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Pies, Ties and Behavioural Economics

Event Interactive 2011
Format Dual
Organizer Dan Hon Wieden+Kennedy
Description Who says behavioural economics needs to be boring, unfilling and unstylish? We don’t! We’ve disguised behavioural economics and experiments in play as a pie cart and a tie cart. Yes! In Portland, a real pie cart serving homemade pie, icecream and coffee. In London a tie cart will serve besuited men who work in front of spreadsheets doing “real” economics exquisitely designed ties to go with Saville Row suits. Lured in by our beautiful little carts, the scent of fresh-cooked pie and a cute girl in gingham (we may even have scented ties in London), unsuspecting folks will participate in a not-so-usual experience. We’ll be playing with pricing, choice, participation, chance and scarcity, including: Pie/Tie it forward: A customer orders as usual but it's explained that they don't get what they ordered... they get what the person before them ordered. The person who comes after them will get what they ordered in a big chain. You can elect to set the person after you for a sweet treat or a sartorial disaster. Wheel of doom: Customers choose to pay a premium to select their pie flavor/tie style, or they can pay less and risk the wheel of chance (which may include a spot where you get no pie or tie at all.) Power of free: Slice of pie or a tie - $4.00. Pie/tie + ice cream - $5.50. Pie/tie + ice cream + coffee - $5.50.... making the coffee free. Will it mean more folks go in for the whole deal because of the free coffee? We think it will. Will they? FIND OUT, ONLY AT SXSW!
Questions
Answered
  1. What are good approaches for accessible thinking about behavioural economics?
  2. Can we show definitively that small tweaks to pricing and offerings will affect sales?
  3. Will we make people happy and foster positive interactions between strangers? Or negative ones?
  4. Can we once and for all make economics both stylish and tasty?
  5. What do real economists think about what we’re doing?
Level Intermediate
Category Case Study
Tags economics, play, realworld