MIND THE GAP, PLEASE: The Say-Do or the Intention-Action Gap

Hello Hello,

“People don't think what they feel, they don't say what they think, and they don't do what they say.” - David Ogilvy

"Mind the gap, please.", I’m hearing that a lot more than I’d like.

Yes, I’m still in London, and it’s a rather fitting, if slightly maddening, backdrop to discuss the Say-Do Gap I’ve mentioned before.

The Behavioural Insights Team, calls it the Intention-Action Gap, and it’s that awkward space between what we honestly mean and intend to do and what actually happens in the end.

As David Ogilvy said

“People don't think what they feel, they don't say what they think, and they don't do what they say.”

So what does this mean for arts marketing? If we’re building our strategies on surveys and what people say they’ll do, are we getting the right information?

An audience member might tell you in a survey that they would be up for more "experimental, contemporary work”, but looking at their booking history, they haven't strayed from Beethoven or Bach in five years.

It is important to keep asking people what they want through surveys and feedback forms, but what I’m getting at here is to triangulate or cross-reference it with the behaviour/data, not just trusting what they have said.

MIND THE GAP, PLEASE: The Say-Do or the Intention-Action Gap