Epi #41 ~ The Perceptual Paradox: A Rory Sutherland Masterclass
My Mad Masters course, led by the seminal Rory Sutherland kicked off yesterday. Unsurprisingly, with a bloody bang.
Day 1 has fired me up with inspiration to revisit one of my favourite topics:
The difference between human perception, objective reality and how behavioural science provides marketers an unfair advantage.
The Core Truth
Perception, or human truth, reigns supreme. Brand truth is a distance second.
We punters don't boogie to the rhythm of cold, hard facts - we "step to the beat of our own drum" — an exert from a Henry David Thoreau quote, which as it happens, I have tattooed on my right shoulder.
This delicious divide between perception and reality, I believe, is where us marketers earn our pay cheques. This, is our creative playground.
The Power of Context, a la Google Maps
The devilish details of context, Sutherland regales us with his personal tale of first using sat nav's. Realising that doing 90 m/ph down a highway, vs the legal 65 makes such a small difference to arrival times, that stopping for a toilet break would have greater impact on arrival time.
Whereas for some others, it encourages them to speed and 'beat the time'.
Same data, wildly divergent vibes contingent on the driver's unique context. The setting, the mood, even the blasted weather can completely reframe how a message lands. Context is king in our realm.
RedBull is "Pretty Rank"
RedBull was originally panned for tasting "pretty rank"... by the preeminent drink speciality market researchers. We all known the story... They're so minted, they have an F1 team for lols.
Starbucks Changing Market Norms
Starbucks indoctrinating us into Venti-sized coffee rituals and convincing us, 20-years ago, to pay $4.50 for a .80c coffee. It's the art of shattering norms to get the market jiving to uncharted grooves.
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Patterns, Not Rigid Rules
Patterns, not rigid rules as the MadMaster himself preaches, human psychology isn't about stringent laws but recognisable patterns that harmonise with our intuitions. We needn't slash prices to broadcast "value" or peel out at every light to convey "efficiency". It's about choreographing perceptions that simply feel...right.
And this is exactly where behavioural science, combined with "creative destruction" is relevant. Because there are no rules. Only patterns, trends and insights. And BeSci provides an insanely rigorous framework to understand these patterns.
The Sutherland Marketing Toolkit to truly master this realm of perceptual sorcery, you'll need:
On the grand stage where every ad, social post and product is a scene, grasping the intricate BeSci tango between perception and reality is paramount. We're not merely following the audience's lead, we're dictating the choreography - making each step from awareness to purchase feel like a seamless theatrical production.
So forget just seeing the market for its current state. With BeSci as your lens, you can envision its wildest possibilities - spotting opportunities to bewitch the mundane and metamorphose the ordinary into the extraordinary.
As Sutherland would surely rally, how might you suffuse your brand's essence with spellbinding behavioural science to transcend just being seen...to being fanatically, wholeheartedly believed?
About the Author | Nicholas R. Mason
As a dyed-in-the-wool BeSci devotee and marketing strategist, I'm always game for a proper chin-wag, full-on geekout sesh, or just a cheeky coffee to furiously unpack all these delicious mind-bending concepts.
Whether you're looking to decrypt the cyphers of consumer behaviour, masterfully choreograph perceivable realities, or simply indulge in some transcendent dabbling of "creative destruction" - my door is wide open. Ever eager to collectively dream up disruptive experiences—that'll have the marketplace doing the Macarena.
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