David Allison

After decades of award-winning work for some of the biggest brands in the world, David Allison was left questioning the use of demographics to understand consumer behavior. Does anyone act their age anymore? Does gender dictate what we care about? Does income, education, or marital status explain why people do what they do? In a contemporary world, the answer is no. Demographics tell us nothing about how people make decisions about anything.

So he went looking for a better way and soon discovered that behavioral scientists knew the answer all along. What we value determines what we do.

But there was a problem. If values were ever going to be a useful way to understand target audiences, we needed a way to know which motivating values were shared by large groups of people.

That’s why, in 2015, David launched the Valuegraphics Project: to create a global map of core human values. The result is the Valuegraphics Database, a kind of encyclopedia of how groups of people make decisions, about anything, anywhere on earth.

Today valuegraphics are used by global brands and organizations to activate their target audiences eight times more powerfully than ever before. Finally, we know what people care about based on accurate data, instead of demographic stereotypes from days gone by.

David’s last book focused on the valuegraphics of the USA and Canada, and was a best-seller within 24 hours of release. It was also named one of the ten best leadership books of the year by INC Magazine. He speaks internationally.

His new book The Death of Demographics: Valuegraphic Marketing for a Values-Driven World is both an exploration of global valuegraphic insights, as well as a how-to guide for marketers and creators who are eager to use this disruptive and powerful new way to look at the world.

At a time when the world feels more divided than ever before, this is an empirical look at what binds us together and makes us who we are, our shared human values.