9. Christmas Day - 25th of September

It's Christmas day - the 25th September and it's already Christmas day in one part of the World. Where? In UK consumer La-la-land. Driving passed shops today, I saw the first trees, cards and decorations. No wonder some people in the World that still believe in and honour their religious festivals think we're f**ked.

8. Do what everyone else does but be yourself!?

Noticed the latest marketing trend to make you buy something everyone else has? Buy it but adapt it to reflect your own personal style, coolness or taste! Gap and Starbucks (design your own coffee!!?) are leading the way with the new method to make you buy mass market products.

what next? Buy a CD and choose the order you want the tracks (or is that the IPod USP?) Why not buy a book and change the order of the chapters to show how cool you are.....

7. A Good Magazine

I don't read any of the monthlies. I don't find enough in them for me to make the purchase - which is about £3 - £4. But this week I bought the Sunday - Observer, Telegraph and Independent - as there was at the very least one - two things in each that I definitely wanted to read and when I opened them found a fair amount more also.

The price for these - about £3.50. The same as one monthly magazine but with about ten times as much to read.

6. A 5 Star Product

So how many movies do you see or cd's do you buy, based on the number of stars out of 5 that the mass media give to everything? I know I do. A 4 or 5 out of 5 given to a movie or CD in Time Out, Guardian or even Q indicates one I will consider investing in.

But isn't criticism subjective? The media seem to think there are various levels of subjectivity though and giving marks out of 5 is a simple indication of how good a CD or movie is.

So why aren't there stars out of 5 given at the end of theatre or book reviews. Why is it considered easier or more appropriate to give marks to an art form of a piece of music or film but not to a book or play?

answers on a postcard please.....?

5. The E-Bay Warehouse

I saw an interview with the MD of E-Bay UK the other day. I thought he had an interesting view about the business that they are trying to transmit to the UK consumers.

They actually want you to see E-Bay as a giant warehouse for the World. So you can freely let go into that warehouse all that clutter that you are unlikely to use again, fully confident that if it ever comes back in fashion or you want to relive some old memories you'll be able to get hold of it again - at a few days notice - and probably for an amount less than you let it go for.

It's a good way to use it - start clearing that clutter.....

(I bought my first item on E-Bay a few weeks ago. The book of the Friends Reunited phenomenon for £1.80! They were too tight to give me one at the time!)

4. The Currency of Cool

There are so many products that people need to be into to be perceived as cool that they simply cannot afford them all - or even would want them all - even if ownership bestowed 'cool' on the owner.

The real currency of cool isn't being the first to own a new product - it is to be the first to know about it. To know when it is coming out, details about the product, what the packaging looks like, what the advertising is like etc.

The speed and access to information via the internet makes it even harder to be first with the knowledge. So the recognition of being the first 'in the know' is even more sought after and revered.

It's not the people using the latest stuff who are the coolest - its the people that know what they will be wearing next that marketing agencies should be talking to.

3. Marketing terminology

I started an agency 12 years ago to market to the youth and student sector. That sector has obviously grown up but still retains an edge that wasn't present in previous generations of 35+'s. For various reasons I could detail (but won't bore you here!) this generation is more into living life through experiences than through products.

The marketing bodies recognise this but can't settle on a name for what was previously simply known as middle age, so the terms I've seen so far for this new sector are:

Middle Youth (the first title)
Down shifters
Down marketing
Middle youthers (horrible!)

seen any others? Let me know...