NightBlogger

Photo reinn
Laura Miller
“We can talk all we want about being brand-proof,” Walker writes, “but our behavior tells a different story.” Experimental subjects presented with two identical glasses of Coca-Cola, one labeled as such and the other presented as a mystery rival brand, routinely picked the one they thought was Coke as the better-tasting soda. Citing one cunningly designed study after another, Walker presents ample proof that we are only kidding ourselves if we believe we’re impervious to the multibillion-dollar marketing industry.

Nevertheless, we are not “obsessed” with consumption, as many critics claim. As Walker sees it, Americans prefer not to ruminate on that particular subject, even as we shop and spend our little hearts out. “To qualify as obsessed we’d have to really think about why we buy what we buy,” Walker writes, instead of just telling ourselves that we, unlike the rest of the sheep, purchase things for purely rational, utilitarian reasons like price, quality and convenience. More

Photo stefanlucut

Or..How to Profit From a Financially Strapped Generation’s Buying Power

This from Forbes.com:

Conventional wisdom says that the emerging economies of China and India are the biggest opportunities for global consumer companies. But a much bigger opportunity is emerging here in the United States–the 24 million middle-class American households approaching retirement with lofty lifestyle aspirations, a thirst for new products and brands, and limited financial resources. The cohort of financially unprepared yet undaunted and uncompromising baby boomers–”u-boomers” for short–will account for almost 25% of total U.S. consumption by 2015.
Read more