Time for the annual information update on personalised trigger marketing that is my birthday mailbag.

Last year top marks went to Matalan, disappointingly I haven't received anything similar this year - perhaps because I was so busy waxing lyrical about it that I neglected to use the special birthday voucher, oops.

Twelve months on, I wondered whether the use of increasingly sophisticated data mining tools would result in more activity of this ilk. The answer is no. Still just the one personalised birthday mailing from a brand, this time around it's cataloguer La Redoute, which has sent a jolly mailing including a happy birthday letter with £10 voucher, order form showing a selection of fashions urging me to spoil myself on my birthday, a bright envelope including a birthday message and a card (not personalised) inviting me to "celebrate in style". La Redoute hasn't done anything out of the ordinary with personalised content beyond my name and address details and the birthday timing, but the way the mailing is packaged makes it appear more sophisticated than it is.

I'm somewhat surprised not to receive anything from other retailers, for example John Lewis or Marks & Spencer, but hey ho. Perhaps I don't fit into the right demographic category for brands to bother with the sort of effort required.

Nothing in the inbox either, beyond an email from the National Lottery urging me to be lucky on my birthday. Fingers crossed for tonight's draw, then.

Meanwhile, the birthday card tally beyond the fine selection of conventional cards from family and friends (thanks all) is as follows:

Personalised cards: one (Moonpig)

E-cards: none, hoorah!