Case Studies

The Challenge: How to frame the value of returnable/recyclable carbonated soft drinks containers in markets across Latin America.

The Approach: Used Yale’s Beliefs-Goals-Choices framework to identify relevant beliefs that act as motivators or barriers for choosing sustainable containers and provided strategies for uncovering and messaging to salient consumer goals.

The Result: Uncovered key consumer beliefs about packaging materials (e.g. glass containers stay cold longer than plastic containers) and salient goals (e.g. goal to share a longer break with co-workers) that can be used to frame the value of sustainable containers. 

The Challenge: How to encourage bank customers to use mobile banking or branch ATMs for the majority of their transactions.

The Approach: Used Yale’s proprietary 4Ps Framework for Behavior Change to design effective system 1 messaging and choice architecture cues.

The Result: Developed a series of interventions to increase mobile banking/ATM adoption for many common bank transactions. Changes included goals messaging in branch signage, removal of traditional bank wickets in favor of user-centric tablet interfaces, and creation of a conversation guide for educating customers about mobile/ATM banking.

The Challenge: How to understand what is driving shifts in consumer preferences for alcoholic products to identify new product opportunities outside the core portfolio.

The Approach: Used Yale’s Beliefs-Goals-Choices framework to identify what is motivating consumer behavior in the alcohol space and what barriers may be impacting consumer choice.

The Result: Uncovered key consumer beliefs about alcoholic beverages (e.g. hard seltzer is less intoxicating than beer) and salient goals (e.g. seeking moderation when “unwinding” at home) that can be used to inform the development and marketing of product launches.

The Challenge: When providing free food and drinks at work, how do you help employees make healthy decisions?

The Approach: Using choice architecture, Yale measured snack consumption to understand how proximity of snacks within the employee cafes influenced consumption choices.

The Result: We found that employees who used the beverage station closer to the snack station were more likely to take a snack. These results imply that employers and even families could reduce snack consumption easily, cheaply, and without backlash, by increasing the relative distance between beverages and snacks.

The Challenge: How does a leader consumer goods company use behavioral science to better understand the price elasticity of their customers?

The Approach: Apply Yale’s robust testing methods and behavioral framework to test various value frames and measure price elasticity within a marketplace context.

The Result:: Used incentives compatible research techniques to understand how shoppers’ decision-making respond to changes in prices, and made recommendations strategically raising prices without alienating consumers.

The Challenge: How does a leader consumer goods company use behavioral science to better understand the price elasticity of their customers?

The Approach: Apply Yale’s robust testing methods and behavioral framework to test various value frames and measure price elasticity within a marketplace context.

The Result: Used incentives compatible research techniques to understand how shoppers’ decision-making respond to changes in prices, and made recommendations strategically raising prices without alienating consumers.