Nicolas Lopez is a New York-based behavioural analyst at Canvas8. He holds a degree in political science from Columbia University. His research is driven by the relationship between the political, material, and cultural spheres. Outside of work, he can be found writing fiction and riding his bike with no hands.


People are constructing meaningful collectives 

World Builders

Following the #MeToo era, many of the most high-profile figures speaking about masculinity have been toxic influences on young men. Online 'manosphere' influencer Andrew Tate, for example, has caused the Australian government to earmark $2.3 million to fight his influence in schools. 

Aljazeera

 Looking for a new archetype of positive masculinity, the internet has settled on 'babygirl', looking to 

 figures like Pedro Pascal or Paul Mescal, who represent softer, more sensitive men on screen. 

Vogue Business

 While this influence has trickled down through fashion and culture, giving this alternative masculinity a name has driven change in young men's behaviours in realms like 

. Indeed, a US-based survey from Bumble has found that 'babygirlification' has resulted in 31% of men claiming they've recently 'actively changed their behaviour' to embrace vulnerability with people they're dating. 

Yahoo! News

Valenytyna Melnyk, a marketing professor at the University of New South Wales, is the co-author of 'Behavioural Labelling: Prompting Consumer Behavior Through Activity Tags'. The paper argues that offering a description of a desired behaviour through simply naming it can enhance the implementation of that behaviour.

"We know that behaviours are incredibly hard to change; consumers are reluctant to take instruction," said Melnyk. "We don't like to be told what to do, and very often we tend to do the opposite, so at the same time that it seems impossible, there have been some successful campaigns that offer a little hope." Recent trends lend credence to this point of view, as one can see a clear link between naming a behaviour that already exists and turning it into a phenomenon, as evidenced by the link between 

' trend. To understand why naming a behaviour in a campaign successfully spurs consumers to change their own, Canvas8 spoke to Melnyk about her research.

Why is this topic important to understand?

Even large institutions, like governments, have a hard time influencing consumer behaviour. They're spending more resources on encouraging more sustainable consumer behaviour. However, we see that that behaviour is stable at best, and many are actually becoming worse In Australia. For example, we have increased road deaths, we have decreased vaccination trends for kids, despite best government efforts. We see the same thing happening in many places and it becomes clear that governments increase their spending trying to help, but it appears the same formula hasn't helped.

We know behaviours are incredibly hard to change, and consumers are reluctant to take instruction. We don't like to be told what to do, and very often, we tend to do the opposite, so at the same time that it seems impossible, there have been some successful campaigns that offer a little hope. We don't have any systematic understanding of to what degree we are willing to change behaviour. What we're suggesting in this research is a game-changer – we want to propose a new way of empowering consumers to change their own behaviour for the better.

What brought my team to the topic was the idea that we have a lot of research looking at behavioural labels online and how they spread, how they go viral, and why some behaviours, like the Ice Bucket Challenge, spread organically. What's interesting is that we don't know the reverse of that; how can we make the behaviour spread? What impact does a name have on how a behaviour spreads?

We looked initially at existing examples. One key example was the 'BOB' campaign, originally in Belgium. The campaign's premise was that if you go out drinking, you should have a 'BOB', a keyring indicating that you are the designated driver. Someone would volunteer, or you would choose beforehand. It became a super successful campaign and became completely normalised. The same thing is true of the Australian Cancer Council's "Slip, Slop, Slap" campaign around sun protection. We have this type of behaviour that we label, and it starts to have much more meaning to people, but it could also start a trend by naming something that was not a thing before. You name it, and it creates a perception in consumers' minds.

It offers a completely different way of thinking about branding. For example, we now have pods for detergents. Australia was quite far behind in detergent pods after they had already been introduced in the US and Europe. Ariel, the detergent brand, started with behavioural labels, calling it ‘podding’. Podding was tagged as a behaviour, and the brand created a ton of campaigns related to it. This is a different way of thinking about the brand because you start thinking about the behaviour you want your audience to have and then develop campaigns and brands from that. Usually, it’s the other way around, where you have a brand entity and then hope it spills over. Working backwards like this is really useful, especially when it’s something new or based on innovation.

