Reintroducing the human side of planning and helping put behavioural science top of mind was the spark behind the launch of Mehrak Saheb’s new book, The Pocketbook of Behavioural Science for Media Planners.
Saheb, Prophesy Digital Founder and Digital Media Strategist, said that many planners haven’t been taught to consider mindset or behavioural context as part of their planning as it is not no longer part of the standard toolkit anymore as a result of the industry’s focus on tech and data.
“There’s an incredible generation of media planners coming up who are fluent in digital platforms, data and dashboards — and that’s no small achievement given how fast the industry evolves. But because the focus in recent years has been so heavily on tech and tools, many haven’t had the chance to develop an understanding of consumer psychology and how it can inform strategic media choices.
‘It’s not a gap in talent — it’s a gap in training,” she added.
The book is a collection of behavioural science principles designed to elevate media strategy by putting the consumer mindset back in the frame.
Saheb explained that the book aims to bring back the human lens. “It’s about complementing it with behavioural insight so we can make smarter, more effective media decisions. The aim is to make behavioural science accessible and instantly useful for planners — not in an academic way, but in a real-world, everyday-media-decisions kind of way.
With more than two decades under her belt as a digital media strategist and observing media, marketing and consumer behaviour, Saheb said media planning is as much about psychology as it is about media mechanics.
“I was growing increasingly concerned about how focused our industry had become on technology and data. These tools are incredibly powerful, but they seem to have pushed the importance of consumer understanding into the background — less and less on the radar of modern media planners, especially in digital, where I’ve spent most of my career,” she said.
“This book is my way of putting that back on the agenda. Because the real magic happens when we combine the power of data and technology with genuine insight into how people think, feel, and make decisions. That’s when media planning becomes truly impactful,” she said.
The Pocketbook of Behavioural Science for Media Planners examines the principles of behavioural science, such as ‘Social Contagion’, ‘Habit Discontinuity Hypothesis’, and ‘Moral Licensing’, which break down the theory and provide guidance on how to apply each to media planning for clients.
It includes bite-sized lessons, memorable studies and real-world examples.
“If the book encourages planners to look at a brief through a more human lens — to consider mindset, behaviour, and context alongside technology — even just a little more than they did before, I’ll consider it a success,” Saheb added.
Top image: Prophesy Digital founder Mehrak Saheb