The Social Media Marketing Blog: On Perception

Advertising man Rory Sutherland raises some great points worth pondering in this TED Talk from October 2009. He notes that most problems are problems of perception. How many problems in life can be solved by tinkering with perception rather than the hard work of trying to change reality?

From the Eurostar train to placebos, the origin of the potato as a staple of our diet to iron jewelry, denim, breakfast cereal, Coca-Cola and even social networking, Sutherland takes a different look at how problems have been solved or brands have been built based on embracing perception as the central element to be improved. He even offers an adman's humorous definition of savings ("Consumerism needlessly postponed."). But through it all, he makes insightful commentary on the value we create and where it might be most effective.

Spend 16 minutes to watch this very informative and entertaining video - I guarantee it'll be worth your time. I'll give you a full refund if you don't agree. ;-)

Main points / takeaways:

All value is subjective
Persuasion is better than compulsion
Create intangible value to replace material value - particularly when we can place a far higher value on things that already exist rather than creating new things
Change the interface to change the behavior

"We are perishing for want of wonder, not want of wonders" -- G.K. Chesterton

If you're not familiar with TED Talks, I suggest paying a visit to the site. There are scores of these short lectures available from the TED Global conferences as well as many of the regional TEDx conferences around the world. It's a treasure trove of great information and, as TED says, "Ideas worth spreading."

Related reading:
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein

Follow @rorysutherland on Twitter

Labels: Advertising, innovation, TED, Video

About Scott

For hi-res, click here

He as been called "an unstoppable force of nature," "the best corporate social media lead on the planet," and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary." But perhaps the best way to describe Scott is "Renaissance Man." Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career has spanned a wide variety of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, in over a dozen books, and on a variety of broadcast media from podcasts to NPR to national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of C.C. Chapman and a PDF version of Scott's bio here.

Books in which Scott's work is featured:
Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements
Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead
MicroMarketing: Get Big Results by Thinking and Acting Small
Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell and Live
Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business
The New Rules of Marketing & PR
Twitterville
Six Pixels of Separation
Monkeys with Typewriters
Read This First
World Wide Rave
Get Seen

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the Advisory board of SavvyAuntie
Scott is on the Advisory board of Business Smart Tools
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards
Scott is on the Advisory board of The Hive Awards
Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators
This blog's content is also syndicated on Social Media Today
Plaid occasionally does web work for me and designed this site
No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Scott Monty Bio

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please click here to submit a speaking request. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Some previous engagements include:

BlogWell - How Big Companies Use Social Media - Minneapolis - August 13

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views.