Cambridgeshire Consumer Analytics – journal

Case Study: When Rumours Hurt Sales—And Logic Couldn’t Help

The Challenge

Following a local sewage spill, a wave of humour-driven rumours linked a business’s chocolate products to the incident. Though clearly untrue, the association quickly caught on—and sales dropped sharply.

The business responded with in-store denials and official statements, but none of it helped. In fact, the more they tried to explain, the worse things seemed to get.

At C.C.A., we identified the root issue: the problem wasn’t about facts. It was about associations—mental connections people had formed between chocolate and sewage. Even mentioning the rumour was enough to reinforce it.

The Insight

Traditional messaging focused on reason. However, consumer decisions are often guided by memory and emotion. Once customers had linked chocolate (its colour, form, and idea) with something unpleasant, those links were hard to break, especially through logic alone.

Every denial only made the unwanted connection stronger.

The Solution

Instead of fighting the rumour head-on, we redirected attention. Our behavioural approach focused on:

Highlighting positive associations, like friendly service, product quality, and a wide range of beverages.

Crafting emotionally engaging messages that build stronger, more appealing links in customers’ minds.

Increasing avoidance motivation. Making people less likely to accept the negative rumour in the first place.

Over time, these more positive mental associations replaced the damaging ones. The rumour faded, and sales rebounded.

The Takeaway

When logic fails, memory and emotion matter more. At C.C.A., we use behavioural science to solve real-world problems like these quickly and effectively.