Charlotte Blank, Chief Behavioral Officer at Maritz, says her job is 'selling science.' In this interview, held immediately before our meetup gathering in Minneapolis in February 2018, Charlotte describes research she conducted with Leslie John, Tami Kim, and Kate Barasz to create a recent HBR article titled "Ads That Don't Overstep." Their work yielded two very simple and important messages about communication: 1. Don't talk behind someone's back, 2. Don't make assumptions. In the world of big data, machine learning and algorithm-driven communication, marketers need to pay close attention to these.
An early part of our discussion was on Charlotte's fascination with Franz DeWaal's work with monkeys, bonobos and the mysterious octopus! This led to a discussion about fairness as a key principle in program design and if you're not familiar with DeWaal's seminal work with capuchin monkeys, check it out here.
We discussed the now-famous Target advertising case where the company promoted pregnancy-related products to young women based on their buying habits and in one case, neither the woman nor her parents knew she was pregnant. There's a line to pay attention to and it has to do with the two guidelines noted above.
Charlotte also mentioned a couple of excellent books that she's recently read: Melissa Dahl, publisher of Science of Us, has a new book called "Cringeworthy, A Theory of Awkwardness" and Seth Stephens-Davidowitz's new book called "Everybody Lies" are top picks for those curious about human behavior.
The theme music in this episode, like all the other Behavioral Grooves music, is composed and played by Tim Houlihan. We are grateful to Jon James allowing us to use his work "Transfiguration" during intro and outro of the interview.
Share, Like, Comment: Sandra Matz PhD Exposes The Truth Behind your Digital Footprint
3 Ways to have a Positive Chat About Vaccine Hesitancy with Friends and Family
How a Compelling Story Packs a Persuasive Punch with Melanie Green
Secrets of Subtraction: Donut Holes, Lego and Bruce Springsteen with Leidy Klotz
Observing the Non-Obvious: How to Spot Trends Around You with Rohit Bhargava
Why It's Astoundingly Easy, But Not Better, to Be Tribal with Tim Ash
Scrutinizing Hype: Powerful lessons from The Hype Handbook with Michael F. Schein
A Thousand Thanks: A Lifetime of Experiments and Gratitude with AJ Jacobs
Linda Thunstrom: Are Thoughts and Prayers Empty Gestures to Suffering Disaster Victims?
GAABS and Improving the Future for Every Applied Behavioral Scientist
Dessa: The Attention Shepherd on the Curious Act of Being Deeply Human
Jonathan Mann: Is it Possible to Design an Experience?
Why We Need Robots with Kind Faces with Bertram Malle
The Myth of the "Relationship Spark" with Logan Ury (featuring a guest appearance by Christina Gravert, PhD)
How Shelley Archambeau Flies Like an Eagle
On Fake Memories and Whistleblowers with Nuala Walsh
How Chaning Jang Works Around Not Being WEIRD
The Counterintuitive Persuasion of The Catalyst with Jonah Berger
Time is Money – How Do You Value It?
How Decision Making is Critical for Back Country Skiers and Sex
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Poetry of Science
Hidden Brain
Proxy with Yowei Shaw
Invisibilia
The Science of Happiness