areas, and talked about why claimed data can be misleading and how behavioural science can give us a more reliable way of understanding consumer behaviour. The webinar focused on:

  • Introduction to behavioural science: how the brain really works and the science behind decision making
  • Introduction to our framework: CATERS
  • A deeper dive into some behavioural biases
  • Examples of brands using nudges to influence decisions
  
  

  To watch the webinar and find out more about behavioural science, check out our blog on our website!

Over 17,000,000 People Now Know That MAC is Back

• As of May 24th, Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) returned with a brand new café and restaurant, KILN. KILN promises diners a unique experience from breakfast through to dinner and is part of a large-scale capital project, Making MAC More, which began in 2018. We wanted to help MAC spread the word as they celebrated their reopening and launch of KILN with an ethos of collaboration, cohesion and creativity. In doing so, we achieved 65 pieces of coverage across radio, print and online publications, plus social media, reaching more than 17,522,562 people. We are so proud to have helped MAC start their road to recovery and celebrate their fantastic new café and restaurant.

Creative, photography and digital marketing for University College Birmingham

• With college applications lower than previous years, Big Cat faced the task of encouraging uncertain teenagers (and their parents) to consider University College Birmingham (UCB) for their future at a time of increasing unpredictability. Our research pointed towards being relevant and authentic to our target audience. Borrowing the positive idea of ‘Level Up’ from TikTok, we were inspired to develop our single-minded proposition, a clear promise that encouraged them to take action: Level Up with UCB.

• Our creative used a range of confident 16-18-year-old models alongside neon style CGI props to represent UCB’s college courses and the headline ‘Level Up Your Ambition’. Using a mix of paid digital media for performance marketing, we also looked to build UCB’s brand with a range of awareness ads across a variety of social media platforms. The result? 56% increase in college applications from 2019! Read about the campaign in more depth on our website!