The Choice Factory: The award-winning guide to behavioural science and marketing

Brilliant and a pleasure to read! As a professional who's worked in the business of understanding consumer behaviour for over 30 years - working for some of the best global advertising agencies in the business - I've read a great number of books written on behavioural science. Both The Choice Factory and The Illusion of Choice by Richard Shotton are amongst some of the best there is. Praised by well-respected professionals in the industry, a multitude of recommendations for the two books can't be wrong. And they aren’t! Insightful, Informative, Entertaining, Concise, Full of real-world examples, Easy to read, Easy to understand, and Easy to remember. Pick them both up while you can. For the value they hold within, they’re a bargain! I come back to them, again, and again.

This is a great little book, full of interesting nuggets of information and practical suggestions for putting theories into practice. There are 25 short chapters, each describing a bias exhibited in human behaviour and how they might be exploited in order to create a more effective marketing campaign. Much reference is made to notable advertising campaigns and space is given to leading industry figures to weigh in with their opinions. This book is also an excellent primer on behavioural science. I had heard of many of the biases before but having them all presented together is really helpful and helps the reader compare and contrast quite readily. While other books go into much more depth on some of the ideas, this conveys essential concepts quickly - ideal if this is your first foray into behavioural science. (If you don't work in marketing, however, you will find it interesting but large chunks may be less relevant) I've worked in advertising analytics for a decade and I know Richard to be one of the foremost thinkers and practioners in the field. This is apparent throughout because he is able to draw on first-hand experience running experiments, gathering data and planning campaigns. It's also worth following him on Twitter - @rshotton - to benefit from a near-constant stream of ideas or concepts that have crossed his desk. Some people hoard their learning - Richard is extremely generous with his. (Extremely) Minor quibbles: As the book progresses, the author describes how each bias might occur in the course of a single day. I found some of these to be slightly contrived in places. Also, because the chapters are self-contained, there can be superfluous repetition, e.g., one industry figure was introduced in almost the same way in two chapters very close to each other. A slightly larger quibble relates to a well-known study referenced uncritically in a chapter. Given that another study is ruthlessly (and correctly) dissected in the book, I'd have liked to have seen similar analysis across the board. However, the book entirely succeeds in its aims and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone working in marketing who wishes to understand more about the strange ways that we all behave when it comes to making purchases.

An excellent book on human behaviour and biases . Great book for all marketing managers and advertising managers to learn from

I've read a couple of the classic books on behavioural economics ('Thinking, Fast and Slow' by Daniel Kahneman & 'Nudge' by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein), and whilst I found elements of those books interesting and they have clearly had a big influence, they were pretty dry and hard-going to read at times. 'The Choice Factory' is the perfect antidote-it's very accessible, easy-to-read and a real page-turner. I can't remember how I first stumbled across Richard Shotton but I have been following him on Twitter for a couple of months and he consistently tweets interesting and educational things which inspired me to purchase this book as soon as it was published. Within the first five pages I knew the book was special because it's incredibly well-written, it consolidates and simplifies a lot of the experiments I've read about in various books over the years and it taught me some new things. It's also very funny in places-I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. If you work in advertising/marketing then this book is clearly an essential purchase for you but even if you don't (as I don't), I would recommend this book to anyone as we are all consumers so we can all learn a thing or two from reading this book. If you've never read any books on behavioural economics before then is a great introduction to the subject and I can't wait to work my way through some of the books suggested in the 'Further reading' section at the end of 'The Choice Factory.'

Richard has done a brilliant job in taking insights from the disparate discipline of behavioural science (covering principles from behavioural economics and social psychology, amongst others) and turning them into easy-to-understand, practical and useful tools for applying to the world of advertising. In an industry where too frequently creativity and guesswork alone is often considered to be “enough”, this is a welcome reminder that there is a whole world of applicable knowledge out there that is simply too often ignored – and why so much advertising is needlessly ineffective. This book should become a set text for anyone in the advertising world, at all levels. Richard’s relatable and straightforward style makes it a pleasure to read - you will learn something even if you are already familiar with the concepts, as he brings his own research to the table alongside the more well-known experiments. As someone working in the world of applied behavioural science, including training people in advertising roles, I have had no hesitation in recommending this to my clients and delegates. I have high hopes it will help raise the knowledge levels and interest in the industry, which will benefit practitioners like me, and agency folk and clients alike. If you want to change behaviour – and you should – then this is a must-read.

