Advertising to the Herd

Abstract

‘This paper is born out of a feeling that something is not right with the way the word ‘consumer’ is used nowadays. This word must surely be one of the most frequently used in the lexicon of advertising, marketing and research language. Yet it has not been subject to the huge attention or to the rigour of analysis as has the word ‘brand’ This paper is charged with the same sense of dissatisfaction. A feeling that there is more to be said about the subject. A frustration with the current models (including that proposed by Valentine and Gordon's insightful paper) for missing some big and important truths about how human beings are. And the belief that these ‘missing truths’ might contribute to a significantly more insightful and effective approach to marketing and market research. In particular, it is suggested that the most important characteristic of mankind is that of a herd-animal, not a lone individual. This point of view is supported by learnings from a range of fields. The evidence for the herd perspective (and against the individualist one) is necessarily woven together like a patchwork that encompasses all of the key issues. It is able to shed new light on many phenomena which researchers and planners repeatedly encounter and debate (like rapidly changing and stable markets, the value and mechanics of mass advertising and the debate about relationships between behaviour and attitudes. The paper concludes with an examination of the challenges this perspective offers to all researchers.