In this op-ed, Mehrak Saheb, digital media strategist at Prophesy Digital, emphasises the need for digital media strategists to balance data and technology with a focus on consumer mindset, leveraging behavioural science to enhance the impact and relevance of campaigns.
As a solo digital media strategist, I read a lot. It’s my way of staying in the loop with our ever-changing industry. Gone are the days of big agency education sessions and flashy publisher presentations—now, it’s all on me to keep up.
The recurring theme in much of what I read? Data and technology. It’s the heartbeat of modern digital media: data-driven decisions powered by cutting-edge tech. This undeniably gives digital media an edge over other channels. However, our fascination with data and technology shouldn’t overshadow an element that’s equally, if not more, important for effective media planning: the consumer mindset.
Traditional media strategists have long understood the importance of reaching consumers in the right mindset, the moments they are most receptive to a message to drive impact and action. They’ve honed their approach by relying on decades of learning in consumer psychology to ensure that their messages truly resonate. Digital media planning, on the other hand, often gets caught up in the allure of data and the excitement of the latest technology, overlooking the critical importance of mindset.
But as our industry evolves, so too must our approach. We are no longer the “young ones in the room,” and can’t rely solely on data and tech as the basis for our strategies. The next stage in the evolution of digital media demands maturity—a shift beyond a purely data and tech centric approach towards one that also integrates consumer psychology and strategic thinking into planning processes.
Behavioural science has shown us time and again that the state of mind of consumers is highly influential in driving message recall and action. One of my favourites in this field is Richard Shotton, author of The Choice Factory, who specialises in applying behavioural science to improve marketing outcomes. In a brilliant episode of The Nudge—a consumer psychology podcast—Shotton discusses a fascinating study from 1973 by behavioural scientists John Darley and Daniel Batson, which perfectly illustrates the importance of mindset in driving human action.
In this study, they wanted to see if a specific group’s characteristics were more influential in determining behaviour or was it situational factors. To test this, they invited a group of seminary students to prepare and deliver a brief talk at a nearby church. They divided the students into two groups and just as the students were about to leave, one group was told, “You are running late; you better hurry; they are expecting you in five minutes.” The other group was told, “You’re a bit early, but you might as well head down there.” Essentially, one group was put in a ‘rushed’ state, and the other in a relaxed, plenty-of-time condition.
As the students walked to the church, a colleague of the psychologists, posing as a stranger in distress, slumped against a wall, seemingly having breathing problems. The real experiment was to see how many students would stop to help.
The results were astounding. Only 10% of the group in a rush stopped to help, whereas 63% of the relaxed group did. A highly targeted group of people—seminary students—who we’d assume would behave similarly, that is, be motivated to help, acted completely differently based on their mindset in that moment.
This finding is significant today for marketing; the mindset we catch consumers in when asking them to take a specific action is crucial in driving the outcomes we want—far more important than the data set we are targeting.
Another study Shotton often references was conducted by Fred Bonner, Professor of Media and Advertising Research at the University of Amsterdam in 2007. 1,287 participants were asked to read through a newspaper and later cite the ads they remembered. Interestingly, Bonner categorised the results based on the participants’ moods. The findings were fascinating. He found that those in a ‘good mood’ noticed 56% of the ads, while those in a negative mood noticed just 36%. These findings highlight that mood significantly impacts ad recall, a really valuable insight, if taken into consideration, can enhance digital campaign effectiveness.
A digital campaign planned solely on data and technology will not achieve the same results as one that also considers the consumer mindset.
Imagine a brand dedicated to helping parents manage their family life better. A data-driven approach would target these parents on social media, aiming for the highest reach and lowest cost per engagement or action. We would set up the campaign and let the algorithm do its thing. However, if we consider the consumer mindset, we would realise that we’re often reaching these parents during their rare moments of downtime, when they’re using social media for a bit of escapism and trying not to think about family responsibilities. We’d be far more effective if we identified the moments and channels that reach them when they are planning, organising schedules, or seeking parenting solutions.
The good news is that digital channels have a unique capability to decipher consumer mindset like no other channel—through content consumption, time of day, and place of access. These provide us with clear signals and valuable insights into the consumer’s current state of mind. By incorporating these signals into digital media planning, we can ensure that a brand’s messages are not only targeted and optimised but also timely and relevant.
While we should embrace our ability to pinpoint a brand’s audience with surgical precision, we must also prioritise reaching them when it matters most—when they are in the right frame of mind to truly absorb our message and respond. This will take digital campaign effectiveness to the next level.
