Rory Sutherland on BE - part 2

Listening to Rory Sutherland’s comical and pithy oratory, it is easy to find yourself nodding along in a happy, unquestioning manner. It reminded us of belief bias, where a conclusion seems so plausible that the logical basis of the argument isn’t fully analysed!

That said, there were some lovely nuggets in Rory’s talk last week – and although we can't do him justice here, we’re delighted to share a few notes:

A double-standard. In a Midwestern office block, the slow lifts were causing frustration. A complex engineering solution would improve the speed of the lifts – but the cost would be significant. One bright spark came up with an alternative: putting big mirrors on each floor. This induced grooming and mild voyeurism, and consequently people didn’t mind waiting for the lifts anymore. A fantastic, counterintuitive solution. But it points to a double-standard. Why is creativity policed by logic, but not the other way around? Creativity is judged by the standards and metrics of accountants. Yet engineers implementing a costly technical solution don’t get penalised from not coming up with a creative, cheaper alternative! Why is no-one is fired for being unimaginative?

Time. The lift example also points to the subjective nature of time. Time is not fixed but experienced according to our context, emotional state and so on. Psychology provides us a different way of viewing problems – and so leads to some simple and economical solutions. Why spend a load of money improving the speed of trains in the UK? Just give people Angry Birds and time loses all meaning! What’s an extra few minutes with comfy seats and free wifi?!

Language. Talking about marketing is a bit like talking about astrology. You’re fine doing it with a fellow believer. But talking to finance guys about brand iconography is like going to a physician and talking about crystal healing. With BE, we can challenge existing financial models, while speaking in a language that comes much more naturally to the finance guys. BE provides a cogent model and language.

Rory Sutherland on BE

We're excited to be hearing from Rory Sutherland again this week. Rory is Vice Chairman of the Ogilvy Group and a long-time advocate of behavioural economics (BE).

 

In past years, Rory has given some classic speeches on the topic - with his words ringing out from the heartland of UK advertising. Championing BE also characterised his Presidency of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (the IPA) in 2009.

 

He once stated:

“The great issue in our industry over the last 15 years is that, while there has been an explosion in the technologies and media available to marketers, our models and metrics describing human behaviour and decision-making have often been left stuck in the 70s. The emergence of behavioural economics changes that and at last provides the marketing industry with a framework fit for purpose for the next century”

 

Now that perspective resonates strongly with us - not least with respect to B2B Marketing.

For those of you who haven't seen Rory's TED Talk, 'Sweat the small stuff', we highly recommend it!

 

 

 

The language of sustainability

Recent contact with organisations like ThinkFutureNow and Bristol Green Capital has certainly helped to crystallise PrimeDecision’s commitment to sustainability. But although our intention to run a green business feels strong and genuine, we are conscious of how vulnerable we all are to contextual influence. Surrounded by sustainability professionals at an event like Communicate, it is easy to be swept along by others’ commitment and enthusiasm. But in everyday life, sometimes the smallest things can deter or drive sustainable behaviour. To create meaningful change, we need to use these factors to our advantage – and be honest about how fallible we humans are.


We found a lovely example of how language can impact green behaviour when visiting Schumacher College. Naturally they place a lot of emphasis on recycling – and have a range of bins for cardboard, cartons, glass, aluminium, compost etc. Now although few people would disagree overtly with the idea of recycling, in the midst of a busy day it can often seem easier to use the general rubbish bin instead. Throwing rubbish into a bin is such a familiar and automatic action. Yet instead of calling it ‘general waste’ or ‘the bin’, Schumacher bluntly labels their bins: ‘Landfill’. Through simple reframing, it disrupts that familiar action and makes the environmental impact so much more apparent. It seemed to us a fantastic antidote for everyday laziness.

We don’t currently have evidence quantifying the impact of this particular change, or the means to encourage the spread of this practice. But it is important that we, and other organisations, take the time to do so. For although seemingly minor, these little cues can have a huge impact on our ability to adopt the sustainable behaviours that we wish for.