The halo effect in marketing
A single strong signal, like good design or a hero product, lifts how people judge the rest of a brand. How to use the halo effect, and when it backfires.
Jon Founder, Cultmethod Identity 9 min read
Contents
Remember Revenge of the Nerds?
It’s the classic Hollywood underdog story: nerds are unfairly bullied by frat bros and sorority girls; nerds decide to take revenge; in the end they win and the hot cheerleader girl realizes she’s in love with one of the nerds.
The movie is full of corny movie tropes and generally accepted feel-good ideas. One of them is that it’s bad to judge a book by its cover.
That’s a nice thought. Yet we do it all the time.
What is the halo effect?
The halo effect is our habit of assuming that someone with one good trait, usually good looks, has other good traits too. The psychologist Edward Thorndike named it in 1920.1
- We assume hot people are more intelligent and conscientious2
- For political candidates, attractiveness is a pretty good predictor of electoral success3
- In the workplace, attractive people make more money than their less attractive colleagues4
- And (rather alarmingly) in the legal system, attractive people receive more lenient sentences and are more likely to be found not guilty than less attractive people.5
We judge attractive people more favorably, not just on looks but on virtually everything.
In a nutshell: hot people can do no wrong.
How does the halo effect work in marketing?
The halo effect doesn’t just apply to people.
It also applies to business. A good first impression in one area, like the design or one standout product, carries over to how people judge the rest of the company, including what they’re willing to pay. Here’s a quick overview of the examples below:
| Tactic | Example | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Hero product → line | iPod popularity lifted Mac demand | Sales of the rest of the line go up.6 |
| Design polish | Good-looking websites with poor usability | People rate them as easier to use and are more satisfied.1 |
| Packaging aesthetics | Beautiful packaging vs. famous brand | The better-looking package wins, even at a higher price.7 |
1. The website usability study
In a 2002 study by Lindgaard and Dudek, users rated a group of websites for visual appeal.1
The websites that had high visual-appeal ratings were then tested for usability: on average the so-called “task-failure” rate of these websites was over 50% (which is really bad!).
But despite the poor usability of these websites, participants’ satisfaction ratings remained high. The look and feel of the websites created a halo effect that carried through to the entire user experience.
2. Typo terror
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, websites that contain typos are judged to be less credible,8 especially by younger respondents (under-30s). Pretty interesting, but please don’t ask me why the government is studying this stuff.
3. The “halo car”
Car manufacturers are very good at exploiting the halo effect to their advantage.9 If you’re a car enthusiast, you can undoubtedly think of at least a handful of examples of manufacturers creating limited-production luxury or sports models.
They’re seldom very profitable in and of themselves, but they create positive brand associations, enthusiasm, and increase sales of lower-end models (see the effect of BMW’s M3 on sales of the regular 3 Series, for example).
4. 🍎
Every branding book I’ve read has contained at least one reference to Apple.
I’m not sure if there’s some kind of law against writing about branding without mentioning Apple, but I figure it’s best to be on the safe side. So, here we go: an example from everyone’s darling brand, Apple!
Way back in the day, the popularity of the Apple iPod increased demand for Apple computers6 and opened up for new line extensions (like the Nano and Shuffle). Halo effect baby!
5. Aesthetic package design makes people drool
Here’s something really cool that I didn’t know until I started doing research for this article:
People will choose visual design over brand recognition.
In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, researchers found that products with aesthetically pleasing packaging “are chosen over products with well‐known brands in standardized packages, despite higher prices.”7
Why does good design make a brand look better?
People read good design as a sign that the company takes care over the rest of its business too.
People like pretty things. The significance of this fact should not be underestimated just because it’s so damn obvious.
But beyond liking pretty things, I believe good design is also a signal.
I mentioned before that it’s actually perfectly rational to make assumptions about people’s intelligence based on their physical attractiveness (because physical attractiveness is correlated with intelligence).
The same is true of how we evaluate design and businesses.
See, companies that invest in design are more likely to also invest in product development, quality control, and are generally more likely to have their shit together.
We don’t just prefer pretty brands because they are pretty; we also prefer pretty brands because of what their prettiness suggests about everything else about the customer experience.
Design is a proxy for quality.
How do you use the halo effect in marketing?
- Fix the first five seconds. Polish the design, make the message clear, and fix obvious bugs. Small flaws can set off a horn effect.1
- Borrow credible context. Advertise and partner next to content and events people already trust.
- Lead with a hero. Let one standout product pull the rest of the line, the way the iPod did for the Mac.6
When does the halo effect backfire?
It backfires when polish reads as fake, or when your buyers like to show they have nothing to prove. In those cases, plainer design can signal more confidence than glossy design.
When most people get wealthy (or when they want others to think they’re wealthy), they immediately take to buying fancy sports cars, obnoxious Gucci belts and Louis Vuitton bags in order to signal their high status.
