Rory Sutherland at Awin Global ThinkTank: A mind-bending closing keynote on psychology, perception, and peculiar bees

If you’ve ever wondered what behavioural economics, honeybees, petrol stations, warm cookies, and Winston Churchill have in common, Rory Sutherland just connected the dots in a keynote that defied logic – and then explained why defying logic might just be the secret to business success.

Awin Global ThinkTank 2025 wrapped with a suitably explosive finale, courtesy of the inimitable Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK. Sutherland is a natural storyteller on stage, engaging the audience with real business examples and anecdotes of behavioral economics and consumer psychology at play.

Data is not your friend (if you use it like everyone else)

Sutherland kicked off by questioning our devotion to data. Yes, it helps you benchmark. But when everyone is optimising the same metrics in the same way, we all become disturbingly alike. “The most innovative businesses,” he noted, “are those who’ve escaped the comparison trap.” You can’t stand out if you’re just trying to blend in more efficiently than the next guy.

Cue the bees

He recounted how 20% of bees ignore the waggle dance (their version of Google Maps) and buzz off at random. Inefficient? Hardly. These rebel bees are vital for discovering new pollen sources. Without them, hives get stuck in local maxima – overfed on yesterday’s flowers and starving tomorrow.

Takeaway? You need a little madness in the method. Randomness isn’t inefficiency – it’s optionality. Every organisation needs its metaphorical rogue bee.

Small psychological shifts = massive business gains

Forget moonshots. Sutherland prefers “moonhops” – small psychological changes that yield massive results. He cited the now-legendary $300 million UX win where an online retailer simply let people checkout as guests. Boom. Millions earned. Why? Because friction, no matter how minor, is the silent killer of conversions.

In that spirit, he lauded DoubleTree’s free cookies. A trivial cost, yet deeply memorable because they’re unexpected. No one waxes nostalgic about a £1,000 minibar but everyone remembers that gooey chocolate chip welcome.

Reverse benchmarking: be weird where others are boring

Instead of copying the market leader, ask what everyone’s overlooking and go hard in that direction. Fancy hotels offer standard perks like robes and minibars – so stand out with something unexpected, like the “departure lounge” one major brand introduced: a space where checked-out guests can sip espresso, catch up on emails, and unwind before heading to the airport. “Surprise is ten times more powerful than expectation,” Sutherland said, channelling his inner retail Yoda.

This philosophy turned the once-ignored London Overground into a Tube line in disguise. Same trains, same tracks – but with better signage and a lick of orange paint, Londoners suddenly noticed it existed. Ridership soared. Infrastructure rebranded, not rebuilt.

Framing is everything

Marketers don’t need to change the world – just how people see it. He gave the glorious example of Ronald Reagan, whose age threatened his re-election until he turned the concern into comedy: “I won’t exploit my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” One line reframed an entire campaign.

Even more magical? The Italian restaurant that couldn’t get anyone to sit in the basement until they rebranded it as “The Capri Lounge” and pretended it was always fully booked. Voilà – suddenly it was the most in-demand spot in town.

Embrace the illogical

The closing argument? We need fewer management consultants and more magicians. Logic scales incrementally. Psychology leaps exponentially. “Marketing,” Sutherland declared, “is the science of knowing what economics is wrong about.” Amen.

It was equal parts sermon and stand-up – slightly eccentric yet scientific, unapologetically human, and the perfect palate cleanser after a data-heavy event. As Rory closed to thunderous applause, one truth echoed louder than any KPI:

In a world obsessed with doing things right, sometimes the greatest advantage is doing the right thing weirdly.

Now, who’s up for installing a cookie oven in reception?

More from Awin Global ThinkTank 2025:

Dr Karen Nelson-Field: Marketers need to stop counting eyeballs and start earning them

Scott Galloway at Awin Global ThinkTank 2025: Vulgar, vital, and very much on point

Lily Ray at Awin Global ThinkTank: SEO is dead, long live SEO