Understanding the principles of nudging

AN advertising agency recently announced the launch of a new unit that specialises in "Behaviour Change".

It's undeniably true that the best communications work always seeks to instigate an active response, literally a change in behaviour, as opposed to that catch-all objective of "awareness" (which clients think agencies love, but which agencies actually tend to dread for the softness of its focus).

One thinks of campaigns like "Got Milk", Walkers Crisps "Sandwich" and NTUC Income's "Pick up Life Insurance" which were designed around instigating very specific behaviours which add tangible value to the balance sheet of a company, generally through customer acquisition or increase in purchase frequency.