In marketing, the world is always 'new and improved'.

The broad history of consumer culture has been largely concerned with the evolution of goods from commodity status to the sophisticated constructs we now call brands.

'No one packs my bags at the supermarket any more.' 'Is anyone going to let me check out of this hotel today?' 'What do you mean you want the table back at 9pm?'

Pensions are a bit like root canal fillings: not something you want to think about unless absolutely necessary. That time has come. Who pays for pensions and who receives them affects the level and profile of consumer expenditure.

Service-sector branding is a delicate art, akin to theatrical scriptwriting. Overscript, and you risk dehumanisation and audience alienation. Underscript and you risk anarchy and irrelevance.

After a false start when dotcom success was measured by the cash burn rate, reality has resumed and genuine web marketing success stories are starting to roll in.