The inverse of this kind of ostentatiousness is countersignaling.13 Countersignaling is “showing off by not showing off.”
Extraordinarily rich people and people with generational wealth often prefer understated clothes to the luxury brands you find on Rodeo Drive. And you’re just as likely to find a Volvo XC90 as a Bentley Bentayga in their driveway.
Just take a look at someone like Warren Buffett: truly rich people have nothing to prove.
So where am I going with this?
Well, there are certain situations where countersignaling via “poor” design can produce positive results for a brand.
Intentional brutalism can attract people “in the know” (e.g. design professionals), provided it is well-executed. Ye’s fashion line (now sold under his own YZY label) is wildly successful despite most of the items looking like something a homeless person might wear.
My chips story: the exception to the rule?
To bring home my point, let me give you an example from my own life. The other day I was in the grocery store, looking for some chips to snack on.
I strongly prefer kettle-cooked chips. There were three brands to choose between: they all tried to strike a look that communicated “this is handmade, craft quality, and natural.”
One of the brands looked more polished than the others. The paper bag was coated with white. You could tell they had spent a lot of money: both on the design, and on the printing method. But as a result, it felt artificial.
The second one looked terrible. The front of the bag looked messy; they had stuffed it with way too much stuff. Clearly, this was not the work of a professional.
The third one was somewhere in the middle. It looked good, but not amazing. The paper bag was uncoated. It had a homemade quality to it, and I could easily imagine it being sold at an actual farmer’s market or something.
I picked the last one even though, according to the halo effect of design, I should have picked the first one.
The less professional design felt authentic, which is exactly what I was looking for.
Parting thoughts
Well-designed brands impart a sense of professionalism and demonstrate a commitment to quality without having to say a single word.
And when it comes to perception, a rising tide will lift all boats. By investing in good design, you are ensuring that potential customers see all aspects of your brand through rose-colored glasses.
Basically, I guess what I’m saying is this: stop being cheap and give me your money.
Halo effect in marketing: FAQs
What is the halo effect in marketing?
It’s a bias where one thing people like about a brand, such as a standout product or good design, makes them judge everything else it does more kindly. The opposite is the horn effect: one negative signal drags the rest down.
How do you create a halo effect?
Lead with your best product, advertise in places people already trust, and polish your design. Pick endorsers who fit, and fix the small flaws that drag everything else down.
Can the halo effect backfire?
Yes. A bad experience, an endorser who doesn’t fit, or an obvious quality problem can create a horn effect that makes people think less of the whole line.
Does design really matter?
Yes. People rate good-looking websites as easier to use, and attractive packaging can beat a famous brand on the shelf.
Footnotes
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Nielsen Norman Group. (2013). Halo Effect: Definition and impact on web user experience. NN/g. NN/g article ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Talamas, S. N., Mavor, K. I., & Perrett, D. I. (2016). Blinded by beauty: Attractiveness bias and accurate perceptions of academic performance. PLOS ONE, 11(2), e0148284. PLOS ONE article ↩
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Berggren, N., Jordahl, H., & Poutvaara, P. (2010). The looks of a winner: Beauty and electoral success. Journal of Public Economics, 94(1–2), 8–15. ScienceDirect abstract · DOI ↩
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Baer, D., & Akhtar, A. (2014). 11 scientific reasons why attractive people are more successful in life. Business Insider. Business Insider article ↩
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Kim, J. (2014). Are good-looking people more likely to get away with murder? Psychology Today. Psychology Today post ↩
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BBC News. (2005). Report on iPod success and its “halo effect” on Mac demand. BBC News – Business. BBC News report ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Reimann, M., Zaichkowsky, J. L., Neuhaus, C., Bender, T., & Weber, B. (2010). Aesthetic package design: A behavioral, neural, and psychological investigation. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(4), 431–441. ScienceDirect abstract · DOI ↩ ↩2
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U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. (2009). Credibility. Usability.gov / Digital.gov. Usability.gov page ↩
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Tafani, E., Michel, G., & Rosa, E. (2009). Vertical product line extension strategies: An evaluation of brand halo effect according to range level. HAL Open Archive (post-print). HAL record ↩
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Kanazawa, S. (2009). Beautiful people are more intelligent (I). Psychology Today – The Scientific Fundamentalist. Psychology Today post ↩
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Mitchem, D. G., Zietsch, B. P., Wright, M. J., Martin, N. G., Hewitt, J. K., & Keller, M. C. (2015). No relationship between intelligence and facial attractiveness in a large, genetically informative sample. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36(3), 240–247. PMC full text ↩
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University of Aberdeen. (2015). We’re hard-wired to find certain characteristics more attractive. University of Aberdeen News. News release ↩
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Alicorn. (2010). Things you can’t countersignal. LessWrong. LessWrong post ↩
