169. The Science of Cool, with Dr. Troy Campbell

The Brainy Business | Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy | Behavioral Economics

Today is a very fun episode about something that you might not think has a science to it, but definitely does which is so amazing! My guest is Troy Campbell, who got his Ph.D. at Duke University and has worked at/for Disney, Netflix, Nike (and much more) as well as taught at the University of Oregon. He has done so many cool things so far in his career, and he is here to talk about how you can do the same by incorporating the science of cool. Coolness may feel intangible. Like it is this enigma some brands or people just have or don’t and if you aren’t cool you just have to accept it. But as Troy will show us today, that doesn’t have to be the case. There is a science to it and there are lots of important lessons for your brand (and even making something as mundane as meetings more fun, effective, and cool). Listen to learn this and more in today’s episode... Show Notes:

• [00:06] In today’s episode I’m excited to introduce you to Dr. Troy Campbell, Chief Scientist at On Your Feet.
• [01:21] There is a science to cool and there are lots of important lessons for your brand.
• [03:51] Troy shares about himself, his background, and how he got into behavioral science.
• [05:23] Behavioral science has the closest thing to a magic spellbook that exists.
• [07:14] He shares an origin story about a lecture he created based on the song “Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie.
• [10:12] On Your Feet is a group that brings more joy, less fear, and better results to everything in business.
• [10:55] Suffering from meeting burnout? The first thing to do is include the right warm-up for the meeting. Different meetings need different warm-ups.
• [11:47] Tell the story of the meeting.
• [13:57] It is a personal warm-up because the thing you need to do is warm up people talking, chatty, and being with each other. In non virtual spaces, it is usually accomplished when you walk in and start talking to the person sitting next to you.
• [15:40] Melina shares about using story cubes.
• [16:39] Another great warm-up activity is a scavenger hunt.
• [17:27] The mind is not a Tesla Roadster that can go from 0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds. It’s more like an old Ford. It is reliable if you give it time to warm up.
• [18:17] In general, everyone wants to be cool to some degree. We all want to feel cool, we all want to give people cool experiences, and we as a brand have to need to be cool to our audience.
• [19:02] Cool is autonomously breaking the norm in a somewhat positive way.
• [20:44] There is no objective cool. Cool is all about norms, individuals, and the way to engage with the norms.
• [23:09] Cool is breaking free from the norm. Cool is finding a norm that people don’t think is that great and resisting that norm to an audience that likes it.
• [24:08] We all want to feel as if we have this ability to autonomously break free from a negative norm in a positive way. As a brand, we want to create these cool things so we are seen as cool and we want other people to feel cool when they are using our brands.
• [26:37] Troy shares one of his favorite moments ever from a workshop.
• [28:57] When companies break the norm in a positive way, it is the psychological feeling of cool.
• [30:09] Metamodernism is this type of culture that we are in right now which is people really mixing things together in positive ways.
• [32:26] Putting the old and new together has been a useful tool.
• [34:07] What is too safe for one person is not too safe for another person. It is very difficult to be cool to everyone. (Know your niche!!)
• [35:29] Break a norm that is in line with something they need or ideology. In order to truly be cool, you need to go through really good design workshops.
• [37:14] Let people be different. We need to see the whole spectrum of talents in behavioral science and allow that to happen.
• [40:35] The brain is so complex. That melting pot of a field is so important for moving it forward.
• [41:33] There are some things about behavioral science that are not fascinating--but they are still incredibly important and take skill to master. What is really great about behavioral science is the nuances and sophistication we bring around that.
• [43:43] With behavioral science we can be incredibly valuable with quick responses and turnarounds for getting people unstuck.
• [45:23] Melina shares her closing thoughts.
• [47:29] Melina’s award-winning first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia.

I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation.

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[spacer height="15px"]More from The Brainy Business:

• 🎉🎉🎉 Buy Melina’s award-winning book, What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia 🎉🎉🎉

Connect with Troy:

• On Your Feet
• Tingen Industries

Past Episodes & Other Important Links:

• The Annual Market Research Podcast Award - VOTE for The Brainy Business now!
• How This Year's Nobel Prize Winning Research in Economics Can Help Your Business
• Episode 144: Disney: A Behavioral Economics Analysis
• Episode 20: Defaults: Why The Pre-Selected Choice Wins More Often Than Not: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 21: Habits: 95% Of Decisions Are Habitual – Which Side Is Your Business On?: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 101: Dan Ariely Interview: Discussing Shapa, the Numberless Scale
• Episode 16: Framing: How You Say Things Matter More Than What You’re Saying: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 123: Get Your D.O.S.E. of Brain Chemicals, a Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 158: 3 Steps to Better Decision Making, An Interview with Matthew Confer
• Episode 18: Priming: Why You Should Never Have A Difficult Conversation With Someone Holding An Iced Coffee: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 145: The Power of Story, an Interview with Dr. Michelle Auerbach
• Episode 128: How to Build Products That Create Change, An Interview with Matt Wallaert
• Episode 11: Anchoring & Adjustment: The 1 Word That Increased Sales 38%: A Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 149: Familiarity Bias: Why the Devil You Know Feels Safer Than the Devil You Don’t, a Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode
• Episode 54: Biases Toward Novelty and Stories

Check out What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia