There’s a guy who sells the Big Issue on our street corner. Sometimes I buy it, sometimes I don’t. What interests me is a consumer behaviour question about myself. Why is it that I buy the Big Issue on some occasions and not others?

The vendor’s product is always right; I like it and it’s consistent in its quality. His targeting is good; he’s always in the right place. He has a good position; he’s right where I expect to see him. He’s delivers his message at the right frequency; two or three times a week. He even secures engagement with a smile that reflects that fact that I’m one of his regular customers.

And yet sometimes I don’t buy, even worse, I consciously avoid exchanging glances, preferring to stare at the pavement or my Blackberry. So what is it that makes me either buy or not buy? I see two reasons: The first is what I’m doing and the second is my mood. If I’m rushed I simply don’t have time to stop and respond; mentally I’m in the next place. The problem for him is that he can’t anticipate what I’m doing and how rushed I’m going to be. Time is a precious commodity. Perhaps if he said ‘take it now and pay later’ he might get more sales. If I’m in the wrong mood I won’t respond, even if perhaps on some level I might want to. It’s unlikely that he’ll alter that mood no matter what he does. If he smiles at me and I’m in a grump that only makes a connection even less likely. But if, instead of smiling, he empathised with me and said “What a shit day!” I might consider making a purchase because he’s tuned into something that’s stopped me purchasing; my mood.

I recently worked on a financial services pitch. Tricky stuff at the moment. Consumers are jittery and avoiding big commitments. They’re nervous that the institutions they’ve trusted for years can collapse like a house of cards. As a result, product claims are a falling currency when it comes to differentiation. Under these circumstances it may be interesting to test creative work that reflects the mood of the target audience rather than the attributes of the company, brand or the product. That’s an approach that is rarely used in financial services; they much prefer talking about savings rates, investment performance or service. But empathy with a collective mood of confusion and fear may be an interesting route for a financial services institution wanting to engage in these unstable times.