How Dishoom Turned a Dice Roll into a Full House

If you work in brand strategy, you’ll know that most marketing decisions are made using spreadsheets. Logical, predictable, rational. But customers? They’re none of those things.

Which is why the Dishoom Matka is worth studying.

Let me explain.

A while back, The Indian restaurant Dishoom noticed a familiar problem. Lunchtimes were busy. Dinner times were packed. But off-peak hours? A ghost town. So they did what any analyst might suggest: offer a discount.

But this didn’t quite fit the Dishoom brand. Dishoom thrives on theatre. On warmth. On moments that matter. A soulless discount didn’t match the tone. So instead of slicing the price, they spiced up the experience.

Enter: the Matka.

A nod to old Bombay street lotteries, the Matka at Dishoom is a small brass pot with a die inside. If you dine off-peak, you get the chance to roll. Land a six, and the whole table eats for free. Yes, really. The bill disappears. Just like that.

Dan Bennett of Ogilvy pointed out the numbers: the campaign’s cost came out to the equivalent of offering a 16.6% discount per cover. But the psychological payoff? Far greater. “What is equivalent economically isn’t psychology,” he said. And he’s right.

Why? Because there’s no story in a discount. But there is a story in a die roll.

A discount appeals to your calculator. The Matka appeals to your imagination.

Ogilvy UK and MAD//Masters by Rory Sutherland's Rory Sutherland has long argued for this sort of thinking. As he often reminds us, every data point has two interpretations: one rational, one lateral. Most marketers stick to the first. The clever ones build brands with the second.

And then, as if one die weren’t enough, Dishoom raised the stakes again with Matka Mondays. Two dice. Twice the chance. If either lands on a six, your meal is free. Matka Mondays increased footfall and changed the way people thought about the start of the week. Mondays became a moment of anticipation. The chance to roll two dice added energy and unpredictability, turning early-week dining into an experience worth planning around.

Now, let’s pause. What would this look like if a competitor tried to replicate it? They’d probably offer 20% off. Or worse, points. Maybe a loyalty card. All of which make perfect sense to a procurement team and zero sense to a dopamine-seeking diner.

The Matka works because the concept is baked into the brand. The language on the website is playful and generous. The in-store ritual is charming and consistent. The idea worked because it came from the brand’s core. It matched the tone, the playfulness, and the sense of occasion that defines the Dishoom experience.

Marketers often forget this. They chase performance metrics at the expense of personality. They treat customers like robots who must be nudged, rather than humans who want to feel.

But the Dishoom experience reminds us of something older and wiser: people spend more when they’re having fun.

A little pot. A single die. A cheering table.

That’s behavioural economics in action. That’s brand psychology done well.

The real lesson? When data shows you a dip, don’t just fix it with a formula. Fix it with creativity. Use uncertainty, play, and surprise as tools of persuasion. Give customers a story to tell. Let them feel lucky…punk.