How McDonald's nudges its Customers and how you can to
- Vivien
- Nov 12, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
The Tetanus Experiment:
In the 1960s, Howard Leventhal, a social psychologist at Yale University, undertook an experiment to see if he could change students’ behaviours.
At the time, the University Health Centre was supplying free tetanus vaccinations. Leventhal wondered how he could influence senior students to get the vaccination.
He handed out brochures to people about getting a tetanus shot. Both booklets contained the same information about the vaccination, but one was a low-fear version and the other a high-fear version.
The high-fear version had dramatic descriptions of the ramifications of not getting a vaccination with detailed, logical, and filled with reasons why vaccination was important, describing the risks of contracting tetanus and vividly frightening images to show what it did to people.
The students filled in a questionnaire after reading the booklet. They all had a good understanding of what tetanus is, but the real test was whether they would get vaccinated.
After one month, only 3% of participating students were vaccinated.
He used the same booklets but made one small change.
He added a simple map with a map of the campus and a circle around the health centre showing where to go, and clearly listed the times the centre provided the free tetanus shots.
A month later, 28% of participating students had received their tetanus vaccination
While Leventhal was looking to see whether fear influenced behaviour change. Ultimately, he found that it wasn’t the facts that changed people’s behaviour — it was the clarity of the next step.
Good messaging lays a trail
Have you noticed how when you're about 10 minutes (500m) away from a McDonald's, you'll start seeing more of their ads?
-Bus stops
-Train stations
-Motorway billboards
You’re not being convinced — you’re being nudged.
That's because good messaging doesn’t push people to act.
Small signals beat big instructions.
What Is Nudging?
Nudging is a concept rooted in behavioural science, introduced by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in their book Nudge.
They defined it as a way to influence people’s decisions in a predictable way without restricting their freedom of choice.
In simpler terms: it’s about making the desired action the easiest, most natural, most frictionless thing to do.
A Nudge Strategy leads to higher conversion rates and speeds up the sales process because it sits at the customer's trigger points and targets people who are already aware of the problem and are actively looking for a solution.
McDonald’s doesn’t need to convince you to eat.
They just need to show up at the moment of choice — when your brain’s already halfway to “yes,” and influences your buyer’s decision by making their choice seem natural, intuitive, and effortless.
Nudge messaging works extremely well for B2B, because your potential buyers do a whole load of research before they consider you.
Just like McDonald's sending directions to help their hungry customers find them, your content should nudge your prospects to the desired reaction.
So here's what you can do:
They need mental ease — small cues that make the process of saying “yes” feel natural, not forced.
Use Your Subheadings as Breadcrumbs
Most people treat subheadings like labels
“This section explains X.”“This part is about Y.”
Your reader is scanning before they’re reading
And they’re asking one question: “Is this worth my attention?”
Your subheadings should answer that for them.
Subheadings aren’t decoration, or summaries, there to break up the page—they’re signposts for your reader’s brain.
Each subheading should make the next feel inevitable
Not “Here’s what this section covers.”
But “Here’s why you should keep going.”
They say: “You’re in the right place.”
“Keep going.”
“This will matter to you.”
Here’s how to make them work like breadcrumbs:
Make them clear, not clever
Your reader should instantly know what comes next. A good subheading is a tiny promise: “Here’s what you’ll learn in this section.”
Create curiosity or intrigue: Leave the thought slightly unfinished
Complete thoughts stop movement.
A good subheading should feel like the start of a sentence your reader wants to finish.
Curiosity encourages readers to move forward. Example: “The one mistake that kills engagement” nudges them to keep reading.
Write subheadings as invitations, not summaries
Summaries close loops.
Invitations open them.
If your subheading feels complete on its own, you’ve probably killed momentum.
Not:“Common messaging mistakes”
But:“Why this is where most messages fall apart”
Follow a logical path
Arrange your subheadings like steps on a trail.
Each one should naturally lead to the next
If someone only reads your subheadings, they should still arrive at the conclusion you want.
Reinforce the main message
Each subheading should echo your overall story or goal. It should stick close to your core message
Anchor them in real behaviour
Reference what people do, not abstract ideas:“This is what happens when your supplier becomes part of your mission.” A familiar behaviour reduces friction and builds trust.
Include subtle nudges
You can embed tiny calls-to-action in subheadings: “Why most teams fail—and how you can avoid it.” It hints at a solution and keeps them moving down the page.
Test them in isolation
Read only the subheadings, top to bottom.
If they don’t tell a clear story or point toward an action, the breadcrumbs are missing.
A nudging subheading should answer why this matters right now, not what the section is about. If it sounds like a table of contents entry, rewrite it.
As a communicator, your job is to help your message travel.
The person who reads your message first won’t be the last. But they will be the one who decides whether your message gets passed on.
Give them something simple, clear, and repeatable — something they can forward without needing to explain.
Show up at the right moment.
Make the next step easy.
And let your message move naturally through your audience.
Because the best messaging doesn’t persuade harder —it nudges smarter.
3 questions to ask your team:
Are our headings and subheadings acting like signposts that pull people forward?
What small cues can we add that nudge prospects toward the action we want, without forcing it?
How can we reduce friction in our content so saying “yes” feels natural, not like a heavy decision?
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If your multi-audience messaging is getting stuck, I help you build one that creates movement.
🎯 Hi, I'm Vivien,
I specialise in psychology-led, layered, multi-audience message survival and work with Heads of Communications, CMOs, and B2B teams
I keep your messaging intact as it moves through stakeholders, decision-makers, and high-stakes moments and prevent message distortion before it costs you critical decisions.
Because you're not selling to 1 person. You're selling to 10.
