Psychological Moonshots

In marketing, it’s not always about the physical product or service.

Sometimes, it’s about how we feel about it.

That’s where psychological moonshots come in.

As Rory Sutherland brilliantly points out, “The Uber map is a psychological moonshot because it does not reduce the waiting time for a taxi but simply makes waiting 90% less frustrating.”

Uber didn’t make cars faster. They made the wait feel shorter.

That’s the essence of a psychological moonshot—changing perception, not reality.

Think about it: you’re waiting for a taxi. Normally, it’s frustrating because you don’t know how long it will take.

But with Uber, that little map showing you the car moving towards you? It’s a game changer.

You’re still waiting, but now you feel more in control. It’s as if you can see the finish line.

Airlines have pulled off their own psychological moonshots too.

For years, the focus was on speed—how to get planes faster from A to B. But then, they realised something:

Instead of making planes faster, why not make the journey more enjoyable?

Enter in-flight WiFi.

Suddenly, the hours in the air didn’t feel like dead time. You could browse the internet, answer emails, or stream a movie.

The journey wasn’t any shorter, but it certainly felt better.

These examples show the real power of psychological moonshots.

It’s about solving emotional problems, not just practical ones.

Let’s look at some other examples.

Take Spotify.

Music lovers have been streaming songs for years, but Spotify took it one step further with personalised playlists like "Discover Weekly."

They didn’t change the music. They changed how we discover it.

Now, we feel like Spotify knows us. It gives us exactly what we didn’t know we needed. It’s a psychological shift from passive listening to active, personalised discovery.

These moonshots all play on one big truth: our emotions drive our decisions far more than we think.

Uber didn’t need faster cars. Airlines didn’t need faster planes. Spotify didn’t need better music.

What they needed—and nailed—was a better experience.

So, why aren’t more businesses embracing psychological moonshots?

Maybe because it feels less tangible. It’s easier to say, “Let’s make our product faster or cheaper” than to ask, “How can we make our customers feel better?”

But if you can change perception, you can change everything.

Think about it next time you’re waiting for your Uber, sipping your Starbucks, or flying with WiFi.

It’s not about the service you’re using. It’s about how you’re experiencing it.

That’s the magic of psychological moonshots.

So, next time you're working on a marketing strategy, ask yourself this:

How can you change the way people feel about your product or service?

Because sometimes, the biggest breakthroughs don’t come from reality—they come from perception.