Even when Rory Sutherland was just 10 years old at a boys' dress school, he was considering a career in advertising. Growing up in the "golden age of television", he believed that anyone his age would not be impressed by the advertisements of the time. This is not a typical opinion of schoolchildren. But Rory is no ordinary person, which is perhaps why this low-paid character has become a marketing genius who has worked with some of the world's biggest companies, including Coca-Cola, American Express and BT.
Raised in affluent Monmouthshire, Rory currently lives in West Kent, but during a short stay in Cardiff we caught up with him speaking to the Marketing Charter Institute at the Cardiff Arms Park. Rory's outfit, dressed in bright primary colors and topped off with a gold button-up jacket, is as exciting as her conversation. His eyebrows come to life under a strand of curly gray hair, moving up and down rapidly, reflecting one of his many large-scale theories of human behavior.
Covid (on my end) pays for any face-to-face meeting, but even during the video call, Rory's enthusiasm is palpable. Even an hour in his digital company is like an episode of QI, but twice as fast and a little more political. There's almost no topic that Rory doesn't have an opinion on. His conversation seemed to meander randomly as an idea popped into his head. From sleeper trains between Haverfordwest and London in the eighties to comparing the symptoms of Covid, there is no limit. He has said "interesting" more times than I can count. Said he's just sluggish post-Covid, which somehow doesn't sound like a word that comes up in Rory's vocabulary very often.
Rory was immediately friendly and genuinely interested in what I had to say. When she heard I was in Pembrokeshire, she told me about her grandfather, a doctor in Tredegar, who had dreamed of retiring to Pembrokeshire. Unfortunately, he died before he had the chance, but not before building several houses in Little Haven and ensuring that his family spent many holidays in West Wales. "Those are great memories," Rory said happily.
He enjoyed his time in the capital - Cardiff had a "very attractive marketing group" in which he had confidence, partly due to the influence of major insurers such as Admiral. Thus began another wave of enthusiasm: "After all, what a city it is," he said happily. "Every time I go back to Cardiff it's more exciting than the last time. I feel like going back home. I noticed that, especially growing up in Monmouth, to be honest, which is the beautiful English part of Wales, you don't really know you're Welsh until you leave."
The big difference between Wales and his south-east home is that "every commercial exchange - even if you're just buying a cup of coffee - involves a social exchange," he says. "There is a kind of human warmth in every transaction which is not always found in the south of England."
Rory, 57, has spent his entire career on the London advertising agency scene, starting as a graduate of Ogilvy & Mather in 1988 after studying classics at Cambridge. "I learned more in the first three years than in my entire university life," he says. "There is a myth that education adds more to human capital than the amount of time spent in an attractive business, but I think that is no longer true."
Founded by David Ogilvy, a proud and passionate Scotsman, Ogilvy & Mather has grown to become one of the largest advertising networks in the world. The man behind the brand says: “Customers are not stupid. She's your wife" and "If you don't come up with great ideas, you'll never achieve fame and fortune."
More than three decades later, Rory is still in business, rising through the ranks to lead OgilvyChange's behavioral research department, earning blue ticks on Twitter and Ted talks along the way. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Ogilvy & Mather Group of Companies. He writes a fortnightly Spectator column, has authored three books and is known to be sought out by government advisers for his views. These are people who probably know more about us than we know about ourselves.
The boys' life in Usk was good: Rory's parents were entrepreneurs and involved in real estate development, running a steamboat on the Usk Canal and coming up with strange inventions. Rory enjoyed his school days and achieved A grades in Maths, Extra Maths, Latin and Greek. "I think if you grow up in a small business, it's like a free MBA," he said. "I think almost by osmosis you get a lot of business sense just by being involved in family life and dealing with these issues."
Rory has always had "creative tendencies". He continued: "For example, if you give me a puzzle to solve, I only care how indirect the solution is, not how practical it is. The school system encourages people to believe that there is only one correct answer to a question... , but I prefer more questions." That's why he loves detective fiction and cryptic crosswords, he adds.
Rory started working in Ogilvy's planning department in 1988, but was fired after just one year due to personal differences. He wasn't rubbish at work, strictly speaking, it was just a change of heart. But the experience helped Rory realize she wanted to be a copywriter at Ogilvy, which she did. He learned a very important lesson the first year he tested direct marketing messages. "The way people make decisions is different from the way we think," he explains. "A lot of times it has nothing to do with how we actually vote."
But in those days, the job required a constant supply of ideas—the more the merrier—on which to build long-term and costly campaigns. It was an era when TV commercials spawned copycat slogans that became part of popular culture that continues to this day. Think snap, crackle and pop; Binz Minz Heinz; Beautiful
Rory is not an accountant - in fact, he blames the economy for confusing marketing. Despite all the great commercials, the impact of television advertising during the eighties and nineties is difficult to measure. The industry motto is "I know half works - I don't know which half". But that all changed with the advent of the Internet, as the attention span expanded to a whole new screen. It provides a direct channel of communication between sellers and buyers. The unpredictability of TV targets has been replaced by a new mantra of "measurable customer engagement".
According to Rory, creative ideas are replaced by data and evidence, to the detriment of themselves. As a result, the world is filling up with economists, technocrats, analysts and spreadsheet customizers, leaving little room for magic or even emotion. "When you claim logic, you pay a hidden price: you destroy magic," he wrote in Alchemy: The Amazing Power of Ideas Without Meaning.
"We've created a model for seeing the world that's not necessarily bad, but it's widely used and trusted," he says. "Just as a map is not an environment: a tube map is a good way of representing the tube system, but it is a very poor map of London. Economics for the real world of business is a tube map for a guide to London . Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. It's confusing. When everyone's using the same card, what's not included becomes more important than what's on it."
