TODAY'S FIVE ENTERTAINMENT FACTS

-The Clint Eastwood movie Gran Torino has generated nearly six million video-on-demand transactions worldwide since its June release - the most of any film in 2009 to date, according to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Rentrak (via Home Media Magazine).

-While U2's Oct. 25 Rose Bowl concert in Pasadena, CA broke live attendance records, topping 100,000 (including venue staff), another 893,000 to date have watched YouTube's webcast of the concert (via the Los Angeles Times).

-26% of cell phone owners would be at least somewhat interested in receiving alerts about sales at their favorite establishments on their phones (assuming they were permission-based), according to digital marketing network 1020 Placecast. Of these consumers, 43% would be interested in receiving alerts for movie/event tickets.

-Screen size matters most to consumers planning to purchase a new TV, with 77% saying size was "extremely" or "very" important to them, according to NPD.


-42% of Netflix's 11.1 million subscribers streamed at least 15 minutes of a TV show or movie during the company's third quarter, up from 22% in 2008, CEO Reed Hastings told analysts in a conference call last week.

TODAY'S 5 FACTS ABOUT CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

-9% of shoppers believe that name brand products offer greater quality than private label products, reports M/A/R/C Research.

-66% of women and 50% of men are using hand sanitizer more often in order to protect themselves from the spread of swine flu, says the Red Cross.

-10% of restaurant goers are eating lunch instead of dinner at expensive restaurants to save money during the slumping economy, notes Zagat.

-(THIS APPLIES TO THE US ONLY)39% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender adults would consider turning down a job promotion if it required them to move to a state where same-sex marriages are not recognized, according to Witeck-Combs Communications and Harris Interactive.

-53% of shoppers plan to spend less on holiday gifts in 2009 than they did in 2008, finds Pricegrabber.com.

GUERRILLA MARKETING - WHY IS THIS AMAZING TOOL SO UNDERUTILIZED?

Guerrilla Marketing, people always talk about its successfulness, yet it is so underutilized. I have to ask myself why?? Truthfully, I think the problem lies with our Marketing Communications departments and Advertising Agencies and their lack of creative talent. It takes an incredibly creative mind to come up with wonderfully creative non-conventional ideas that work. The right people need to be present in the Marketing boardroom during brainstorming exercises. I think creativity is not something that can be taught! Companies today are so quick to scoop up the next MBA graduate...but let's be honest here; the most expensive MBA in the world can't transform a business geek into a creative magician. I am an OCAD graduate, back in the day when I studied there; they were not even giving out degrees. Some of the most creative people that I have ever met don't even have a College diploma, but what they do have is that special gift of coming up with the unconventional maybe even weird ideas that attract the masses to their creative genius. There, I said my two cents, hopefully the Marketing communications industries of the world will hear my plea and get the right creative minds in their organizations.

Now why do we love guerilla marketing when it is used, not just because concepts of some of the tactics and ideas are great, but also because it is the purest form of Bootstrapping; Guerrilla Marketing is a way to showcase your business or product in unconventional methods that often times cost little-t0-no money. I’ve found some of the best photos that will show you just exactly why Guerrilla Marketing works and will definitely have you looking at them and going “Why didn’t I think of that?” Here you, go...hope you enjoy.

CAPTAIN KIRK TAKES TOO MUCH LSD

If you like Star Trek as much as i do, in particular the O.G. (cool for original), then you'll love this little gem I unearthed online. It is a crazy music video of Captain Kirk on too much LSD. It’s weird, it’s scary and it is hilarious. You’re going to like even if you're not a Trekkie!

TODAY'S FIVE FACTS ABOUT CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

-Americans aged 18-34 (37%) trail Canadians the same age (44%) in using debit cards for purchases, according to Ipsos.

-32% of women say scent is the first thing they notice when they enter a home, says SC Johnson.

-47% of Americans and Canadians say that "whatever" is the most annoying phrase to hear in conversation, followed by "you know," cited by 25%, reports Marist.

-16% of Web surfers clicked on a display ad in March 2009, compared to 32% who did so in July 2007, finds comScore.

-The average number of people in an American household fell to 2.6 in 2007 from 3.1 in 1970.

TODAY'S FACTS ABOUT MARKETING TO WOMEN.

Women comprise a significantly higher level of retail rewards program participants than men (74% vs. 59%), says Colloquy.

Michelle Obama is the woman most American and Canadian women would want to trade places with for a week (26%), followed by Hillary Clinton (16%), Angelina Jolie (13%), and Beyonce (12%), according to a poll conducted by 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair.

62% of Cosmo.com readers say their number one hair tool is a flatiron.

58% of women have felt shopper's remorse over buying something that is too expensive, says Glamour.

TODAY'S FIVE FACTS ABOUT YOUTH MARKETS

-Teen girls who use text messaging lingo are better spellers than girls who do not use many abbreviations in their messages, according to University of Alberta research.

-Parents with children under age seven are twice as likely as parents of teens to use 529 college/university savings plans (43% vs. 20%), say Sallie Mae and Gallup.

-Canadian families will spend $1.9 billion on Halloween candy this year, according to the Confectioners Association.

-The average family dinner lasts 35 minutes, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

-73% of parenting.com respondents say their kids eat healthier foods than they do.

TODAY'S FIVE FACTS ABOUT CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

-78% of Canadians would switch food brands if they found a cheaper alternative, compared to 62% of shoppers worldwide, reports Synovate.

-56.9 million mobile phone owners have used their devices to access the Internet, up 34% from the prior year, according to Nielsen.

-56% of Americans are happy with their lives in general, 22% are neutral, and 22% are unhappy, finds BIGresearch.

-58% of kids aged 16-17 get health and nutrition information online, compared to 45% of those aged 13-15, notes Scarborough Research.

-21% of travelers plan to take a road trip during fall 2009, says Expedia.

WHY THE CADBURY EYEBROW DANCE COMMERCIAL WORKS

Got to hand it to Fallon who has released the latest spot in its A Glass And A Half Productions series for Cadbury's Dairy Milk. The ad follows the trend established by Gorilla and Trucks of combining a retro track with some good, clean fun, this time in the form of two eyebrow-dancing kids.
When the kids are left alone in a photographer's studio, 80s electro track Don't Stop The Rock suddenly kicks in, and the duo begin their eyebrow moves. You have to wait until about 30 secs in for the first big laugh. When I first saw it, I thought to myself, what the heck does this have to do with chocolate?? But then as I saw it more often, and not just on TV....but on YouTube, friends blogs, facebook, twitter, flicker and every other social community site you can think of, the spot grew on me....it grew on me quickly, and not just me! It already has a host of imitations online. The spot just makes you feel good, because it is so darn cute and outrageous. Perhaps that is all the ad has to do. What Cadbury is saying without saying it is "grab a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar, and you'll feel better."

So yesterday I walked into my local variety store to waste my time as I always do by buying my weekly Lotto tickets, however this time I decided to pick up a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar as well.

Not because I was hungry...I just felt like smiling. And truth be told, the chocolate doesn't taste half bad either.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT MARKETING TO WOMEN

-78% of women fix makeup mistakes with their fingers, says Kelton Research.
-77% of Self.com respondents say fragrance helps them express how they are feeling.

-90% of women have suffered from painful footwear in the past year, compared to 68% of men who say the same, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.

-Working mothers spend an average $94 a month on their cellphone bill, compared to $78 a month for all cell phone users, reports Scarborough.

-52% of women say they are worse off now than they were a year ago, finds non-profit Alan Guttmacher Institute.