Understanding the nudge-sludge dynamic in marketing

The advertising and marketing industry has undergone significant transformations in the last few decades, prompting businesses to relook at their advertising priorities as new trends shape the landscape every year. Replacing print advertisement as the most premium choice among advertisers in early 2000s, digital advertising has led to an exponential increase in ad exposure and targeting capabilities.

In the 1970s, the average person saw between 500 to 1,600 ads per day. By 2021, that number range has risen to 6,000 to 10,000.

With over 800 million internet users in India, the flood of advertisements across social media, ecommerce, and OTT platforms is transforming how brands engage with customers, driving up the ad spending to meet the growing cross-media demand.

A recent market study revealed that India’s advertising spend reached $16.03 billion in 2024. The surge in ad volume and rising costs of running them across B2B, B2C, and D2C sectors are universal trends, impacting every industry in similar ways. However, this is slightly different for the healthcare industry.

For instance, post-pandemic, there has been a shift from on-ground marketing to digital advertising innovations as a crucial way to connect with healthcare providers (HCPs). This has helped brands curb the rising marketing costs while addressing the challenges associated with the availability of on-ground human resources and physical drug demonstrations to HCPs.

With India now positioned 8th globally in advertising spending, it's essential for businesses to pause and reassess their advertising strategies. The surge in digital marketing has shifted priorities, subtly emphasising over actual purchase decisions.

As B2B and B2C players focus on ‘brand impressions’ and ‘audience reach’ to gauge return on ad spend (ROAS), the fundamental objective of influencing purchasing behaviour is overlooked. Though such outcomes are essential to boost brand awareness, it is equally important that they translate into sales, ultimately validating a brand’s long-term success and improving ROAS.

Impact of ‘sludge’

The advent of OTT and social media applications has changed the way audiences engage with content. With a large volume of ads knocking at our digital screens and short-format content available on nearly every platform, the average attention time span of consumers has dropped from approximately 2½ minutes to 45 seconds.

From irrelevant website ad banners and mobile app pop-ups to video ads and business messages on messaging apps, advertisers are fighting for ever-diminishing audience attention. Moreover, an increase in the number of startups and competition across industries has provided consumers with a wide array of options, making them more discerning and selective than ever before.

To boost engagement with their target audiences, brands have resorted to ‘sludging’, i.e, excessive bombardment of poorly timed ads across channels. This has led consumers to reject irrelevant content, making it harder for brands to leave a lasting impression on their target audience and resulting in wastage of valuable resources—driving up the ad spends further.

As advertisers deal with the challenges of sludging in their business results, it is imperative to focus on delivering timely, relevant, and personalised messages that meet their audiences’ needs. Overwhelming consumers with unwanted content may fail to deliver the desired business outcomes.

Nudging, the way forward

Imagine spending time with someone you don’t relate to—how would you feel? This is precisely the experience sludging creates for ones’ target audience. To achieve quality business outcomes in today’s chaotic digital landscape, advertisers need to nudge their target audiences in a smarter way to derive desired results. By crafting messages that align with target consumers’ needs and delivering them through the right channels at the right time, brands can overcome the reduced attention span and encourage positive purchase decisions.

To decode this further, let us dive deep into the ‘subtle art of nudging’ and understand how thoughtfully leveraged behavioural tactics can lead to positive purchase decision-making.

Setting the right context for purchase decisions

The key to a successful nudging is in reshaping choice architecture—the way options are presented—to steer people toward making better choices. By thoughtfully leveraging human psychological insights and designing the context in which people make choices, including how options are arranged, framed, or offered, brands can guide individuals towards better decisions without restricting their freedom of choice.

An excellent example of choice architecture is McDonald's 'Extra Value Meal' promotion. This strategy effectively packages all complementary items at a discounted price, simplifying the decision-making process for customers. By presenting the meal as a complete package, McDonald's makes it easier for customers to visualise their options and encourages them to make a purchase.

Delivering the ‘right message’ at the ‘right time’

With multiple advertisements floating across digital channels without a clear direction required to influence purchase decisions, advertisers need to reassess their approach. This requires them to focus on enhancing the quality of messaging and ensuring the appropriateness of timing and channels used for delivery to prevent advertisements from being dismissed as ‘another pop-up’ and instead position them as valuable resources for consumers.

Understanding the human psyche

Human psychology is incredibly nuanced, with every individual having different emotional touchpoints and personal interests. For brands, understanding how their products or services connect emotionally with their target audiences is essential to building unique brand identities. The emotional connection must be seamlessly integrated into the marketing strategy so that it acts as the ‘nudge’, prompting a positive purchase decision.

For example, Policy Bazaar’s recent ad campaign, Sapna aur Suraksha (Dream and security), thoughtfully highlights the emotional and mental challenges that elderly patients encounter when accessing their insurance benefits during treatment. By portraying the brand’s agent as someone who defies the conventional role—going above and beyond and by caring like a family member—the campaign reassures viewers of the brand’s commitment, addresses their emotional needs, and builds trust in its services.

Social proof

Human thoughts, feelings, and behaviour are often influenced by others due to factors such as leadership, obedience, prejudice, and conformity. This provides advertisers with an opportunity to use social proof to nudge consumers toward favourable actions by showcasing endorsements, customer reviews, or peer recommendations.

When people see others engaging positively with a product or service, it builds trust and increases the likelihood of them following suit. For instance, Dove's ‘Real Beauty’ campaign featured real women to promote a more inclusive and realistic representation of beauty, conveying that beauty comes from within and that all women are beautiful in their own way.

Relatability through personalisation

The advent of cookies has indeed played a crucial role in crafting and delivering personalised advertisements at the right time. By tracking user behaviour online through users’ content, cookies allow brands to garner relevant data on their past purchasing habits, individual preferences and interests.

By delivering tailored content and advertisements that align with consumer needs, brands help users feel that an ad speaks directly to them. This enhances relatability and nudges consumers towards relevant decisions, improving both engagement and conversion rates.

Call to action: Choosing quality-driven marketing outcomes

Unlike ‘sludging’, which requires immediate quantitative outcomes, ‘nudging’ acts as a subtle psychological tactic requiring a gradual approach for effective—and most importantly—long-term results. Short-term gains may divert advertisers from the long-term impact of nudging. It is, therefore, important to let nudging unfold organically to lead consumers to positive purchase decisions while navigating the nuances.

Across industries, the need of the hour is to detach oneself from the rat race and allow ‘purpose’ to guide brands’ advertising/messaging efforts. By integrating meaningful intentions into their communication with target audiences, brands can stand out as primary consumer choices in the constantly evolving business landscape.

- Harshit Jain, MD, is the founder and global CEO of Doceree.