Framing bias

The way you word something makes all the difference.

What is framing?

The framing phenomenon is about the way we react to information depending on how it’s presented to us. Especially when that includes a loss or gain message.  

The evidence it works

Levin et al. conducted an experiment framing the fat content of beef in two ways to see which was more attractive.

They found the meat described positively was more attractive. Beef that was ‘75% lean’ was given higher ratings than ‘25% fat’ even though the product is exactly the same.*

How it builds brand memorability

One of the key drivers of brand memorability is ‘Ease’.

If you make your brand easy to access, deal with and buy from, you’re going to build strong, positive connections that lead to memorability.

At the point of purchase, or during the journey to purchase, customer’s decision-making can be made easier by leveraging behavioural biases. And METRIC is our tool for harnessing the power of these biases - snap judgements that help the brain make quick decisions in context - for clients.

METRIC organises the biases into six categories - because these are the key ‘resources’ we always have to spend when make decisions. They are Money, Effort, Time, Risk, Individuality, and Conscious thought. Which handily spells METRIC.

So presenting choices in one of these six frames can tip the balance in comms.

How we've used it with clients

SHARPS

Sometimes all you need to do is frame your benefit in a slightly different way to increase your sales. That’s what happened with Sharps fitted wardrobes.

We realised the enemy to our fitted solution was freestanding wardrobes. They seem a lot less effort to install and quicker to get hold of. But they don’t give you what you need – lots of storage. In fact, plenty of us have overstuffed wardrobes with a jenga of ‘stuff’ piled on top.

Framing Sharps as ‘Twice as much space as freestanding wardrobes’ was the perfect positive use of the bias. Seeing a 7.4% rise in sales in their January 2019 TV campaign.

Great examples of Framing in marketing

MCDONALDS

This 1991 advertisement from McDonalds is a perfect example of how framing something in a certain way can affect the way we look at it. By labelling the McLean Deluxe burger as “91% fat free” rather than “9% fat”, it frames the burger as a healthy product.

McDonalds knew that putting a positive spin on their product and opting for the ‘glass half full’ approach would be a lot more popular with people.