By John – The SCA Intake of 2017/18

What did you learn from Rory Sutherland’s talk?

 

Poppy: We detect agency in everything (and everyone) and take random behaviour as an indication of true motivations. This explains why we kick vending machines and judge people too quickly.

 

Meg: Argos would be super cool if it was rebranded as a zen, Japanese experience

 

Susie: Always ask the dumb questions.

 

Henry: Somewhere between what logic tells you, and consumers tell you, is the truth

 

Helena: That humans habits can be anything but logical.

 

Martin: There is what logic tells you. There is what the consumer wants. And there is the truth.

 

Darius: Decisions are mostly made to minimise catastrophe. Goalkeepers and penalty-takers

 

never shoot down the middle for fear of embarrassment, so to win, you must make effort look effortless and hope your opponent has a murky internet history.

 

Zoe: Sky scanner is NOT the way to book a cheap realistic flight.

Petra: Go for the real answers, not the logical.

 

Philly: ask the questions a child would ask.

 

James: Maybe they don’t want what they are telling you they want.

 

Steve: “There is no sensible distinction to be made in a restaurant between the value created by the man who cooks the food and the value created by the man who sweeps the floor”

Ludwig Von Mises

 

We are in the business of adding value. The way something is presented to people is important. “Your car drives better when it’s been washed”.

 

Helena: dogs don’t like your tv

 

Holly: The human brain doesn’t like uncertainty

 

Twyla: People don’t understand their own behavior.

 

Jono: Flowers are weeds with an advertising budget.

 

Christian: You get a higher response rate if you give people multiple choices to answer. Apparently

 

Rachel: Persuasion is all about time and place. Design the right environment to get things done.

 

Becky: Why do people hate to stand on trains?

 

Phil: as humans we instinctively default to conformity.

 

Ben: 95% is the most convincing percentage of them all. Genuinely. Say something you want to get someone to believe and then say it was successful against this percentage and you are enthralled.

 

Holly: The nectar has to match the petal.

 

Jem: The first “why” is just acceptable. After the fifth “why” you’ll start to find a place where you can be creative. Also not to be afraid of asking seemingly dumb questions, we are one of the only industries who get a free pass to do it.

 

Adeline: It’s a human thing to panic when your travel pass f*cks you over at the gate. Just remember, no one’s actually watching.

 

Joe:  A book is meant to be a collection of game-changing ideas, not just adverts.

 

Nick: The word twat is hilarious.