Nudgestock 2026

Ogilvy Consulting

The Challenge: Turn a festival about trust into an experience people can feel

The theme for Nudgestock 2026 was Trust Issues. The immersive one day event was focused on exploring trust in a low-trust business world and an AI era where seeing is no longer believing. Ogilvy Consulting's festival of behavioural science, creativity and ideas, brought together some of the most provocative thinkers from business, psychology, culture and beyond. The 2026 event attracted over 740 attendees and in excess of 7,000 livestream views, for an immersion in a bold, fast-moving exploration of how trust is built, broken and rebuilt.

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The ‘fest’ of thinking was masterfully orchestrated and led by Nudgestock founder, Rory Sutherland, President Emeritus Ogilvy Consulting, Dan Bennett, Senior Partner, Head of Behavioural Science and Mike Hughes, Consulting Partner and Creative Lead.

This is the first time Ogilvy Consulting has partnered with an events agency. MCI UK's role went beyond delivering the event: we worked as a collaborative partner, to match the energy and originality of the content with an equally distinctive live experience.

The Circle of Trust

Rather than defaulting to a traditional theatre set-up, we placed the conversation at the heart of the room. An in-the-round arena created a physical Circle of Trust, with speakers surrounded by the audience rather than separated from them. Dramatic lighting, large-format screens and carefully planned sightlines made the heritage space work from every angle.

Ideas from every direction

The programme moved at pace across psychology, culture, leadership, technology and brands. Ogilvy President Emeritus, Rory Sutherland, challenged short-term thinking; Broadcaster Louis Theroux explored the art of earning candour; while a diverse mix of thinkers brought fresh perspectives to one shared question: who, and what, do we trust?

Built for participation

From the theatrical opening build-up, the audience was invited to become part of the show. Interactive trust moments and opportunities to engage with speakers turned observers into participants. Fast-paced hosting and bold visuals connected a diverse line-up into one coherent festival experience.

Creative ambition, expertly delivered

Behind all the energy sat detailed strategic, creative and operational planning. Ogilvy Consulting and MCI UK collaborated to translate creative thinking into an epic live experience. MCI helped transform an already iconic event into a more immersive occasion, through experience design, show development, technical production, and spatial planning; in addition to seamless venue management and delegate registration.

MCI have been with us since the beginning, and it’s been a great partnership all along the way.
The combination of creativity and rigour has been a great one. We delivered an absolute feeling to the room…and that’s everything we wanted to achieve.

Dan Bennett, Senior Partner & Lead of Behavioural Science, Ogilvy Consulting

The result

A sell-out festival of ideas - intelligent, surprising and unmistakably Nudgestock. Trust was not simply the subject on stage. It shaped the room, the format and the relationship between speakers and audience, creating an event with the atmosphere, pace and personality to keep people engaged from the opening reveal to the final fireworks.

Nudgestock 2026 - A Sell-Out Festival of Ideas

Nudgestock 2026

MCI have been with us since the beginning, and it’s been a great partnership all along the way. The combination of creativity and rigour has been a great one. We delivered an absolute feeling to the room…and that’s everything we wanted to achieve.

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS

MCI have been with us since the beginning, and it’s been a great partnership all along the way.
The combination of creativity and rigour has been a great one. We delivered an absolute feeling to the room…and that’s everything we wanted to achieve.