If you brand a placebo, does it work better?

This is an oldie but goodie. In a study of 835 women with headaches, Branthwaite & Cooper set out to see if a) placebos work at all, and b) if branding them made any difference. The results are fascinating. 

a) Placebos did nearly as well as actual meds. Srsly. A whopping 55% taking unbranded placebos felt waaay better vs. 70% taking unbranded meds! And while 74% taking branded meds felt way better, another whopping 64% felt better taking branded placebos.

b) Branding the pills did indeed give a bump to relief — 9% for placebo, and 4% for meds. Not huge, but still significant. Which is pretty cool.

This research has been replicated a lot, since randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard in medical science. Over & over, these two findings hold up: placebos often work, though not as well as real treatment. And branding something makes it work better than the same thing unbranded.a

Some lessons:

🔸 A huge chunk of what we do is psychology. Objective truth is very often impacted by how we think & feel about a product or service. Or in reverse: placebo is not zero; it’s a real effect.

🔸 A brand can be seen as having a placebo effect — it changes the impact of the thing. So be sure to build a brand that *increases* the perceived value of your stuff. 

🔸 Learn brand science! It helps your team make smarter decisions that lead to growth.