NUDGESTOCK 2025 TALKS

Power is key to be influential in any organisation. We'll explore power in all its forms so you, your team and your organisation can unlock your power in the world.

Check out the agenda below. Agenda subject to change.

Registration opens

Enjoy music from a live band with a morning coffee to welcome to you to Nudgestock 2025

Powering up

The world's biggest festival of Behavioural Science and creativity begins!

Rory Sutherland

Soft Power in a Hard World

The world is becoming at best a much bossier place, and at worst the site of major oppression and coercion. Rory's opening talk will explore how in such a world, the understanding and intelligent exercise of 'soft power' and influence are becoming more important than ever before.

Professor Katie Slocombe

From Primates to Presidents: We're all just power-seeking monkeys, and what that means for business today

Professor Katie Slocombe will reveal how chimpanzees navigate complex power dynamics, form alliances, and compete for status within their troop. Prepare to gain a fascinating glimpse into the primate roots of leadership, influence, and social manipulation, offering valuable insights into human behaviour in organisations and beyond.

Dr Martha Newson

The Power of "Us"

Join Dr. Martha Newson, cognitive anthropologist and expert in why crowds go wild, as she explores how shared experiences, rituals, and a sense of collective identity shape our behaviour; and just what it is that makes Glastonbury sell out (spoiler: it isn’t the music). Packed full of evolutionary insights for building stronger communities and loyalties, for anyone looking to create a sense of belonging.

Break

At the brewery: Enjoy the interactive picnic tables from Ogilvy Consulting and our Nudgestock 2025 partners, showcasing the best of Behavioural Science and creativity. On the livestream: Stay on to watch a short film from one of our partners.

Daniel Hulme

The Power of Consciousness: AI and the future of the knowledge worker

Is AI truly poised to replace knowledge workers, or are we missing a crucial piece of the puzzle? Join AI Consciousness expert Daniel Hulme as he deconstructs the hype around AI, challenges our assumptions about its capabilities, and explores the very nature of consciousness. Revealing how understanding the power of human intelligence is the key to harnessing AI's potential – and preventing it from controlling us.

Roger L Martin

Power and Paralysis: Why Hierarchies Hate Innovation

Roger L. Martin, the renowned CEO Whisperer, strategic thinker, and former Dean of the Rotman School of Management, is coming to Nudgestock to dissect a critical paradox: why organisations, despite needing innovation to survive, often actively stifle it.

Lunch

At the brewery: Power up with food from London's hottest restaurants, while networking with professionals and practitioners alike. On the livestream: Stay on to see a short film from one of our partners.

Dan Davies

Power Plays: How organisations fall prey to unintended consequences

Management systems economist Dan Davies, expert in bad business decision making, looks at how big organisations inadvertently create outcomes which no one involved intended. Prepare to gain invaluable insights into how to identify and mitigate these pitfalls, empowering you to foster more rational, effective, and ultimately successful decision-making within your organisation.

Aude Gandon

Has Marketing Lost Its Power?

Is marketing losing its grip in a world saturated with information and shrinking budgets? Join us for a dynamic panel discussion featuring Nestlé's Global CMO Aude Gandon and Ogilvy's Global CEO Dev Bulchandani, moderated by Ogilvy's Global Chief Transformation Officer Antonis Kocheilas. Discover how Marketing can get back in the boardroom, transform from a cost centre to an engine for growth, and reclaim its influence with authenticity in today's rapidly changing landscape.

Break

Maz Farrelly

How to get people to do exactly what you want, and make them want to do it

On live telly, decisions need to be made on the spot. Learn from Maz' years of experience producing everything from Big Brother to the US Apprentice (yes, with... him) and get ready to unlock the secrets of instant behaviour change. This interactive session will give you practical tools to influence behaviour in real-time, leaving you with a brain-bending understanding of how to not only get people to do exactly what you want, but enjoy doing it.

Takwa Khelifi & Benoit de Fleurian

Gain BeSci Secret Powers: Changing a Nation's Food Behaviour

Takwa and Benoit reveal the secrets of how they applied Behavioural Science to the United Nations World Food Programme, creating their first ever behaviour change TV programme, specifically designed to promote healthier habits and reduce food waste.

Professor Charles Spence

Sensehacking: Revealing the power of the senses

Professor Spence will demonstrate how subtly manipulating sensory cues – from sound and smell to touch and taste – can profoundly influence consumer behaviour and brand perception. Prepare to unlock a new dimension of marketing and design, learning how to ethically engineer multisensory experiences that captivate audiences and drive measurable results.

David Fanner & Steve Keller

Gain BeSci Secret Power: Sprite Spicy Sonic Seasoning

Warning: this talk may contain traces of sensory innovation. Discover how Sprite dethroned milk and outsmarted the senses to become the world’s best antidote to spiciness. You will hear from The Coca-Cola Company and the behavioural scientists behind the work, and you will feel an insatiable desire to drink Sprite.

Michael Gove

Inside the Corridors of Power: the psychology of influence from the newsroom to No.10

This Nudgestock fireside chat offers a rare glimpse inside the corridors of power with Lord Gove, a figure uniquely positioned to dissect the forces at play inside 10 Downing Street. As the current editor of The Spectator and a former UK Government cabinet minister who navigated some of the most challenging roles in government, Lord Gove brings unparalleled insight into how persuasion, bias, and strategic communication shape decisions at every level. Expect a masterclass in how to nudge real-world power from a master influencer.

Networking Drinks

The official post-Nudgestock drinks, for all those in person to chat and network with hundreds of fellow Nudgestockers and speakers.