Herd

Book excerpt: "...fascinating. Like Malcolm Gladwell on speed." —THE GUARDIAN "HERD is a rare thing: a book that transforms the reader's perception of how the world works". —Matthew D'Ancona, THE SPECTATOR "This book is a must. Once you have read it you will understand why Mark Earls is regarded as a marketing guru." —Daniel Finkelstein, THE TIMES This paperback version of Mark Earls' groundbreaking and award winning book comes updated with new stats and figures and provides two completely revised chapters that deal with the rise of social networking. Since the Enlightenment there has been a very simple but widely held assumption that we are a species of thinking individuals and human behaviour is best understood by examining the psychology of individuals. It appears, however, that this insight is plain wrong. The evidence from a number of leading behavioural and neuroscientists suggests that our species is designed as a herd or group animal. Mark Earls applies this evidence to the traditional mechanisms of marketing and consumer behaviour, with a result that necessitates a complete rethink about these subjects. HERD provides a host of unusual examples and anecdotes to open the mind of the business reader, from Peter Kay to Desmond Tutu, Apple to UK Sexual Health programmes, George Bush to Castle Lager, from autism to depression to the real explanation for the placebo effect in pharmaceutical testing.