NORTHERN PLANNER

I regret to admit that I'm old enough to remember the 1970's when nothing was open on a Sunday in the UK apart from news agents, off licences and pubs. It was rubbish of course, but on the other hand, it was a very real example of how things were just not as accessible as they used to be.

If you wanted to buy a record (not a CD in those days) you had to go to a record shop, sit in a listening booth and carefully, well, listen, to some choices before handing over your money. You didn't want to risk getting it wrong and wasting you're hard earned cash. It was a bit magic.

Similarly, if you wanted some new clothes, you got on the bus to the city centre and navigated the racks in the shops before you found something that roughly matched your budget and whatever self image you wanted to project. No fast fashion, clothes were expensive and the act of finding them was a little magic.

We've lost all that specialness these days in favour of access and ubiquity. If you want something, you can find it on the internet and buy it there and then, with music and film, you just download, probably without even paying. This is great of course, for all our lives, but on the other hand, having it all does leave us jaded.

When so much specialness and occasion has gone when it come to what we want and what we can have, it mystifies me why so many brands insist on being your 'best mate' or 'one of us'. From the ad with the consumer insight played straight back to you, to the overly familiar tone of voice, from the crowd sourcing NPD wheeze to the 'consumer as campaign ambassador' route.

In a world where you can have get hold of anything you want, at any time, brands need more specialness, intrigue and detachment. More magic.

Never more so than today in these uncertain times. You don't need an overpayed trend watcher to tell you people want their money to go further, but that doesn't mean the only answer is cutting price. It can also means making your stuff more magical so it feels worth it. It's a spark in otherwise grim times. Why do people continue to buy overpriced silver and white Apple gadgets? Because the believe the myth.

Another, rather obvious 'trend' is the way people are looking for comforting anchors. That's why so many brands are tapping into their heritage to justify a price premium. To simply read into it that people are looking nostalgia and signals of less troubling times is too superficial. They're looking for an escape from the realities of everyday.

Yes, to feel comforted and safe:

But also capable instead of helpless:

Part of the solution, rather than the problem:

Able to 'Open Happiness' rather than fear:

Or just in safe hands:

I guess I'm saying that access and downright subservience are very commone brand strategies in the times we live in, but the best approach, like it always was, is suprise,delight, instrigue and magic.