Consumers scroll past thousands of ads a day, but they stop for the ones that feel like they were written just for them, according to The Science of Connection, a new whitepaper from independent media agency Magic.
For decades, marketers have leaned on behavioural psychology to capture attention. Magic’s paper shows how fusing these time-tested principles with modern media buying can deliver messaging with surgical precision, right when and where people are most receptive.
“Great creative isn’t enough and great targeting isn’t enough,” the paper argued. “The magic happens when classic persuasion theory guides the creative and the media plan.”
The whitepaper describes how the fusion of behavioural psychology with data-driven media buying creates a next-level targeting playbook built on three pillars:
- Regulatory focus theory explains how individuals approach goals based on their mindset—promotion-focused consumers are driven by aspirations and growth, while prevention-focused consumers seek safety and security. We can then match the channel and message to each of these defined mindsets.
- Motivational insights Identify the emotional drivers behind consumer decisions: aspiration, status, and pleasure for promotion-focused mindsets; security, comfort, and fear avoidance for prevention-focused ones. Direct spend to the moments and platforms where these motivations are most active.
- Heuristics and cognitive biases – Layer proven cognitive shortcuts into creative and funnel stages, such as scarcity (e.g. limited-time offers), social proof (e.g. highlighting popularity or reviews), and framing (e.g. presenting a product as 95% effective to shape perception).
Magic Head of Strategy, Sam Terminelli, said: “In a world where every scroll presents a sea of ‘sameness,’ capturing attention isn’t just a challenge for brands – it’s a necessity. Consumers today demand more than surface-level messages to make them stop and listen – they crave relevance, connection and a reason to care. It’s about transforming creative copy from functional to emotionally resonant.
“Brand messaging needs to evolve to keep up with the change in consumer sentiment, and that’s where psychology-based segmentation comes in. It taps into the emotional, cognitive drivers of behaviour, allowing brands to create messages that transcend superficial transactions.”
Magic Account Executive and whitepaper author, Liam Pavlovski, said: “In a digital world saturated with ads, the real battle isn’t just for attention – it’s for relevance. Now more than ever, brands need to peel back the layers of the onion and dig beyond surface-level characteristics to uncover what truly makes their audience tick. By deep diving into psychological insights, advertisers can align audience psychology, timing and channel dynamics to create strategies that resonate at every touchpoint.”