There are some other really useful examples. ‘Plogging’, which started in Sweden, is jogging and picking up rubbish at the same time. It picked up in Sweden after the advent of the name, and I think it gives people an excuse, or even a duty, to pick up as they exercise. Another useful trend to consider is the Dutch word ‘niksen’, which means almost like switching off, giving yourself the time to do nothing. It took off in the Netherlands because it offers a way to say, “Hey, I’m doing this thing with a name,” so people understand and respect the concept.

For many, giving a behaviour a name eases adoption because it feels as if other people are already doing it, and one is following along a path with others rather than doing something totally unheard of. This helps to confirm and validate behaviour they already participate in unknowingly, helping turn it from a happenstance action into a personality trait they can more closely identify with. This is visible in the 

 trend online, where people share their favourite unorthodox flavour combinations, helping celebrate intuitive eating as a healthy behaviour by giving a name to a common snacking practice. Beauty brands are similarly well versed in this, as catering to trends like the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ drives consumers to act because they give a name to a particular look.

Language can create an in-the-know culture

Lending a name to a set of behaviours or consumer choices can help consumers position themselves in support (or in opposition to) the beliefs surrounding that behaviour. This creates an in-the-know culture that is particularly attractive to young people looking to explore different aspects of their identity. As 90% of Gen Zers say that no broad pop culture mainstream exists anymore, this is being replaced by smaller spheres of influence and knowledge, as demonstrated by the ‘

’ ethic that has proliferated online in recent years. 

The Future Party

’ aesthetic, for example, offer a rejection of hustle culture through a series of seemingly disconnected signifiers about living a slow life, united only by a name and a vague ethos.

Build communications around behaviour, not brand

With 81% of US Gen Zers reporting they would rather be defined by personality traits or hobbies than race or demographic characteristics, centring communications around shared behaviours can be more effective among young people than assigned demographic labelling. 

Vox Media

It’s a move American beauty brand Sally Hansen has tapped into with its partnership with NCAA Men’s Basketball star Jared McCain – a collegiate basketball player-cum-TikTokker famous for painting his nails. 

USA Today

 While he originally began sporting coloured nails as a way to stop biting them, the practice has now evolved into an 

, with the move consciously appealing to the 

. By supporting McCain’s behaviour in a very natural way, the brand could see the move begin to build credibility with young men who 

 to adhere to rigid notions of masculinity.

Use language to create a sense of community

In anticipation of flu season 2023, the US government’s Department of Health and Human Services launched a campaign to increase awareness of the need for COVID-19 booster shots as part of an annual regimen of inoculations. The relaunched 

campaign, largely reprised from government efforts in 2021, fell flat with many, as vaccine controversy and fatigue over COVID-19 discourse made continued boosters less attractive for many. 

ForsMarsh

ProPublica

In contrast, a campaign in New York City centred around naming those who receive vaccination as ‘NYC Vax Champs’ has been lauded as a success, with over 90% of the city receiving at least one dose. 

NYC Health + Hospitals

 more than they do large institutions, creating a sense a sense of community can help to smooth over potentially thorny issues of adoption by increasing the visibility of adoption.

Amid the ‘babygirlification’ of culture, 

 of young US men claim they've 'actively changed their behaviour' to embrace vulnerability with people they're dating

of US Gen Zers reporting they would rather be defined by personality traits or hobbies than race or demographic characteristics

 of Gen Zers say that no broad pop culture mainstream exists anymore

Offering a description of a desired behaviour by simply naming it can improve the uptake of that behaviour within a population

Giving a behaviour a name eases adoption through normalisation by giving the impression one is participating with others

Creating a sense a sense of community through a shared and named behaviour can overcome thorny issues of adoption by increasing the visibility of adoption

Valentyna Melnyk is a marketing professor and the deputy head of research at the School of Marketing at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Her research tackles novel problems in marketing in the domains of consumer behaviour, cross-cultural marketing, and branding.

Global

Behavioural Sciences

NYC.gov

While it’s hard to change consumer behaviour, studies have shown that simply giving an action a name can help spur adoption by creating a sense of familiarity and in-group signalling. Canvas8 spoke to Professor Valentyna Melnyk to find out how brands can use behavioural labelling to inspire action.