Hidden in Plain Sight: Consumer Responses to Pseudo-Secrets in Marketing
(A2025-126248)

AUTHORS

Dafna Goor, London Business School; Anat Keinan, Boston University; Nir Halevy, Stanford Graduate School of Business; Michael Norton, Harvard Business School

ABSTRACT

This research conceptualizes the phenomenon of “pseudo-secrets” in marketing and examines its appeal and impact on real consumer behavior in the marketplace. Restaurants ranging from Michelin-starred to fast-food chains offer secret menus, and hidden stores and “speakeasy” bars feature camouflaged entrances and secret passcodes. Paradoxically, many of these hidden places and products are famous for being secret. We argue that beyond their economic or informational value, pseudo-secrets hold symbolic value, making consumers feel socially central. Our findings show that pseudo-secrets increase word-of-mouth about the brand, mediated by consumers’ sense of social centrality–the feeling of being connected and focal within their network–and this effect diminishes when the symbolic value is low. In four field experiments and lab experiments, we demonstrate how marketers can design pseudo-secrets across various products and contexts.