Marketing Pilgrim Published: "Deal Hunters Talk Scary Villains and Scarier Halloween Spending" plus 2 more |
| Deal Hunters Talk Scary Villains and Scarier Halloween Spending Posted: 31 Oct 2011 07:00 AM PDT
First up is CouponCabin. They asked their visitors to state which scary movie villain best represented their financial situation. The results were surprisingly positive — if you can call identifying with Michael Meyer positive. When asked which famous scary movie characters best described their current financial states, U.S. adults said: § Michael Myers from "Halloween" – I'm superhuman; no matter what circumstances arise, I find a way to make ends meet – 32 percent § Ghostface from "Scream" – Unexpected financial circumstances catch me when I least expect it – 11 percent § Freddy Krueger from "Nightmare on Elm Street" – My financial situation haunts my dreams and I lay awake at night worrying about it – 11 percent § Jason Voorhees from "Friday the 13th" – I'm ashamed of my current financial situation and feel like I'm hiding behind a mask – 6 percent § Chucky from "Child's Play" – I'm immature with my finances and need to grow up – 3 percent Survey respondents also said they plan to use coupons (33%) to cut back on the cost of the Halloween and 20% said they weren't going to spend a dime. Now that's a scary thought. Other ways consumers planed to save money was to make their own costumes and decorations and cut back on the amount of candy and decorative items. LivingSocial Families Are in for a Treat LivingSocial families conducted their own Halloween themed survey with similar results. Amy Wolf, social trend expert for the website said in a press release,
Other findings: Ghost Trusters: One in seven respondents (15%) said they have seen a ghost before. Pilfering Parents: Half of parents (50%) said they sometimes steal their kids' Halloween candy. Canines vs. Curmudgeons on Costumes: Nearly one in five families (17%) dress up their pets for the holiday. Grinches on Halloween: Only 5% of respondents said they do not celebrate Halloween Top Family Halloween Activities § Trick or Treating – 78% of families taking part § Pumpkin Carving – 71% of families § Decorating the House – 62% of families § Going to a Pumpkin Patch – 53% of families § Attending a Kids' Halloween Party – 45% of families § Making Halloween Arts and Crafts – 39% of families § Making Halloween Treats for School – 36% of families § Visiting a Haunted House – 35% of families § Going to a Halloween Party for Adults – 29% of families Top Ten Favorite Halloween Candies § Reese's – 43% of respondents rank it among their top five favorites § Snickers – 38% rank among favorites § M&Ms – 37% rank among favorites § Kit Kat – 36% rank among favorites § Twix – 29% rank among favorites § Milky Way – 22% rank among favorites § Butterfinger – 22% rank among favorites § Candy Corn – 18% rank among favorites § 3 Musketeers – 18% rank among favorites § Skittles – 17% rank among favorites The Five Most Haunted Cities (by reported ghosts/ghost stories) § Boston § New York City § Washington, DC § Chicago § Philadelphia The Five Stingiest Cities for Candy § New York City § Los Angeles § Miami § Washington, DC § Atlanta We hope that you won't run into any Grinches today as you enjoy this celebration of all things spooky. Me? I'll be watching Ghost Hunters Live for the third year in a row and maybe this time I'll actually spot a ghost. You never know. Have a safe and happy Halloween because tomorrow, the holiday shopping madness officially begins.
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| Posted: 31 Oct 2011 06:08 AM PDT Last Friday Google announced that it will be expanding the channels of original content that will be coming to YouTube. They did this in the new Google understated fashion with a blog post on YouTube and the dribbling of information getting to the press. If you would like to sign up to be notified as to when these channels go online you can here.
The Guardian reports that there are in the neighborhood of 100 channels that are planned.
I don't know about you but my Ashton Kutcher threshold is about maxed out but it might be interesting to get some original programming in another environment. With 25 hours a day of new programming that is something that isn't happening on other channels in other areas so at least the content will be fresh. As for quality? Well, that remains to be seen. The article continued
Add in the other stealth announcement that Google TV is coming around again in a supposedly simpler form and you have another area for the government to worry about Google's far reaching impact on all things. Now that could be a channel of its own. Oh wait, they are already talking about a comedy channel. My bad. Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community
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| Advertising and Marketing Jobs Are All About the Numbers Posted: 31 Oct 2011 05:36 AM PDT
Well, while that may apply somewhat today it is not the norm anymore. In fact, the skill sets for today's marketing jobs are starting to seem more like those needed to be an economist rolled up in a technologist who also understands marketing. As most in the advertising and marketing field are finding, there are not as many of those out there as you might think.
For those of us with an old fashioned marketing degree and years of experience that counts for something but really not that much. In other words, the old skill sets that are slowly being cast aside or marginalized in the digital space won't be enough. Don't believe it? Listen to the background of someone who is apparantly in high demand in the digital advertising world.
OK so lets's take a look at Mr. Lee if he is indeed the new marketing prototype. He is 40 years old which means he is more likely to have actual business experience which goes beyond knowing what something is (I have a Twitter account, I use Facebook, I am familiar with this and that) to actually applying it. This kind of experience only comes with time. It's not taught in a classroom and it is likely something that larger companies (or those with money at least) aren't as interested in considering if there is not some level of a high end degree attached to it. How many of you reading this are economics majors from Stanford with an MBA from a top school? Now, those of us who don't have these credentials are probably bristling with the "Oh sure, but "I am a social media guru" to "Those numbers guys don't get people" to "Put in our favorite excuse you use when you feel threatened" version of righteous indignation. What is probably a better reaction would be to say "Shoot, I need to up the ante on the skill set, pronto!". The problem for those who have advertising and marketing job needs to fill there is not many of the Mr. Lee types out there. People who are too young just don't have the experience to apply many of things they might know. On the other side, those who have seen business through 20 years of experience but don't have the technical or mathematical know how are just as unemployable. So what should one do? Not everyone just has the time or the wherewithal to say "I'm going to stop working and get an MBA from a top school". I think those without the education credentials are going to need to get creative. If you are younger, you may want to drop the "I know more than everyone already" attitude and find someone who is older with more experience to get into a mentoring situation. Honestly, this could be a very powerful thing if two people who sit at the opposite end of the spectrum agree to meet in the middle to help each other advance. This type of arrangement, however, is fraught with gotchas not the least of which is trust. If you are older you will need to drop the "These young kids think they know everything even though they haven't done anything" mindset. Every generation has suffered this dilemma and all future ones will as well. When one looks back at "what could have been" it clouds one's ability to think rationally and reach out to someone who you may not have considered a peer at any time in the past. If you want to survive for the remainder of your working life, however, it may require a different paradigm. In fact it will. In the end it is quite simple in the new world order of marketing. You better know more than just marketing. What are you doing to keep your skills current? What kind of training are you involved in? What do you see as a necessary piece of the future of your work that you are missing? Share with other pilgrims. Maybe there is someone out there who can help.
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