Sales · The Economist subscriptions (Dan Ariely's experiment), In Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely reports an experiment on The Economist's subscription offers. Faced with three options, web only at $59, print only at $125, and web + print at $125, 84% of his students chose the combined offer and none the print-only offer. Ariely then removed the print-only option, deemed useless. The result: without that comparator, 68% switched to web only at $59, and only 32% to the combined offer. The “print only” option served no purpose other than to make the combined offer irresistible by comparison. This is the canonical demonstration of the decoy effect: a deliberately dominated comparator steers the choice towards the targeted option.
Political · The tough reform first, the softened one afterwards, A classic political-communication sequence consists of announcing a reform bill in a very severe initial version, massive budget cuts, unpopular measures, widely relayed, then a few weeks later presenting a revised, softened version. Compared with the first text, the second draft looks reasonable and consultative, even though it often corresponded to the real objective. The first bill acted as a high reference point: public opinion, anchored on the worst, greets the final version as a relief. The technique is formidable but fragile: as soon as a media outlet or the opposition exposes it, it backfires into an accusation of manipulation.
Diplomatic · BATNA as a comparator in international negotiation, Roger Fisher and William Ury, in Getting to Yes, show that a negotiation is always judged against its best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA). In diplomacy, a party strengthens its position by making the value of its alternative explicit, sanctions, substitute alliances, withdrawal, so that the proposed agreement is compared with that fall-back scenario. The agreement becomes acceptable not in absolute terms but because it dominates the credible alternative. Conversely, showing the other party that its own BATNA is weak (isolation, cost of a stalemate) reframes its evaluation of the offer. Strategic comparison here is articulated around a concrete fall-back benchmark rather than a mere foil.
Judicial · Settle rather than litigate: the contrast with a trial, In civil and commercial mediation, the neutral third party systematically sets the contemplated amicable settlement against the real cost of litigation: several years of proceedings, lawyers' fees, the unpredictability of the judgement, reputational damage. This framing forces no one: it makes evaluable a settlement that, taken alone, seemed insufficient to each party. Compared with the realistic worst-case scenario, the settlement appears as the rational choice. Harvard's Program on Negotiation documents this financial contrast effect: it is by illuminating the costly alternative, not by praising the settlement, that the mediator unlocks positions.
Business · Framing the pay rise against the sector norm, During mandatory annual negotiations, a management team facing high pay demands reframes the discussion by presenting the proposed envelope relative to sector practices and observed inflation, backed by industry data. The staff representatives' reference point moves from “what we are demanding” to “what comparable companies pay”. The proposal is no longer judged against desire but against a verifiable external benchmark. The effect depends entirely on the panel chosen: if the unions produce a comparator of more generous sector-leading companies, the framing reverses, hence the importance of a genuinely relevant benchmark.
Everyday life · The property shown second, Robert Cialdini reports in Influence the practice of certain estate agents who first show their clients an overpriced property in poor condition, before showing them the one they actually want to sell. Through perceptual contrast, the second property looks markedly brighter, better maintained and better priced than it would if shown in isolation. No constraint is exerted: the buyer forms their preference from a lived experience, more persuasive than any pitch. The same mechanism operates day to day, a parent who obtains a midnight curfew after floating 10 p.m., a salesperson who presents the €30 accessory just after the €800 product.
