Hey 👋 The Crew here.
It appears that this year’s Super Bowl was the most-viewed Super Bowl and US telecast of all time—with 127.7M people tuning in. Whoa.
Some 30-second ad slots were sold for a record $8M, too.
Also, Rolling Stone made their list of best and worst Super Bowl ads this year. You might want to take a look. A little warm-up before we jump into more marketing…
Reading time: 4 minutes, 24 seconds
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Progressive disclosure effect
If you’re a gamer, you probably know that “end game” feeling where you’ve unlocked all the special abilities, perks, features—and you’re ready for the final showdown.
Handling the abundance of options is easy for you. You’ve played the game from the start, from the first tutorial to all the stuff you’re able to do at the final stage.
But if you took the controller for the first time during the “end game,” you’d be completely lost.
This is the Progressive disclosure effect. It’s the design principle that enhances user experience by revealing information gradually rather than all at once.
This approach reduces cognitive overload and allows you to focus on the most relevant detail at every stage of the process.
Science backs this up. In 1984, a pair of researchers analyzed a training wheel model, where users were limited to only a few features, and compared it to unlimited access to all features.
As you probably guessed, they found that a training wheel model reduced time on task and increased knowledge and satisfaction.
When users got access to all the features, their time on task decreased by 50%.
TheProgressive disclosure effect is present everywhere. For instance:
- If you’re learning a new sport you start with the basics, like how to hold a tennis racket.
- Stories start with a main focus, then introduce complex plots and characters gradually.
… And you can probably now think of a few other examples.
But now, let’s focus on the marketing applications.
Three ways to leverage Progressive disclosure effect
1) Use the “training wheel” method to introduce features
One of the biggest mistakes marketers and product owners make? They overwhelm users with features.
Instead, you should guide users through your product step-by-step until they are ready to take the training wheels off. Just like learning how to ride a bike!
Onboarding flows that act like product tours do this well. Notion, an app notorious for its “sandbox” experience and truckload of features, draws users in with a simple start:
Once you understand the basics, you can gradually move on to more complex stuff, like creating tasks, workflows, channels, adding team members, and more.
Tutorial videos, how-to videos, or even ads can also showcase features progressively, which can keep users engaged without making them dizzy from all that’s happening.
2) Always provide—or request—information in small doses
Do you know why Typeform and similar form-building tools record high completion rates?
Because their forms are step-by-step.
Instead of starting with countless questions at once, these forms take you through every question individually in a smooth, conversational flow.
This reduces friction, keeps users engaged, and prevents drop-offs.
Or think of how platforms like LinkedIn have “profile completion nudges.”
Instead of asking you to fill out your entire profile at once, LinkedIn prompts you step by step. First, it asks you for your job title, then suggests you to add a profile picture, and so on…
This gradual approach to data collection makes the process feel manageable and even safer.
3) Gradually reveal stuff on your landing page
You don’t want potential buyers to have an anxiety attack when they land on your page.
If you make it overwhelming from the start—they probably will.
So whether you’re selling a shaver or a sophisticated SaaS, make sure you hook your audience with a clear, compelling headline, an image—and a single call to action.
Then, as they scroll or interact, introduce more details like features, testimonials, or pricing. But only when they’re ready to engage.
This reduces cognitive load, allows users to process it all, and also keeps the page clean.
Let’s look at Border Buddy’s landing page for example:
Do we have to tell you what it is about?
It has a simple copy, a simple CTA for starters. And then as you scroll further, you’ll gradually reveal more features, more about the company, as well as customer testimonials. Pretty good.
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ADVERTISING: Do users trust ads at all? Well, you can guess. But you can also look at this report that looks at some key recent data about ad skepticism—and what you can do to fix it. Worth a read.
MARKETING: You don’t have to pay for a Super Bowl ad to see some gains. At least that’s the case with Perplexity—whose post on X shot the app downloads up by 50% during the game, and made the app jump 208 places in the US App Store. Interesting.
YOUTUBE: Television is so back. YouTube CEO says that TV overtook mobile as the platform’s primary viewing device, racking 1B hours of watch time every day. So if you’re advertising on YouTube, don’t forget that your ads might be seen on a larger screen as well. Among other stuff.
OPENAI: The deep research is expanding access to lower-tier plans soon. Free users will be getting two uses a month, and ChatGPT Plus users will get 10. There’s no date for this expansion yet, though. But we’ll keep you posted.
*This is a sponsored post
ICYMI, last time we looked at the Illusion of Control.
The “Starting in small doses” Crew
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