Sutherland: Engineers dislike marketing because consumers prioritize human design over technical metrics
Rory Sutherland · How to Think Like a World-Class Marketer | Rory Sutherland · Dec 9, 2025 · at 1:52:21
Advertising executive Rory Sutherland discusses why superior technical engineering frequently loses in the market to emotionally appealing, human-centric design choices.
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“And so their failure to understand the wider context within which they were operating, which is the job of marketing, Is exactly the reason nerds hate marketing, because they think in a perfect world, nerd metrics win out. But the consumer is much more bothered by the fact that when you get to the bottom of the iPhone scroll, it gives a little bounce.”
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