Book Review: Alchemy by Rory Sutherland
How can you generate demand, manufacture urgency, and target your ideal prospect without using a single email, collateral piece, or sales enablement tool? One word - Magic.
You can go about using it in any of the following ways, according to the experiential marketing expert and author…
Rory’s Rules of Alchemy
The opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea.
Don’t design for average.
It doesn’t pay to be logical if everyone else is being logical.
The nature of our attention affects the nature of our experience.
A flower is simply a weed with an advertising budget.
The problem with logic is that it kills off magic.
A good guess which can stand up to observation is still science. So is a lucky accident.
Test counterintuitive things only because no one else will.
Solving problems using rationality is like playing golf with only one club.
Dare to be trivial.
If there were a logical answer, we would have found it.
If you haven’t yet picked up a copy of Alchemy: The Dark Art And Curious Science Of Creating Magic In Brands, Business And Life, we’ve got you covered. Tucked inside its seemingly everyday pages is unparalleled insight from the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, Rory Sutherland, who shares a new take on psycho-logical behaviors, bad maths, royal potatoes, and why you should always scent the soap.
The stories that the team at ADage felt most resonated with the industries we are disrupting today, were varied and nuanced.
Leaving room for magic
Know why prospects brush their teeth
The branding of the lionfish
Why patio chairs are significant
The confusing value of peacocks
The physics of the Parthenon
What makes biscuits tasty