Episode 38 Football: The Lessons Behind Action
Bias and Fluent Devices

In this episode, we examine pre-disposed decisions that prioritzes acting
versus maintaining the status quo, due to optics.

Episode Highlights

Goalkeeper Study

06:30

A study by behavioral scientist Michael Bar-Eli found that in football penalties, the kicker kicks the ball down the middle 29% of the time, but goalkeepers only stay in the middle 6% of the time. Meanwhile, diving left or right will only save about 14% of penalty shots. So statistically, maintaining course and staying in the middle has the highest chance of penalty success.

Fluent Devices

15:20

Fluent Devices are characters or scenarios that repeat across ads, driving the creative each time. This includes the Geico gecko, Tony the Tiger from Frosted Flakes, and Snap, Crackle, Pop from Rice Krispies.

Ian Begg Study

19:15

Ian Begg ran a study on abstract words vs. concrete words. He asked participants to recall what they remember from the list of words and found that only 9% of people remember abstract words whereas 36% remember the concrete words. The conclusion found that abstract details are incredibly forgettable to consumers.

Resources & Useful Links

Want to dig deeper on the idea of social proof and the intention of actions gap? Here are some
additional resources that show how to make your brand more popular with consumers and the
importance of combining motivation with triggers to convert intention into action.