A new enlightenment: why the next 50 years will be different
David PennConquest Research Ltd
INTRODUCTION
Missing the Target
Our current models of consumer behaviour date from an era when marketers called the shots. They made the ads, designed the products and told us what to believe about them. In one model, the 'rational' consumer coolly appraises the objective benefits of the options on offer; in another, she is de-centred, disempowered and at the mercy of the cultural hegemony imposed from above.
These contrary views of consumer behaviour reflect our philosophical confusion. We may not realise it,...