• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, August 18, 2022

New York-based ad agency XenoPsi and London ad services consultancy Astroten are jointly launching a new R&D unit they’re calling the Consumer Behavior Lab. 

According to the firms, The CBL’s mission is to explore how behavioral science can be applied to improve both the effectiveness of marketing messages and the channels where those messages are placed to influence consumer behavior. 

XenoPsi founder and president MichaelAaron Flicker and Richard Shotton, author of “The Choice Factory” and founder of Astroten, will oversee the new unit.

Flicker noted that XenoPsi agencies Method1 and Function Growth already deploy behavioral science techniques in their work. “By creating this CBL with Astroten, Richard and I are formalizing our long-standing ambition to bring the benefits of Behavioral Science to many more companies across America,” he stated. 

Utilizing CBL, Method1 will leverage hundreds of academic behavioral science studies for its roster of advertising clients, Flicker added, while Function Growth will use CBL to continue advancing its approaches to e-commerce.

Shotton stated: “Behavioral science is valuable for brands as it helps them better understand how to influence their customers. But it’s still woefully under-exploited. This partnership will make it easier for businesses to apply behavioral science by bridging the gap between academic studies and practical marketing applications.”