Salience bias
In 1975, S. E. Taylor and S.T. Fiske sat two actors on a stage. The observers, who were positioned to see the face of only one actor, agreed that the “visible” actor played a bigger role.
… Only that wasn’t the case.
The reason the observers thought the visible actor played the bigger role was simply because… well, the actor was visible.
Taylor and Fiske attributed their understandable mistake to “perceptual salience,” which laid the groundwork for Salience bias.
Put simply, Salience bias means we pay attention to the most prominent, unexpected, or contrasting elements.
And, as you probably guessed, Salience bias affects our decision-making.
Imagine passing by a jewelry store every day. After a few days, you get desensitized and stop noticing what’s in the shop window. Until one day, a new, huge, bright ruby ring appears that catches your eye.
You stop to admire it. You even contemplate getting it for you or your loved one.
This happens more often than you think, too:
A car shopper ignores a vehicle’s high fuel consumption because of its awesome design.
Your resume stands out among the rest, giving you a bigger chance of being hired.
You easily spot a pink-haired person in a crowd, or a red tree in a sea of green.
You can probably think of a few examples on your own.
And because standing out is such a big part of advertising, it’s only logical that Salience bias can amplify your efforts. Let’s see how.
Three ways you can leverage Salience bias
1) Stand out with your unique value proposition (UVP)
Contrast how you do things with how your competitors do them.
And lead with your unique value proposition—the thing that makes your brand stand out—as the salient item.
For example, DuckDuckGo’s UVP is an online browser that doesn’t track your data, letting you browse the web in peace. Here’s how they turned their UVP into an ad:
Basically, your competitors are like blades of grass—and your UVP is the colorful flower rising above them.
That’s the last allegory for today, we promise.
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
2) Make yourself prominent through color
Despite fluctuations in percentages, all the research confirms one thing: We are visual creatures.
We rely on visual cues a lot, whether we’re looking for food or comparing software.
So using attention-grabbing hues and strategic placements can help your entire ad—or certain elements of your ad—stand out in the crowd.
There’s no single approach to this. But you can note two things:
Your ad creative should contrast the interface of the platform you’re showing it on.
Your ad can use complementary colors to stand out.
Here’s how Stabilo used the second option to maximum advantage. It created salience with the yellow highlighter, while also telling a story about its product:
3) Use killer hooks
This is where you may wish you were a master copywriter, or knew one.
Attention-grabbing copy is the most salient item you can have in your ad, because it’s probably the number one thing that would “stop the scroll” and arrest the eyeballs.
Here’s what we’re talking about:
Hinge makes it eye-catching, short, and effective.
Doesn’t take much, does it?