Why Simple Wins
Why is it that the simplest design and messaging attracts customers, often outperforming beautiful ads with longer, more insightful copy? Traditionally, one might think that a well-designed ad would catch the potential customer’s attention with colorful imagery and use text to give as much information about the product as possible. However, my experience has found the opposite to be true. In this post, I’ll explore the research behind why simple works in marketing and outline best practices with this in mind.
During my time interning at Uber, we ran numerous combinations of creative and copy in our ads focused on acquiring drivers. Some gave information about the easy sign-up process, some enticed potential drivers with monetary guarantees, while others spoke to the flexible work schedule made possible through Uber; the background image for these would feature pictures of drivers, or animated cars created by the design team. The best performing ad, however, was consistently a plain black background with large white text reading, “Drive with Uber.” The second-best performing ad was a white background with black “Drive with Uber” text. I remember colleagues remarking during my training, “I don’t understand why, but the simplest ads always work the best.” This is a sentiment I’ve heard repeated throughout my work experience. Behavioral economics can help to answer why this is this case. Marketers are already putting a lot of money behind simple ads because they outperform others. But understanding the psychology behind this phenomenon can allow designers and marketers to systematically push out simple content that is engineered to make people click.
When we see simple design and text, our brain experiences cognitive ease, a state of not requiring extra attention. As one of the originators of behavioral economics, Daniel Kahneman notes in Thinking Fast and Slow, when in a state of cognitive ease, we operate using our System 1, the fast, automatic and less judging system of our brain. System 2, which is slow thinking and more rational is mobilized when in a state of cognitive strain. Kahneman notes, “A sentence that is printed in a clear font, or has been repeated, or has been primed, will be fluently processed with cognitive ease. Conversely, you experience cognitive strain when you read instruction in a poor font, or in faint colors, or worded in complicated language. . . When you are in a state of cognitive ease, you are probably in a good mood, like what you see, believe what you hear, trust your intuitions, and feel that the current situation is comfortably familiar. You are also likely to be relatively casual and superficial in your thinking. When you feel strained, you are more likely to be vigilant and suspicious, invest more effort in what you are doing, feel less comfortable, and make fewer errors” (Kahneman, p. 59). We can see here just how important simplicity is in creating a positive, trusting affect as compared to the suspicion and distrust that lack of clarity elicits.
Here are some of the key principles on simplicity applied to marketing:
· Maximize legibility
o Studies show that people are more likely to believe statements if they are printed in bold text.
· Maximize the contrast between characters and their background
o If using color, you are more likely to be believed if your text is printed in bright blue or red that in green, yellow, or pale blue.
· Use simple language
o A 2006 study found that complex language in place of simple equivalents lowers ratings of the authors intelligence and their credibility (Kahneman, p. 62).
Why is it that the simplest design and messaging attracts customers, often outperforming beautiful ads with longer, more insightful copy? Traditionally, one might think that a well-designed ad would catch the potential customer’s attention with colorful imagery and use text to give as much information about the product as possible. However, my experience has found the opposite to be true. In this post, I’ll explore the research behind why simple works in marketing and explore some best practices with this in mind.
During my time interning at Uber, we ran numerous combinations of creative and copy in our ads focused on acquiring drivers. Some gave information about the easy sign-up process, some enticed potential drivers with monetary guarantees, while others spoke to the flexible work schedule made possible through Uber; the background image for these would feature pictures of drivers, or animated cars created by the design team. The best performing ad, however, was consistently a plain black background with large white text reading, “Drive with Uber.” The second-best performing ad was a white background with black “Drive with Uber” text. I remember colleagues remarking during my training, “I don’t understand why, but the simplest ads always work the best.” This is a sentiment I’ve heard repeated throughout my work experience. Behavioral economics can help to answer why this is this case. Marketers are already putting a lot of money behind simple ads because they outperform others. But understanding the psychology behind this phenomenon can allow designers and marketers to systematically push out simple content that is engineered to make people click.
When we see simple design and text, our brain experiences cognitive ease, a state of not requiring extra attention. As one of the originators of behavioral economics, Daniel Kahneman notes in Thinking Fast and Slow, when in a state of cognitive ease, we operate using our System 1, the fast, automatic and less judging system of our brain. System 2, which is slow thinking and more rational is mobilized when in a state of cognitive strain. Kahneman notes, “A sentence that is printed in a clear font, or has been repeated, or has been primed, will be fluently processed with cognitive ease. Conversely, you experience cognitive strain when you read instructions in a poor font, or in faint colors, or worded in complicated language. . . When you are in a state of cognitive ease, you are probably in a good mood, like what you see, believe what you hear, trust your intuitions, and feel that the current situation is comfortably familiar. You are also likely to be relatively casual and superficial in your thinking. When you feel strained, you are more likely to be vigilant and suspicious, invest more effort in what you are doing, feel less comfortable, and make fewer errors” (Kahneman, p. 59). We can see here just how important simplicity is in creating a positive, trusting affect as compared to the suspicion and distrust that lack of clarity elicits.
Here are some of the key principles on simplicity applied to marketing:
Maximize legibility
Studies show that people are more likely to believe statements if they are printed in bold text.
Maximize the contrast between characters and their background
If using color, you are more likely to be believed if your text is printed in bright blue or red than in green, yellow, or pale blue.
Use simple language
A 2006 study found that complex language in place of simple equivalents lowers ratings of the authors’ intelligence and their credibility (Kahneman, p. 62).