Behavioural science is a young discipline, still mapping its boundaries. So instead of being spoon-fed a narrow diet of industry veterans re-presenting case studies, we’re invited to harvest our inspiration from thought-leaders from across domains of expertise. It’s a challenging approach, demanding your attention and sapping your brainpower.

Trepidation. Excitement. Sadness. Guilt. Pride. Just some of the emotions I am feeling as I return to work following 9 months of maternity leave and drop my baby Finlay off at nursery for the first time.  In the grander scheme of life, 9 months is a relatively short space of time.  That said, a lot can happen in a week, let alone 9 months. 9 months is also not an insignificant timeframe when considering its how long it takes to grow a whole human!  

t’s 10 years since behavioural science became mainstream in marketing: a wonderful gift, proven to unlock value at little cost. For the Leeds Digital Festival, Trinity McQueen undertook a consumer experiment, examining the effectiveness of different behavioural tactics with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 people.

A new wave of alternative banks has been able to offer digital-only services that are simple and quick, at a time when the online and mobile capabilities of many traditional banks leave much to be desired. It comes as no surprise that digital banks like Monzo and Starling therefore lead the way in customer satisfaction ratings among financial service providers in the UK.

We were delighted to speak at Internet Matters’ first industry huddle event series at Tech UK on Wednesday 6 March. Internet Matters is a charity organisation that aims to help parents keep their children safe online. During the event, we heard from Internet Matters’ ambassador, Dr Linda Papadopoulos, on the impact that pornography is having on children and how to talk to them about the topic, while we presented the latest insights on parents’ concerns about children accessing online pornography.

Nominated for its ground-breaking work with Boots, Trinity McQueen won the highly prestigious AURA Communications award.  As winners, Trinity’s McQueen work was selected by the AURA client side insight professional membership, covering the major brands and businesses in the UK.

Razor brand Gillette took “new year new me” to new heights this January with a rebrand of its 30-year-old slogan “the best a man can get”. In a short film entitled Believe, the brand controversially touched on the #MeToo movement, bullying and toxic masculinity in efforts to unite men everywhere and inspire them to become “the best a man can be”.

We’ve been nominated as a finalist by Boots at the national AURA awards, for insight activation, story-telling and communication.  We don’t half put on a good show! 

In February 2019 Trinity McQueen completed examined whether the British public are becoming wise to the nudge. We took a nationally representative sample of 2000 UK adults and undertook test and control cell evaluation of different behavioural tactics. We also got our sample to reflect on different examples of nudge, shove and sludge. It’s the first study of its kind that we’re aware of.

As the UK Environmental Audit Committee officially rules that UK fashion brands and retailers are “failing to promote environmental sustainability and protect their workers”, it seems that the relentless pressure to ‘shop till you drop’ and to treat yourself to some ‘retail therapy’ has taken its toll on the fashion industry.

2018 was a turbulent year for many UK retailers. High street names such as Debenhams, House of Fraser, New Look and Mothercare were in trouble. Others like Maplin and Toys R Us disappeared completely. Brexit continues to breed uncertainty and consumer confidence continued to decline as the golden quarter approached.

The Insight Innovation Exhibition (IIex) is fast approaching and we have Jo Wilson-Brown, Associate Director, and Ruth Mann (Pentland) sharing a view on how brands can influence critical moments in the shopper journey. We also have Holly Collins, Research Executive, showcasing examples of Trinity McQueen’s creative insight delivery, ‘reaching the parts other agencies cannot reach’.

To nudge or not to nudge?  That was the question. Trinity McQueen attended the Quirk’s Event in London where Simon Shaw, Director, presented our insight on behavioural science principles in the online advertising space. Keep an eye out for the work which will be published soon.

When the first websites and online services of what we used to call the ‘new media’ era were being built there were no user experience researchers or agencies to turn to. Brands who wanted to build their digital offering with user input and behavioural insights turned to market research agencies to help guide, test and develop their fledgling websites. The start of dedicated UX roles, teams and agencies led to those old market research practitioners quickly seeing digital product development briefs dry-up as user researchers forged a more innovative and disruptive path.

A 30-strong McQueen team have stepped up to the plate.  On 10th May, we’re all attempting to complete the 3 peaks and 24 miles, inside 12 hours.  We’ll start as a team and complete as a team. It’s all in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support.  For an opportunity to sponsor the team, please visit our Just Giving page.