💡 This week’s big idea:
how identity-led copy can be more effective than action-led

A 2011 Stanford study on voting behavior gives us a really interesting insight into the difference between identity-led messaging and action-led messaging.

👉 When researchers asked people “Did you vote in the 2008 election?” (using an action), participation rates were lower.

👉 When they instead asked “Are you a voter?” (using a noun and identity), responses were much higher.

Why? Because using a noun (“voter”) framed the action as part of who they are. And when an action aligns with who we are, we’re more likely to act on it.

Isn’t it weird how saying “I run twice a week” feels different to saying “I’m a runner”?

Or saying “I recycle” feels different from “I’m eco-conscious”.

Labelling ourselves as something is very different from just saying we do something. It’s more powerful. It carries more weight.

In other words, doing something is just a day-to-day decision.

But labelling ourselves becomes an intrinsic part of who we are, what we believe and what we tell the world. And that identity is harder to break.

(For example, the two of us play guitar. Neither of us are guitarists.)

Playing into this sense of identity can have a huge impact on the effectiveness of your copy, especially if you’re a mission-led e-commerce brand.

🧠 Why it works: the science of identity-led copy

A lot of brand-led copywriting techniques tap into the idea of Social Identity Theory, which basically tells us that we all make decisions that reinforce how we see ourselves.

👉 The brands we wear, the coffee we order, our go-to drink, etc… aren’t just products we’ve bought to do a job.

They’re things we use to show others who we are (or who we want to be).

👉 But it’s more than that too. When the opposite happens – for example, let’s say I buy a brand owned by Coca Cola or drive a Tesla – that creates a mismatch between what I believe about myself and how I’m acting.

This is called cognitive dissonance, and when we feel this, we either adjust our beliefs or we change our behavior. (i.e. I either stop caring about people and planet or I decide to buy a different drink or car.)

👉 Research by Reed et al in the International Journal of Research in Marketing shows that when we buy a product or brand that aligns with our desired identity — AKA, who we want ourselves to be — we feel validated and are far more likely become loyal customers and make repeat purchases .

Getting started with identity-led messaging 👇

Identity-driven messaging is really, really effective at grabbing the attention of your target audience and gently encouraging them to change their spending habits. (AKA, to get them to start buying from your brand.)

By gently evoking a soupçon of cognitive dissonance, you can use your copy to show customers two things:

1. That you’re the brand for them. That your brand lines up with their identity and who they say they are.
2. To gently tap into that disconnect between their identity and their spending habits. Nudge them towards the realization that the brands they’re currently buying don’t line up with who they are, putting them in a state of mind to change their behaviour.

Let’s compare the headlines of smol and OceanSavers, two UK-based eco-friendly detergents with different approaches to their copy👇

Now, we 💛 smol here at DWG.

But on a purely copywriting basis, pound-for-pound, OceanSaver has them licked.

And as a challenger brand in the space, that’s a good thing. They can’t afford to play it safe. They need to win over every customer they can.

Let’s break that down a bit.

For starters, their brand name plays directly into the identity theory-ness of it all. (We mean, who doesn’t want to be an Ocean Saver?)

Then, they’re layering up the feel-goods with “the ocean will thank you”. Mmmm, sweet sweet dopamine release.

Then, on top of that, they’re doubling down and saying that we can join 500,000+ people who feel the same way. Stacking social proof on top of identity-driven messaging? That’s super smart.

In fact, this identity-driven messaging was the only thing they talked about in their £250,000 investment in TV ads last year.

Check it out 👇

​No mention of the benefits of the product. No “whiter whites and a healthier planet” messaging.

Just a man with a washing machine and the underlying message that “if you care about the ocean, you should be using OceanSaver.”

☝️ And that right there is secret ingredient of getting people to change their behaviour.

(Remember, we’re creatures of habit. If making a switch requires any effort, we need to be really motivated to do it.)

There is a bit of nuance to it, though.

While identity-led messaging is great for top of funnel messaging, as you get further down the funnel, it can actually get in the way.

If somebody has seen your ads, subscribed to your emails and is ready to buy, they don’t need to be convinced that your brand lines up with their identity anymore. They’re already there.

At the bottom of the funnel, your copy’s primary job is to remove any friction and get them checked out.

And identity-driven messaging – as we know – creates friction. It invites introspection and a moment of pause.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t need a gentle reminder.

❌ Too much identity: “Become a planet-saver by buying one of our eco-friendly water bottles.”

✅ Just right: Shop our planet-saving water bottles today.

🧠 TLDR: as you go down the funnel, decrease the focus on identity and increase the focus on action. here…

How can you use this for your brand?

💡 We know people are more likely to take action when it aligns with their identity.
​​
💡We know that nouns create a sense of belonging but verbs drive action.

Think about your top of funnel content.

Your homepage headline, your social bios, your ad campaigns… how can you add some identity into those?

Can you flip it from action-led into identity-led?

Maybe try something like this?

Switch to a coffee that protects the planet 👉 For coffee lovers who give a damn.

But as you move down the funnel, ease up a little.

Here’s a rule of thumb for how to modulate your identity-led messaging 👇

Stage of your funnel	Use identity-led messaging	Use action-led messaging
Top of Funnel (Awareness & Behavior Change)	✅ Build belonging & emotional connection ✅ Reinforce values & self-image ✅ Establish who the brand is for Example: “Be a planet-saver”	❌ Not the priority (yet)
Mid-Funnel (Consideration & Engagement)	✅ Continue identity reinforcement ✅ Create community-driven language Example: “Planet-savers love these bottles”	✅ Start introducing light action-based CTAs Example: “Discover the most sustainable bottle”
Bottom of Funnel (Conversion)	✅ Light touch to reinforce identity Example: “Shop our planet-saving bottles”	✅ Prioritize action-based messaging Example: “Buy now. Free next-day delivery.”