Rory Sutherland

To use a phrase popularised in a famous FT article: great brands are often built obliquely. They are generally a by-product of something (ideals, vision, focus) and not a product of anything.

When you are accustomed to living life at an online pace, you live in a world where every action results in an immediate response. Click on the link and, after just a few seconds, up comes the page. Hence when you order a coffee and 10 minutes later it hasn’t arrived, your first response is no longer. “Gosh, they must be quite busy!” No, your auton

And if you have ever wondered why people show such affection for public sector brands (such as the BBC, the Post Office, the NHS) even when their levels of service are, um, questionable, there’s your answer — for all their failings, they are untainted by perceptions of greed.

As one creative (Chris Wilkins?) remarked to a planner:“You and I both drink from the same well of inspiration. The difference is that you get to piss in it first.”

Remember that when you fail to be cool you alienate everyone — the cool people who hate you for failing and the uncool people who hate you for even trying.

To put a value on the digital world by only tallying the money that changes hands is a little like trying to place a value on sex by simply measuring the amount spent on prostitution.

burdens imposed on workers by the owners of land. Magie

If you want a long-lived brand, avoid strategy altogether — instead have an Ideal (like Nike, Apple) or an executional device (Andrex, The Economist). Anything with a strategy is doomed never to outlive your client. Discuss.

Regret is a huge emotion, and people will pay huge sums to avoid it. You just need to watch Deal or No Deal to see this.