a single source, nothing corroborates it

Cast the ad for who your buyer wants to be

Pick a face your buyers would like to be rather than the biggest name the budget allows: one coffee brand chose an actor who read as approachable and sophisticated at once and saw sales in one market climb over a third. Vet the expressions before the shoot goes out, looking for crinkled eyes and lines at the corners, and treat a visible bottom row of teeth as a sign the smile was forced. Highly empathetic people are unusually good at spotting a fake one, so part of your audience will register it whether or not they can say why.

The method

1. 01

   Choose a spokesperson your buyers would like to be rather than the biggest name you can afford.

2. 02

   Vet the smiles in your ad photography before you run it: look for crinkled eyes and lines at the corners, and treat a visible bottom row of teeth as a sign the smile was forced.

What it returned

• 2010

  Nespresso made George Clooney the face of the brand in 2010, matching approachable with sophisticated, and its UK sales climbed 35.5 percent.

• Research cited by Bourgoin finds highly empathetic people are unusually accurate at picking out a fake smile, so part of your audience will register it.

Sources

• Can you spot the real one? - Why We Buy 🧠Katelyn Bourgoin · customercamp.co · Brainy Snack · undated
• Mimicry - Why We Buy 🧠Katelyn Bourgoin · customercamp.co · ​ ​Use Spokespeople Your Buyers Relate To · undated