When one thinks of Target, it's certainly fitting to imagine the retailer as an outlet for the teenage girls that form the bulk of The Hunger Games' most dedicated fan base. What may not be so fitting to the Target brand and clientele are the terms like "14-carat gold replicas" and "$999 each." Yet, this is what Target is dangling as one of the marquee features of its exclusive Hunger Games DVD release event.Continue reading...

Film: Brave
Brands Spotted: 0 (if you don't count Scotland)
Standout Placement: N/A
Most Memorable Placement (positive): N/A
Most Memorable Placement (negative): N/A
Overall Product Placement Integration Grade (1-10): N/A
Comments: Some critics have called Brave, Disney/Pixar's new film, formulaic. It's an easy conclusion to reach. The idea behind Brave appears to be taking the popularity of young women archers (cue The Hunger Games, and already a Brave-themed attraction at Disney Parks), pinching some themes from other recent popular franchises (How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek), updating the Disney Princess juggernaut, and wrapping the whole thing in the aura of an earlier epic Scottish tale of bravery (Braveheart*). But Brave's guts aren't the only formulaic element of the film.Continue reading...

With libraries reporting waiting lists in the thousands and retailers reporting over 10 million copies sold in just a month and a half, the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey and its siblings 50 Shades Darker and 50 Shades Freed has not only dominated The Hunger Games trilogy but (mercy!) "ripped through the virginity" of America's familiarity with, and openess to, BDSM.

Much to the delight of its publisher, the trilogy by E.L. James is being banned in libraries across the nation, where "pornography," not "literature," is used to describe the tome. And the only thing nearly as popular as reading the book is writing about how terrible it is as a book. (True fact: The books started as fan fiction featuring characters from the Twilight series — now it's inspiring fan fiction.)

Capitalizing on the new craze for "mommy porn" is "leading fetish company" Stockroom.com, which reports a "a remarkable surge in inquiries."Continue reading...

Kids and Young Adult (YA) e-book sales in the U.S. grew by triple digits in February, reports the Association of American Publishers, as compared to relatively flat adult e-book sales figures. The total for e-book sales in the category is close to 25 million sold in January 2012.

The key contributing factor: adults are devouring YA e-books like The Hunger Games trilogy, and — still — Harry Potter. The Hunger Games franchise held the top three spots for the month of January on both the physical bestseller list and the Kindle paid bestseller list, appearing on USA Today’s bestseller list and taking first place for Amazon and Kindle sales. With the March release of the movie, stats on e-book sales to be released next month could be record-breaking.

On the Pottermore e-hub, which was announced last June, Harry Potter e-book sales reached close to 525,000 in the first month, totaling about $4.8 million. The Pottermore e-bookstore launched on March 27 as the exclusive place to buy Harry Potter e-books and digital audiobooks followed by the full Potter digi-verse on April 14.Continue reading...

Walmart copes with fallout from revelations of bribery in Mexico.

Chrysler aims new Dodge Dart at Millennials, opens new door to get suppliers' best ideas, and returns to China with new concept vehicle at Beijing Auto Show.

Disney accepts resignation of film chief after loss on John Carter, while more companies hire Disney Institute to help with customer service.

Amylin is searching for a buyer.

Audi sees demand surge in China and U.S.

Avon arrives late at e-commerce.Continue reading...

Kicking off this week's Brand Bites, model Bar Refaeli's new under.me lingerie line campaign channels an iconic cheeky tennis poster.

PETA take note: the Sierra Club's new "Coal Will Say Anything" campaign shows how it's done.Continue reading...

As the appetite for all things Hunger Games seems insatiable, with its record-breaking $155m weekend opening and Fandango pre-sales for more than 1,200 showings, one key player that deserves credit for making the pre-release marketing a hit on social media is a relative newcomer: thismoment.

Simply put, “Lionsgate social media marketing is centered around thismoment’s social infrastructure,” writes Forbes. Entrepreneur-centric Inc. also acknowledged the thismoment-powered social media savvy of The Hunger Games pre-launch marketing. Their secret sauce?Continue reading...

We have already taken a long look at the extensive official merchandise from the phenomenal film The Hunger Games. Now, a look at a few things that fans can pick up that do not bear the stamp of approval from Lionsgate, Scholastic or any other Hunger Games copyright holder. To Etsy we go!

First up (above): The Hunger Games Capitol Serving Platter ($35) Serve up some delicious nosh during your next Reaping watch party!Continue reading...