The origins of Behaviour Strategy

At DeltaMV we often refer to both Behavioural Economics and Neuroscience in the same sentence. They are however two very different disciplines with quite different origins (see link to neuroscience and behaviour economics for fuller explanations).

Most Behavioural Economics makes for easy, enjoyable reading. It provides lots of interesting and amusing anecdotes that we can all relate to (such as the dynamics of ordering a meal in a restaurant). However, Behavioural Economics for all its wisdom is not really a theory in the sense it has much explanatory power. It is more a case of a series of observations about how people are predictably irrational (to steal from Dan Ariel’s book) rather than describe the mechanism by which this happens.

To date, Behavioural Economics has probably had the greater impact upon marketing than Neuroscience. In the UK, The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (the peak advertising body) have been very active in promoting it as an approach to marketing. The British Government has also taken it on board with their Behavioural Insight Team, or ‘Nudge Unit’ as it is commonly called.

We look to Neuroscience as the beginning of a theory explaining behaviour. It is not as accessible as Behavioural Economics and still very much in its infancy. (What we don't know about the brain probably far exceeds what we do know about it). However, when integrated with the observations on behaviour that Behavioural Economics offer it makes for a much richer understanding.

It is the integration of these two bodies of knowledge that emboldens us to claim that research is now in a better place to understand and influence behaviour than ever before. DeltaMV coined the term Behaviour Strategy to differentiate what we offer now to the market research of old.

A Deeper Dive in to …

Behavioural Economics
Neuroscience