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The study, entitled ‘Perspectives on Television in Words and Numbers’, is full of all sorts of stats about video-on-demand uptake, product placement and other TV goodies. But one statistic in particular caught my eye.

In the presentation he presents five tips for how to make content go viral, including the advice to ‘Be a Mormon, not a Jew’. But the most eye-catching conclusion, and the one that probably resonates most with those in the marketing profession, is the idea of the ‘Bored at work network’, or BWN.

The Torch will be the first device to run on the BlackBerry 6 operating system: the newly revamped software, which was designed to work better with the increasingly-obligatory smart phone touch-screen interface.

What’s causing the change? A combination of an improving economy, slightly increased consumer confidence, on-going discounting and promotional activity, and growing children (with a real need for new clothing, outgrown shoes, and depleted supplies) has increased anticipated back-to-school spend. The consumer’s view of the traditional retail 3R’s used to be ‘retailer,’ ‘rates,’ and ‘requirements,’ – which retailer was offering the best prices for stuff the kids really required. As consumers have already earned their Ph.D.’s in smart shopping, this year ‘requirements’ has moved to the top of parents’ lists.

The big difference with the psychographic segments mapped out in Grey and G2's Eye on Asia - Retail study is that at first glance, there just seems to be four new labels for four new psychographic segments that need to be learned in order to understand the research. But the fact that we can track these segments across national borders and that pan-Asian campaigns can be customised based on this segmentation system makes it very unique and very useful.

The four psychographic segments in Eye on Asia - Retail are Loyal Listers (26% of Asians), Passive Value Fans (22%), Whim Indulgers (24%), and Engaged Info Seekers (28%). Each group was classified based upon shopper behaviour tendencies.

For example, for Engaged Info Seekers, actively seeking product promotions, demonstrations and experiential marketing are key motivations in the shopper journey. While Whim Indulgers, as the name suggests, tend to be more chaotic and tend to be more influenced by brand messaging and ‘new’ items. And across a general Asian spread, the groups tend to be more or less even in numbers (all close to a quarter of all Asians).

However you think about it, it’s a lot of people looking to connect. In the last year the number of Facebook users has doubled in size. In just 6 years it’s become the biggest information network on the Internet— or anyplace else, for that matter. And Facebook effects go well beyond just sharing photos or saying ‘hi.’ For many it has become the site of first resort: 70% of users outside the U.S. and 25% of all users check in and update their pages via cell phones. And all this has begun to test the limits of personal privacy.

Whether these offerings are appetizing to the consumers, a market opportunity does not a brand success make. The truth is that any quick-serve chain can come up with a truly gross offering. But getting attention and getting sales are two entirely different courses. Consumers may try something for the novelty (and for the occasional cholesterol jolt), but you need more than one-time buyers to make a success of newly fabricated grub.

Some couples are attracted by the low cost of retail store weddings. Some by the novelty of them. Others use them to reflect their brand or employee loyalty. And although retail weddings are unique, they are becoming more and more mainstream.