I loved this book, it’s written in a very great format, and it’s literally fun to read and informative.

It took me a while to read it. Had paused it while reading another book. Finally got through it. It's not bad, but most of the examples and biases I've heard before. If you're new to consumer behavior biases, this will be an interesting read.

I really can't recommend this book enough to anyone in the marketing communications field, as it says on the back cover "before you can influence decisions, you need to understand what drives them". In 'The Choice Factory' Shotton takes a look at some of the fascinating findings from behavioural science and how they can be applied to advertising and marketing communications to make the marketing more effective. I've read only a little on behavioural science but this really is a much more accessible read than others I've read, it cites plenty of real life examples of effective marketing uses as well as the scientific experiments. And although there's guidance on how to apply each bias, in his conclusion Shotton challenges us to "maintain a healthy scepticism about the explanations we hear", to be "wary of anecdotes when explaining behaviour" and warns that "we often mistake the interest and excitement of a story for the truth." He finishes by encouraging us not just to take his and the other scientists word for it but to go run our own experiments. So if you want to learn about targeting context not just audiences, the use of social proof but how to avoid negative social proof, or how admitting a flaw may make your brand more appealing, this book might just be right for you too.

Fast delivery and happy for this purchase!!!!

This book explains the importance of understanding and applying the valuable concepts of psychology on the practice of advertising. Have a nice reading.

I have a lot of interest in behaviour science, cognitive biases and psychology. I have read most of the popular books. But I have struggled to put them to use. In my life as a marketer and product and business leader. With Choice Factory, I know much better now. It has 25 small chapters covering one cognitive bias each. Most of the biases are well known. I knew the theory and the research. But this book gives you relevant examples from the marketing world. And tips on how to put them to use. I am part of DTC jewellery brand. Many of the chapters are not relevant or not useful. Some are weak or not fully convincing. But there are enough gems in there. I usually highlight when I read. But this time I made notes. Of stuff I am going to use. And I have atleast 8-10 good ideas. That’s usually more than what you can get in a good book. Disclosure - The book was slightly expensive and I waited for the price to fall. For more than a year. I was such an idiot. Some of my favourites are the chapters on Goodharts Law, Pratfall Effect, Fundamental Attribution Error, Variability, Danger of claimed data, negative social proof, distinctiveness, the curse of knowledge, mood, habit and a couple more. Will finish this review with this amazing quote from David Ogilvy which says so much about biases. “People dont think about how they feel. People dont say what they think. People dont do what they say” Must read for everyone who works in the consumer space.

This is a remarkable book that stands well above others in behavioural science. Writing style is very engaging and approachable. Written in bite-sized pieces it weaves together many themes across many bites without breeding confusion. This is skilful. Each chapter leads into the next. This is also skilful. The manual hammers home what works, why, when and for whom; and also what doesn’t work, why, when and for whom. There is a lot of how sprinkled in, with an admission that the how is the art of trial and error. This is a great homage to the human aspects of behavioural science and, perhaps, the greatest praise that can be given for Shotten’s book and the challenge and reward that it sets for its readers. Buy it.

