good consumers....

The above is something I've been thinking about for a while and needed to get down on paper. In a nutshell...

Good consumers (defined as people who buy stuff they don't need - as always - I include myself in the group) are, by definition (it is not rational to spend money you don't have, on stuff you don't need), more psychologically disturbed than those who are able to moderate their desire to shop.

Or to put it another way - the greater the psychological disturbance the more likely a person is to consume additively and compulsively.

2 outcomes which flow from this....

1. It is not in the interests of those who make vast sums of money selling stuff that we don't need (in other words powerful people and the politicians who are elected at their behest), to try and address the explosion in mental health issues which has occurred since the 1970s, since their wealth (and power) depends on people’s “unhappiness”.

2. If you're a manager of a brand, and you want to sell more of your product – it is rational to target those who are psychologically disturbed - which in itself is fairly easy given the correlation between poor psychological health and most of the activities which pass as "normal" within our society (working excessively, smoking, drinking, believing in god, sitting on the sofa watching TV, levels of stress, attaining poor / excellent grades at school, v. low / v. high wage jobs etc).

My evidence for this? Apart from reading all the usual books on consumption and related topics (The Overspent American, The Growth Fetish, No Logo etc) I don't have any. Perhaps someone could supply me with some...

"no logo"....more like "all logo"

Really interesting piece here .

In short - most consumers make choices burdened by asymmetries of information. i.e. they aren't able to make truly rational purchase decisions because they are not in possession of all the facts.

But of course that is changing.

Within 5 years, a customers ability to instantly access reliable data on how a product or service performs - will mean the age of pulling a fast one on your customers is over. Only total honesty, total openness will suffice - or to put it another way - the consumers' cynicism about what they're being told in ads will be complete.

All this means of course within a very short space of time the concept of marketing itself will be radically different - it will no longer be an activity associated with convincing people to buy stuff.

The role of public relations will be as important as ever - marketing on the other hand will become a business activity - pushing a brands identity into ever more creative and interesting activities - to augment the perception of the core product/s.

This in itself will drive the next phase of globalisation as mega brands coalesce around whole sectors whose product and activities support each other.

But what is really interesting - what is really going to change the face of our society forever - is brands becoming the true guardians of our ecological, social and political aspirations.

It will be brands, not politicians or NGO's who will become the catalysts to a fairer, more sane, calmer world.

Brands will defend our rights. They will champion ever more serious causes. They will migrate closer and closer to the social, economic and political heart of our culture. Within 10 years we may well have politicians having their salaries and expenses paid for, by brands.

No logo....more like all logo.