Who We Are
The behavioural interventions agency of Ogilvy & Mather UK. We find unseen opportunities.
Ogilvy Change is the specialist behavioural economics practice within the Ogilvy group; we combine a foundation of science with the power of creativity. This means our team of Choice Architects investigate and apply principles from cognitive psychology, social psychology and behavioural science to create measurable behaviour change in the real world.
Our work is sometimes as small and precise as changing the copy on emails or the shape of buttons on websites, but now we’re five years old, our projects are often bigger and more pioneering. They range from psychologically optimising call centres, creating behavioural nutrition TV programmes in Mexico, to inventing solutions to improve hand washing hygiene in South American factories.
In recognition of the scientific method, we collaborate with leading academics and experts to review our projects and bridge the gap between theory and application. We know our approach and solutions are only as good as the way we communicate them, so both internally at Ogilvy and externally with clients we make sure the science is simple, inspiring and directly applicable.
In short, we believe that combining a scientific understanding of behaviour with the power of creativity is the best way to solve real world problems.
Our work is sometimes as small and precise as changing the copy on emails or the shape of buttons on websites, but now we’re five years old, our projects are often bigger and more pioneering. They range from psychologically optimising call centres, creating behavioural nutrition TV programmes in Mexico, to inventing solutions to improve hand washing hygiene in South American factories.
In recognition of the scientific method, we collaborate with leading academics and experts to review our projects and bridge the gap between theory and application. We know our approach and solutions are only as good as the way we communicate them, so both internally at Ogilvy and externally with clients we make sure the science is simple, inspiring and directly applicable.
In short, we believe that combining a scientific understanding of behaviour with the power of creativity is the best way to solve real world problems.
Where We Are
What We've Done
Challenge
How can we reduce antisocial behaviour on the streets of Woolwich following the London riots of 2011?
The London riots of 2011 brought vandalism of local businesses, looting and anti-social behaviour problems to the boroughs. Ogilvy Change were recruited to help reduce the problem through behavioural means.
Unseen Opportunity
We took three behavioural principles and applied them to a ubiquitous presence on high streets across the world- the shop shutter
We applied proximity bias, reciprocity and used baby schema that evokes the feeling of caring in humans and painted them on the shutters of shops.
Results
Where the usual answer to curb antisocial behaviour is to increase police presence, which can be expensive and not always effective, we reduced overall antisocial behaviour in Woolwich by 24% with just a few cans of spray paint. The shopkeepers have since embraced the idea as their own.
How can we reduce antisocial behaviour on the streets of Woolwich following the London riots of 2011?
The London riots of 2011 brought vandalism of local businesses, looting and anti-social behaviour problems to the boroughs. Ogilvy Change were recruited to help reduce the problem through behavioural means.
Unseen Opportunity
We took three behavioural principles and applied them to a ubiquitous presence on high streets across the world- the shop shutter
We applied proximity bias, reciprocity and used baby schema that evokes the feeling of caring in humans and painted them on the shutters of shops.
Results
Where the usual answer to curb antisocial behaviour is to increase police presence, which can be expensive and not always effective, we reduced overall antisocial behaviour in Woolwich by 24% with just a few cans of spray paint. The shopkeepers have since embraced the idea as their own.
Challenge
How can we increase the number of people signing up for The Times membership?
Faced with the rise in free newspapers and now competing with tablets and apps on the daily commute,
The Times recognised that they needed a new business model and help to sell it
The Times and the Sunday Times membership proposition is 4 years old with approximately 400k members, but there was still room for growth… They had a huge range of packs that were difficult to decide between.
Unseen Opportunity
We reviewed the range of membership packs The Times offer through a behavioural lens in order to increase acquisition through choice architecture.
We applied principles of relativity and framing to the six packs on offer and created a psychological discount of £2 and nudging customers to select the perceived cheaper option.
Results
After carrying out a range of multivariate tests we achieved an increase of 41.4% for visits to the checkout and an increase of 17.7% in conversion.
The total sales of the “Ultimate Pack” were over double the amount forecast. The ROI was an astonishing £257 for every £1 spent on re-engineering the choice architecture.
How can we increase the number of people signing up for The Times membership?
Faced with the rise in free newspapers and now competing with tablets and apps on the daily commute,
The Times recognised that they needed a new business model and help to sell it
The Times and the Sunday Times membership proposition is 4 years old with approximately 400k members, but there was still room for growth… They had a huge range of packs that were difficult to decide between.
Unseen Opportunity
We reviewed the range of membership packs The Times offer through a behavioural lens in order to increase acquisition through choice architecture.
We applied principles of relativity and framing to the six packs on offer and created a psychological discount of £2 and nudging customers to select the perceived cheaper option.
Results
After carrying out a range of multivariate tests we achieved an increase of 41.4% for visits to the checkout and an increase of 17.7% in conversion.
The total sales of the “Ultimate Pack” were over double the amount forecast. The ROI was an astonishing £257 for every £1 spent on re-engineering the choice architecture.
Challenge
How can we increase factory worker hand hygiene? Foodborne illnesses are a major global problem, estimated to be responsible for thousands of deaths and costing businesses across the world US$152 billion a year. Our objective was to improve hand hygiene in food processing factories by getting routine and manual workers to wash their hands when entering and exiting the workplace. Training for factory workers had been tried but was no longer effective Unseen Opportunity The Unseen Opportunity was to create a hand hygiene safety stamp to reduce incidences of dirty hands. We developed a behavioural design intervention, and utilised our knowledge of moral neutralisation to turn the invisible visible, meaning that germs could no longer be overlooked. The specially developed hand hygiene safety stamp had a sticky ink that ensured workers washed and dried their hands thoroughly. At the entrance to the hygiene area each worker had an ink stamp applied to the back of their hand by a fellow worker. They then proceeded to wash and dry their hands to remove it. Results We previously measured the percentage of workers returning a “dirty hands” results and saw a 63% reduction in dirty hands across all shifts using the hand stamp. |
Contact Us
For specific enquiries relating to new projects contact [email protected]
To contact Rory Sutherland email [email protected]
For general enquiries please use the form below and a member of the team should be in contact with you within 48 hours
To contact Rory Sutherland email [email protected]
For general enquiries please use the form below and a member of the team should be in contact with you within 48 hours