Rory sees things differently: "My definition of marketing is simply the science of economists' mistakes," he says. "The human mind no longer uses logic as a horse uses gasoline."
There is no doubt that Rory is highly educated and highly knowledgeable, but somehow she sees things in a strange way of looking at the world. He almost always attributed it to my experiences. He has written columns about the genius of endless lunch—“There are three words in the English language more beautiful to me than 'breakfast all day'”—and about motorway service stations, all with the odd dose of humor and irreverence.
“I see comedy as a force that makes us look at things in a new way,” he admits, before moving on to other theories about human behavior: “There's some interesting research that shows that we're not trying really explain. we're trying to explain. more than an explanation. I'd like to say, "Let's dig a little deeper. Let's look at why people buy what they do and make the decisions they make, stereotypical opinions that we disagree with." an "interesting feature" during the Brexit debate, he added.
"Today we have people who are interested in politics because they see it as a way to solve problems and those who engage in politics because they like to win arguments. He began with another twist, this time on globalization, which inexplicably but somehow refers to Covid and the bias towards negativity in the national media. Rory is definitely a force of nature and almost impossible to keep up with.
Returning to her marketing career, Rory explains that before you can influence people's behavior, you need to understand why people often don't think what they feel, say what they think and don't do what they say. In contrast, Rory recognizes - and celebrates - that we are not robots and recognizes "the gap between our unconscious emotional motivations and our counter-rationalisations".
So, for example, the video call we are talking about is a prime example. "It would take an epidemic for this technology to spread," he said. "But the rational world would say, 'Do more and travel less.'" The power of the internet is something Rory has been working on for years. In the early nineties, Rory was behind BT's push to bring people into this new concept called the internet. It's almost unbelievable now, but there was a time when we had to sell it," added Rory.
"No one realizes this, but in terms of usage, the Internet has taken away many of the advantages of living in a very large city. The most attractive place to buy things is no longer a place - it's a 'channel'. Almost each topic gives rise to new theories about patterns His most valuable discovery during the period of isolation was what he calls the "chronology hack": "If you work in the morning, then rest in the afternoon and then work at night. , you make the same amount of work, but apparently you're on vacation," he said triumphantly.
As a man considered a leading authority on the psychology of human behavior but who had never studied the subject, he was completely "self-taught," he said. "Advertising led me to behavioral science," he continues. During those first months of study, he realized that "mainstream economics is an interesting theory, but in some cases it has little to do with observable reality." He said: "Ever since I realized it 15 years ago, it's been a constant source of fear, which is, 'Why do people do what they do?'
Psychology doesn't provide definitive answers, but "suggests where to look and what questions to ask," he continues. According to him, the marketer's approach is suitable for government production and advertising. His outspoken opinion even started rapping the government
"An interesting thing is that if you want to start it instead of starting it instead of starting it, I want it, I want it, I want it.
அக்கு மார்க்குக்கு "திர் பார்க்குர் குர்க்குக்குக்கள் காட்டுக்குக்குக்குக்குக்குக்குக்கி شبلب شبلب شبلب "I've always wanted to do a test where if you increase the price big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big This is what it is. KINBE KINBE KINBE KINBE KINBE KINBE KINBE KINBE KINBE KINBE KINBE, KINBE KINBE क িনবে কিনবে কিনবে কিনবে কিনবে কিনবে কিনবে স্বীকার করার বলেছিলেন যে এটি একটি একটি তাই তত্ত্ব থাকবে থাকবে। But he knows that people அக்கு குத்து விட்டு மித்தை மேத்து சியுக்குக்குக்குக்கு Or m & s take the deal, which offers three at 7. Buy the three items. Buy Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Кинчен Кинчен Кинчен,
It just so happens that Rori can answer his own question once once once once twice the scene happens by accident by accident by accident.। happens happens happens by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident by accident He said that the leading brand, which he did not reveal that sometimes someone forgets to change "you get 50% more for free, which is actually 50% more expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive expensive," he said. . . . . . . வியை வியை வியு விய்கி "When this happens, how much money do you earn சு all this indicates that we, the common consumers, do not compromise between price and utility." র্র্র্য়া কান্তাক্যান্যান্যার্যার্যান - আত্য়্য কোল্ল গোলমাল্যাল, हूচায, জিধা, fomo. .................................................................................................................................................................................... completely completely.
It's really about the "Prjapati effect" on consumer behavior - very small relevance that can have a huge impact on people. Basically, he is looking for "innovative media" and "and" open "searching": that unexpected cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap looking for people's behavior behavior behavior behavior method method... करे करे करे साज गुल्क गेले गेले, अट्य गुदे अध्य अध्या अध्या जुद्य गुद्धी, he said.
"The value of something is understood to be either or অন্য়াকান সান্তা কান্তা কানান ক্রান কান ক্যা way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way. used happened happened happened happened happened happened happened said said said said said... said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said said "Well - they've got new rolling stock and upgraded it. But actually, the line on the subway map has a name on it so it suddenly goes up. Actually, you're basically a little more or less a day on the M25 for the London public. , usage increased by more than 100% and completely reimagined London.
"A big part of the value is information creation. If you don't understand it or you don't see it, see it. You have done it. You have done it to people. It has made people understand it." ... मुम्दे मुम्दे मुम्दे मुम्दे मुम्दे this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this Marketing is thinking. அக்கை அக்கு அக்குக்கு அக்க்கு மான் மான் மான் மானுக்குக்கள்
அக்கை ஶுந்துக்குக்கு, குக்கு அட்டை நாடை. And what the industry lacks is showing the people of Wales
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