A book a number of us in the agency are reading right now is Fascinate, by Sally Hogshead.

In Fascinate, Hogshead identifies the seven triggers that power all human behavior:

Power
Lust
Mystique
Alarm
Prestige
Vice
Trust

She demonstrates how every brand on the planet uses some combination of these to affect the way we feel about products and services.

A superb example she uses in the book involves “Jagermeister – the most popular drink that nobody likes.” Hogshead describes how Jagermeister used the Mystique trigger to allow rumors and legend to spread about a brand that used to be little more than an unpopular German working-class apértif.

She also shows the perils of misusing a trigger. She offers recent research demonstrating that the $1 billion DARE program — so widely lauded for bringing police officers into classrooms to talk with kids about drugs — is a failure. In a misguided attempt to activate the Alarm trigger, the program actually increases kids’ interest in drug use by activating the Vice trigger – you know, “forbidden fruit.”

Here’s a great, simple way you can experience the seven triggers right now: Take Hogshead’s F-Score test. By answering a few simple questions, you can identify which triggers define your personal brand.

Sally Hogshead worked with me as a young copywriting intern in Atlanta, and went on to become one of the most award-winning creatives in America, working at agencies like Fallon Worldwide and Crispin Porter + Bogusky. She’s brave, bold and insightful — and so is her book. Pick it up!