Caroline Orange-Northey with Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samb discuss the Fear of Better Options
Caroline Orange-Northey, ex-Managing Director of Pinterest UK & Ireland, joins Rory and Elfried to talk about why marketing has been optimising for the wrong things, and why the best thing you can find online is a reason to go offline.She covers clicks versus decisions, why slow, considered platforms get undervalued, and what a maths degree brings to media.Caroline traces her route into the industry. She studied maths, wrote a thesis on Fermat’s Last Theorem, and fell into Talksport radio. She then spent seven years at News International before moving to the FT, Amazon and Pinterest. Her dad was a private investigator, which she says explains her nosiness.What we coverDesigning the exit: Caroline argues that brands want people to do something in the real world, yet the industry optimises for what’s easiest to capture online. Her point: “attention is fragmented, intention is usually whole.”Slow scrolling and considered purchases: Rory notes that scroll speed on Pinterest is about three times slower than elsewhere. Caroline explains why that matters for returns, not just sales. Ten tops bought on impulse and nine sent back isn’t the same as two bought and kept.FOBO: The fear of better options, and why around 70% of carts are abandoned. Caroline and Rory discuss how confidence in a decision drives action, and why a distinctive USP helped people feel sure.Pinterest Predicts: The annual trends report, with about 88% accuracy over six years. Caroline says trends on Pinterest last twice as long as elsewhere, and Rory explains why through the Lindy effect.Gen Z and the analogue turn: Pen pals, direct mail, vinyl and nostalgia for things they never lived through. Elfried and Caroline discuss why a generation raised on AI and feeds is reaching for the physical.AI raises the average but dilutes the premium: Why distinctiveness is back at a premium, why the CMO may be returning to the boardroom, and why Caroline wants AI to be an “and” conversation rather than an “instead of” one.Taste, choice and the toaster problem: Pinterest’s taste graph, and the line between personalisation and creepiness. Rory brings in Paul Eastwick’s Bonded by Evolution on first impressions in dating, and an experiment for Boots that made a catalogue “less irrelevant” for men.Life moments: Richard Shotton’s work on how major life events change brand choices, from broadband providers to bank accounts.Time well spent versus time spent: Why Pinterest doesn’t see itself as social media, plus the case for play, joy and manifesting your future self.Why you should never buy anything in an airport: Rory and Caroline disagree, with side trips into oven chips, EV range anxiety and Qantas’s non-stop Perth flight.
