Hey 👋 The Crew here.
This Monday was the last day of summer.
We know some of you whipped out Q4 sheets and planning docs already. We will, too. But we just want to keep blasting The Last Day of Summer by The Cure for a few more days, first.
What a tune, huh?
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Reading time: 4 minutes, 47 seconds.
100 AI prompts to help you define your brand, tell your story, and optimize it across channels… fast
For most marketers, traffic and email engagement are declining, channels are multiplying, and the “proven” tactics are failing.
The old marketing playbook just doesn’t work anymore.
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HubSpot engineered the 100 prompts Loop Marketing Library to help you define your brand, personalize your messaging, expand your reach, and optimize faster.
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Traditional marketing was predictable, manual and linear. But in the AI era, growth happens in dynamic loops, not straight lines.
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Weber’s Law
Imagine that you need a laptop, and you find one within your budget at the store nearby.
You don’t buy it immediately, however. Instead, you return to the store next week to bag it for good. Unbeknownst to you, however, the price increased by $1.
What are the chances that you’d notice the $1 increase? Quite low, right?
… But you would definitely notice a $1 coffee cup increase at your favorite café.
It’s the same dollar amount, but each scenario evokes a completely different feeling.
This isn’t random. It’s the predictable human quirk that we call Weber’s Law, or the Just Noticeable Difference (JND).
Why the name? Back in the 19th century, psychologist Ernst Weber figured out the law using something that would make all “gym bros” proud—heavy weights.
At the time, he showed that JND isn’t about the absolute change in weight, but about the proportional change.
For example, you’ll notice a 1kg increase when lifting 10kg, but you’d need a 10kg increase when lifting 100kg to realize the weight is heavier.
In other words, the perception of difference depends on relative ratios, not fixed amounts. The bigger or more intense something is, the more it needs to change for us to perceive it.
Marketers can use Weber’s Law as a playbook for pricing, discounts, and even product design.
If you know the threshold, you can stay just under it. Or go way over it, depending on the context.
Let’s see how.
Three ways to leverage Weber’s Law
1) If you have to increase prices, make it unnoticeable
Small, gradual price increases don’t stir the pot.
They fall below the Just Noticeable Difference threshold and it’s a classic strategy to increase revenue without alarming customers.
Who are the masters of this? Streaming services of course.
Over the years, companies like Netflix have incrementally increased their monthly subscription fees by a dollar or two at a time:
Each increase is small relative to the total cost.
And while most users register the change, they accept it as minor. In other words, they barely notice it, which helps Netflix grow its revenue steadily.
2) Make your discounts significant
Let’s flip the switch.
Sometimes, you want to avoid Weber’s Law. For example, when discounting.
A 5% discount on a $10 shirt is pocket change. It won’t create urgency and your customers won’t even notice it.
A “Buy One, Get One Free” (BOGO) offer, however, is impossible to ignore. It represents a 50% discount per item and feels like a substantial win for the customer.
This creates a strong incentive to purchase immediately. The perceived value is high, triggering a sense of urgency and driving sales far more effectively than a minor price reduction.
3) Use it when changing products
If you’re changing your product, there are two approaches you can take.
If you improve a product, make sure the change is noticeable. New packaging should be bold. New features should feel distinct. New benefits should be obvious.
RXBAR’s design change from 2016 is one famous example:
The product shifted from a confusing, cluttered package to a minimalistic design that clearly shows ingredients and benefits of the product. The protein bar became instantly recognizable.
On the opposite side, if you want to avoid backlash, you should rely on changes staying below the threshold.
For example, brands reduce product size a little bit and keep the same price, hoping you won’t notice. We call it “shrinkflation.” But you have to be careful with this.
Toblerone famously tried this by increasing the gaps between its chocolate peaks, reducing the weight. Consumers noticed, and the fallout was significant.
The outcome? Toblerone reversed its decision, luckily for us.
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TIKTOK: The big saga is close to conclusion—TikTok stays in the US. A new joint venture of mostly US investors, and Oracle—which is stepping in to play a role in securing the app for all of its American users. The key point? All US data will be secured on US-based servers.
E-COMMERCE: Turns out consumers aren’t all on the same page. While 28% of consumers need to see your creator promos 3–4 times before buying, a much larger group says their interest in the ad is more important than frequency. Time to test several promotions?
ADVERTISING: Looks like streaming’s hot streak is over… for now. Nielsen’s August data shows viewership declined after 6 months of growth, while linear TV clawed back some ground. What a comeback. A good reminder to balance your media mix, because habits do change. Who knew?
AI MARKETING: Americans want labels. A new Pew survey revealed there’s a confidence gap when it comes to AI—76% want full disclosure, and only 12% think they can tell the difference. So being upfront about your AI use could be a massive trust-builder. Have you tried testing it?
*This is a sponsored post.
ICYMI, last time we looked at the Golem Effect.
The “Just Barely Noticeable” Crew
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