Chief Innovation Officer
I look after innovation for System1 Group. My work with the behavioural sciences has enabled us to rethink how marketing, advertising and research really work. The great thing about science is that it clarifies and simplifies things. People think much less about brands than we in the industry tend to think, and rely instead on rapid mental shortcuts or rules of thumb – ‘have I heard of it?’, ‘does it feel good?’, ‘do I recognise it?’ – to help them decide between brands. This clarifying thought has huge implications for the way that marketing is done and the research that is needed to measure it. New technology and modern measurement techniques involving emotion, time pressure and association all play an important role in predicting the fast, System 1 buying decisions that people will make in response to marketing. What excites me about my role at System1 Group is that, through our work, we’re able to create better marketing for our clients by designing it for – and measuring it against – the way that people really decide.