• by Alan Hart , November 21, 2018

In this week’s episode of “Marketing Today,” I speak with Richard Shotton, author of the book, “The Choice Factory: 25 Behavioural Biases That Influence What We Buy,” which was published earlier this year.

Shotton started in advertising as a media planner, working on brands such as Coke and Lexus, before becoming inspired by the idea of applying behavioral psychology to business problems. Presently, he is head of behavioural science at Manning Gottlieib OMD in London. In addition, he recently founded the consultancy Astroten.

During our conversation, Shotton outlines the thinking and methodology that went into writing his book.  “What I have most loved is the freedom to go out and run a test to prove a point -- not to have to rely on other people’s findings," he says.

"It’s so easy to set up a psychological experiment. I find that really exciting and liberating — starting a project, not knowing if it’s going to work or not, and then generally finding an interesting insight at the end that you can apply. I think that’s what I find most exciting about the job.”

Highlights from this week’s “Marketing Today” podcast include:

• Shotton talks about why he wrote “The Choice Factory,” and how his fascination with people’s motivations led to his career path.  (1:17)

• Shotton discusses how he chose the 25 behavioral biases most relevant to advertising for his book. (9:15)

• “People or products that exhibit a flaw become more appealing." That's Shotton on his favorite bias: The Pratfall Effect. (11:48)

• Shotton outlines two key elements of the Fundamental Attribution Error. (14:23)

• The Negative Social Proof. (19:00)

• Our expectations influence how we feel about what we experience: Shotton explains the Expectancy Theory. (23:47)

• In examining consumer behavior, Shotton was surprised to learn people are much more likely to make major life decisions when their age ends in the number 9. ‘9-enders,’ they’re called. (27:57)

• Shotton is drawn to “creative minds in action,” be they academics, authors, creatives, or people he follows on Twitter. (31:47)

• Shotton: “I think marketers massively overestimate how much people genuinely change.” (32:53)