BANFF 2014: We don’t really want much choice

By Bill Roberts

BANFF – One of the funkiest sessions at Banff was titled "Consumers and Choice: What Works And What Doesn't". In the context of the federal government’s Throne Speech promise to unbundle cable packages, and the CRTC's current "Let's Talk TV" process, it was neatly provocative.The speaker was Dilip Soman, professor of marketing and Corus Chair in Communications Strategy at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.It turns out that, across a range of reputable research on several continents, people aren't very good at predicting their future behaviour or making rational choices.Take the drink Snapple. Fifteen years ago there were...