Category Archives: Demographic change

Indulge in a spot of online shopping on Christmas day? You’re not alone

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Simon Shaw

UK shoppers spent nearly a billion pounds online on Christmas day 2017. It’s a reminder how much things have changed. Those of you who can remember the advent of Sunday trading or the difficulty in getting a pint of milk … Continue reading →

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A lament for the Millennials

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Simon Shaw

Economic, political, social and psychological factors are combing to create a historically unique time to become an adult. It isn’t all bad. It is just different. Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer Psychology, Demographic change, Social Media, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Oasis vs. Prudential: two very different honesty plays

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Simon Shaw

Ttwo honesty plays, two audiences and two very different communication goals. Continue reading →

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The end of absence: reclaiming what we’ve lost in a world of constant connection (Michael Harris)

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Simon Shaw

Those of us over the age of 35 can remember life before the internet. In the End of Absence Michael Harris examines the impact it has had on our lives. Continue reading →

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From Yuppies to Endies in 25 years

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Simon Shaw

The ENDIES – the Employed with No Disposable Income or Savings – sadly, are not a happy bunch. Continue reading →

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Book review: It’s complicated – the social lives of networked teens by Danah Boyd

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Simon Shaw

Listen: if you want to feel sorry for young people, Danah Boyd’s It’s complicated is a good place to start. Continue reading →

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It’s not all doom and gloom: positive characteristics of Generation Y

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Simon Shaw

Media coverage about Generation Y tends to be negative. Tamara Erickson’s article on the characteristics of Generation Y in a recent RSA quarterly magazine provides a more balanced view. Continue reading →

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Let the evidence fit the theory

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Simon Shaw

Michael Rosen’s Word of mouth on Radio 4 focused on the uses and abuses of texting.As broadcasting attack-dog John Humphries put it, texters are: “…vandals who are doing to our language what Genghis Khan did to his neighbours eight hundred years ago…They are destroying it: pillaging our punctuation; savaging our sentences; raping our vocabulary. And they must be stopped.” Continue reading →

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If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive…

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Simon Shaw

Criticism is not an effective motivator for behaviour change. Like the adage made famous by Dale Carnegie if you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive. Continue reading →

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A new take on lifestage

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Simon Shaw

New York Times journalist David Brooks has an interesting take on lifestage in his book The Social Animal. He describes the odyssey years, ‘a decade of wandering that occurs between adolescence and adulthood’. He writes: “Adulthood can be defined by … Continue reading →

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