I love behavioral economics. I grew up with the concepts and find them to play incredibly vital roles in all the fields I work in. So, I’ve been delighted to see increasing coverage of the field (as well as neuroscience, neuromarketing, etc.). From the perspective of a marketer, Richard Shotton’s The Choice Factory is the best I’ve come across, and it’s not particularly close. It’s a tremendously robust and impressive effort, offering abundant opportunities for real implementation. The key reasons why I think this offering stands apart: • There are plenty of good surveys on the market of the cognitive biases and irrationalities inherent to all of us that have critical impacts on out decision-making. Some are even more comprehensive than this book in merely listing every behavioral bias researchers have investigated. But when you combine the breadth and the depth here, The Choice Factory is best in class. It devotes substantial attention to fully 25 biases. Each is given comprehensive treatment and, in each instance, practical applications and caveats are addressed in detail. That’s impressive coverage. • The variety of biases the author discusses runs the gamut and does a particularly good job of addressing the key psychological elements that most consumers confront as they go about their buyer journey. Biases related to mood; to price; to social context; to folks’ perceptions of others and so on so forth. Moreover, the breadth of the biases covered is outstanding and corresponds with an entire buying cycle, in some cases, multiple buying cycles. • Nice mix in covering some of the biases that are perhaps more familiar e.g., overconfidence, confirmation bias, price relatively, primacy, etc., with some that are less well known and at times counterintuitive such as the pratfall effect. • One of the best gifts Mr. Shotton offers is a succinct yet probing look at the evidence underlying the case for each bias and indeed, if the evidence isn’t convincing, or is being marshalled in a way it ought not be, that’s made clear. Indeed, an entire chapter is devoted to the “replicability crisis” – an alarming tendency over the years in which future researchers have been unable to replicate the initial findings of their colleagues. • Evidence also plays a strong role in what is a tremendous organizational structure of the book. The book is written at the reader, with the reader the main character at the beginning of each chapter, assuming the reader is going through an ordinary day, setting the common scenes where each bias has a chance to play itself out. Mr. Shotton then describes the behaviors that constitute the bias and then moves to discuss the historical and contemporary evidence. • Importantly and refreshingly, Mr. Shotton can speak from firsthand experience, having conducted an extensive amount of experimentation, replete with large sample sizes and statistically robust methodologies with his colleagues, so he’s able to truly bring his own credibly to bear. Next, Mr. Shotton will often discuss the underlying factors that the evidence suggests produces the bias. Where the evidence doesn’t tell a clear story, that’s made clear. Indeed, this is also an outstanding book to get some deep insight on sound experimentation method. In several of the chapters, Mr. Shotton discusses the nature of what optimal research into many of these biases ought to look like and compares the optimal to what’s actually been done. • Following the research discussion, Mr. Shotton moves directly to practical applications and they’re dynamite. Differing from some books where the application section is just too simple, in each chapter, Mr. Shotton discusses in detail at least three mechanisms via which a marketer might be able to make use of the bias at issue and the relative effectiveness and potential pitfalls for each of those approaches. • Bear in mind then, that this book is presenting you, the marketer, with 75 potential new tools to use. • Excellent job of noting when certain biases bear close relationships to one another and how some interact with others. Also excellent in describing the necessary conditions that must be in place for a bias to manifest itself in a way that’s practically relevant even at all. • I don’t intend this as criticism, but it should be noted that the examples in the book do tilt heavily toward B2C as opposed to B2B. But that’s to be expected, given that cognitive biases, while a business-wide and societal issue in the sense that we all suffer for them, are first and foremost about individual thinking. • The author calls a spade a spade and I agree with him. He comes down on the side of “watch what customers do” as opposed to listening religiously to what they say. There’s some excellent coverage of how to design surveys that are particularly effective in flushing out an honest individual answer and surveys your firm brings to market ought to be in conformity. The same is true of the principles shared in respect to customer observation. • As those who know the field will know, there are those who take ethical issue with markers utilizing behavioral “nudges”. For a whole bunch of reasons – most notably, that’s it’s well proven that folks who make the effort to become educated about how their own minds work and to be self-aware are much tougher customers in terms of being nudged, so long as nothing truly outlandish is done, I see no ethical problem. That’s especially true because, wanting repeat customers, companies are going to work hard to give all buyers an outstanding customer experience, whether the purchase was inspired by a nudge or not. • What’s genuinely appreciated is Mr. Shotton devoting an entire chapter of the book to a serious treatment of ethical issues. He concludes, I think sensibly, that behavioral nudges are every bit as ethical as any other type of marketing that appeals to emotion and persuasion. He also argues sensibly that there is some inherent self-regulation; customers who feel swindled make for dangerous enemies. This book covers a ton of valuable ground in a power packed 202 pages. I strongly recommend it to marketers. These are tools that can be implemented immediately, blending right into ongoing campaigns. And I appreciate – and suspect you will too – that the author isn’t preaching here. He’s not making claims that employing these techniques will save bad businesses selling bad products. He sensibly argues that marketers ought to be using all the legitimate tools at their disposal, and these are nothing if not legitimate. ** If nothing else, there’s simply no downside to marketers understanding the mental processes their customers are undergoing. And if you’re smart, you’ll also use this book as a chance to check your own self-awareness. We all succumb to the biases mentioned here sometimes, but staying disciplined, vigilant and aware helps a great deal. While offering so much more, The Choice Factory is worth its price just in what it teaches readers about the way their own mind works. Mr. Shotton, as it happens, will be in New York on June 4 speaking about the book and I’m excited to attend and get to meet him in person. Bravo for a wonderful offering.