Hello Amsterdam!
Rory Sutherland here. At MAD//Masters, we’ve long admired your creative energy, cool canals and independent spirit.
So I thought: “why not hop on the Eurostar (you know I love trains, right?) with my friends + team up Tony’s Chocolonely (one of my favourite brands) for a masterclass on behavioural science, creativity + why you need to occasionally piss off your CFO?”
To register your interest in attending please fill in your details in the form on the right.
Space are extremely limited to our team will be in touch to confirm your spot + give you further details.
We can't wait to see everyone in Amsterdam at the end of March!
MAD//Masters Team
Our guestlist is now full, if you rsvp'd keep an eye on your inbox for your details to confirm.
To join the waiting list for any unclaimed spots please fill in your details in the form below
Here's the masterplan:
I'm bringing the inquisitive essence of my course, MAD//Masters By Rory Sutherland, to town, live in Amsterdam for one afternoon/evening only.
This is a chance for big brands and challengers to leave logic at the door.
We'll gaze into what really influences human decision making, as well as
13:45 - 14:20: Arrivals
14:20 - 14:30: Sam and Dan/Ian Introduce
14:30 - 15:30: The psychology of chocolate - Rory Sutherland meets Alex Gerrity, Global Head of Comms, Tony’s Chocolonely - Dan Brain hosting
No stranger to breaking the mold, this session will see Rory joined by Tony's Chocolonely Global Head of Comms Alex Gerrity. The conversation will explore the relationship between chocolate and psychology, focusing on the role of behavioural science, creativity and storytelling in driving growth and brand equity, and how social proof has helped to build Tony’s Chocolonely’s iconic, desirable and distinctive brand.
15:30 - 15:45: Break
15:45 - 16:45: Forget AI hype - why psychology + what doesn’t change will help you navigate disruption
In a world where everyone is obsessed with the latest twists and turns of tech, wouldn't you be better off focusing on the things that don’t change? So whilst your competitors get carried away with the latest shiny AI, Rory wants to take things back to basics. In this opening session, Rory’s job is to convince you that putting a psychological lens on your business can make sense of messy human behaviour, unlock new creative solutions and give you a competitive edge. Rory has packed this opener with his thinking, examples and career experiences.
16:45 - 17:10: Break
Rory loves to be challenged on his thinking and is more than happy to share an anecdote or opinion on your business or brand challenges over a coffee.
17:10-18:00: How 17 Global Brands Hacked The Human Mind - Richard Shotton in conversation with Rory Sutherland
Join not one but TWO legends of behavioural science for this closing session on how the world’s most iconic brands have transformed their business through psychology. Richard is author of ‘Hacking the Human Mind’ and is uniquely placed to reveal common themes, the magic that happens when you make people wait two minutes to pour a pint of Guinness, and how you too can hack the human mind.
Richard’s take is highly practical, and although the conversation will probably divert to interesting tangents, you'll discover how concepts like false scarcity, social proof and trigger moments underpinned the success of brands like Snickers, KFC + Amazon.
18:00 - 19:00: Networking Drinks & close
In partnership with
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Rory is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, an attractively vague job title which has allowed him to co-found a behavioral science practice within the agency.
Rory works with a consulting practice of psychology graduates who look for ‘unseen opportunities’ in consumer behaviour – these are the often small contextual changes which can have enormous effects on the decisions people make – for instance tripling the sales rate of a call centre by adding just a few sentences to the script. Put another way, lots of agencies will talk about “bought, owned + earned” media: we also look for “invented media” + “discovered media”: seeking out those unexpected (+ inexpensive) contextual tweaks that transform the way that people think + act.
It is a hugely valuable activity – but, alas, not particularly lucrative. This is because clients generally do not have budgets for solving problems they did not know they had.
Before founding Ogilvy Change, Rory was a copywriter + creative director at Ogilvy for over 20 years, having joined as a graduate trainee in 1988. He has variously been President of the IPA, Chair of the Judges for the Direct Jury at Cannes, + has spoken at TED Global. He writes regular columns for the Spectator, Market Leader + Impact, + also occasional pieces for Wired. He is the author of two books: The Wiki Man, available on Amazon (at prices between £1.96 + £2,345.54, depending on whether the algorithm is having a bad day), + the best-selling Alchemy: The surprising Power of Ideas which don’t make Sense, published in the UK + US in May 2019.