Academic vs. Reality

The marketing I was taught in school is very different from what I’ve learned with A/B testing.

I’m sure my professors had the best of intentions. But I think how people behave in private is very different from what they fill out in surveys.

A lot of academic research is based on polling data. But that sometimes often hides how people actually behave.

I’d like to share an example.

Here is a creepy Facebook blinking ad. It might look unconventional but could be very effective.

If I had gone to my professor with this as a strategy for a class assignment I would have received a failing grade.

Sometimes it makes sense to abandon our rational side (which is conservative) and embrace our irrational side (which is risk leaning). You might just discover something totally unexpected.

Here’s the ad: