The Best of Richard Shotton
“It took millions of years for man’s instincts to develop. It will take millions more for them to even vary. It is fashionable to talk about changing man. A communicator must be concerned with unchanging man, with his obsessive drive to survive, to be admired, to succeed, to love, to take care of his own.”
Who is Richard Shotton?
If you want to learn how to apply behavioural science to boost the effectiveness of your marketing, then it’s worth knowing about Richard Shotton.
Not only is Richard a great guy, but he’s also an expert on how we think, act and behave and shares insightful case studies and practical tips on social media to help you transform your business.
Many people in the marketing world value what he says, as evidenced by his more than 37,000 followers on Twitter and over 267,000 followers on LinkedIn.
Richard also writes about the behavioural experiments he runs for industry magazines such as Marketing Week, The Drum, Campaign, and Admap.
In 2021 Richard was made an honorary fellow of the IPA and an associate of the Moller Institute, Churchill College, Cambridge University.
There’s so much you can learn from Richard, and with that in mind, we’ve gathered a collection of his work that will inspire, entertain and inform.
1. Richard Shotton’s Books
Richard’s first book, The Choice Factory: 25 Behavioural Biases That Influence What We Buy, won the best marketing book at the Business Book Awards.
As its title suggests, it explores the psychological and behavioural biases that influence consumer decision-making.
The book discusses twenty-five biases in detail, including anchoring, loss aversion, and the framing effect, and provides practical ways you can apply these biases to influence customer behaviour.
Overall, The Choice Factory aims to better understand consumer behaviour and how it can influence marketing and advertising.
Richard's new book, The Illusion of Choice: 16 1/2 Psychological Biases That Influence What We Buy, is released in March and shows how any business can take advantage of these quirks of human behaviour to boost their business.
2. Richard Shotton’s Talks
There are plenty of videos on YouTube featuring Richard, but here are two of our favourites:
The Strength In Weakness (TEDx Talk)
In this talk, Richard delves into the science behind why imperfections make people and products more attractive. He also shares how everyone, from bands to brands, is using this idea to become more authentic and likeable.
Behavioural Biases That Influence What We Buy (Talks at Google)
Richard discusses his book The Choice Factory and how behavioural psychology shapes decision-making, examining 25 behavioural biases.
3. Richard Shotton’s Podcast Appearances
We’ve tracked down some of the best podcasts with Richard as a guest:
1. Jon Evans: Uncensored CMO - Why we buy what we buy
Richard talks to Jon about how he wrote the best-selling marketing book of 2019 and why behavioural science should matter to every marketer.
2. 42courses podcast - How to get into behavioural science
In this episode, Richard shares how he went from an ad man to Behavioural Scientist, advice on how to run behavioural experiments on a budget, and some general tips and great book recommendations.
3. Call To Action with Richard Shotton
In the maiden episode of Call To Action, Giles chats with Richard.
4. Modern Wisdom Podcast - Psychology, Advertising & Human Behaviour
Chris discusses mental models, psychology, consumer behaviour, principles for advertising, social change, and more with Richard. Learn how you can tell someone's mood by the movement of their mouse, why the end of an experience is the most important, what makes the perfect advert, how you can increase workplace safety with skeleton gloves and much more.
4. Richard Shotton’s Online Course
Last but not least, if you can’t get enough of Richard, you’ll find him as your tutor in one of our most popular courses, Behavioural Science For Brands.
Instead of describing academic findings, this course shows you how to apply them to make your brand even more successful. You will learn how behavioural science can improve all aspects of your marketing: from pricing and promotions to media choice and messaging.
If you enjoyed reading and listening to the above and want to build your behavioural science knowledge, why not check out our range of courses on the topic. They include:
- Behavioural Economics
- Applied Behavioural Science
- Behavioural Science For Effective Messaging
