Time.com
by Brad Tuttle

Could it be that consumers aren't quite as gullible as marketers, manufacturers, and advertisers have long assumed? Could it be that today's consumers are smarter and more informed than they have ever been when it comes to deciding whether to buy or pass on a product? Could it be that the age of mindless accumulation is gone for good, replaced by a scene in which consumers consider their purchases carefully and place more value in, well, actual value? A new book answers all of these questions with a resounding YES—and perhaps most surprising of all, the book was written not by an anti-consumerism crusader but by a marketing executive.

Andrew Benett, Global CEO of Arnold Worldwide and chief strategy officer of Havas Worldwide, is the co-author of Consumed: Rethinking Business in the Era of Mindful Spending.

Throughout the book, it's refreshingly clear that we're not dealing with the marketing mentality that assumes consumers are naïve and constantly prods them to BUY, BUY, BUY. 

Below, Bennett answers my questions and discusses today's smarter more enlightened and more aware consumers, why certain marketing techniques succeed or fail horribly in the modern era, and brands ranging from Apple to Hummer, Nike to Nintendo.

A lot of what's in the book seems pretty anti-consumerism, or at least anti-hyperconsumerism. I'm talking about phrases that pop up regularly like "mindless accumulation." Do colleagues and acquaintances in the marketing world ever come up to you and say something to the effect of "Dude, you're totally blowing it for us. Don't tell people this kind of stuff. It makes our jobs much more difficult to convince consumers to buy things"?

AB: As marketers, our job is to help our clients prepare for these types of cultural shifts. We want to be one step ahead of the curve and understand the trends that are impacting consumer behavior.

Read more on Time.com.