Jaffe Juice

Flip the Funnel: Halve your Budget; Double your Revenue

Joseph Jaffe — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:35:00 PST

It's time. It's time to talk about my new book. Finally. It's time to talk about why retention is the new acquisition. it's time to talk about the new rules of customer service and how customer service can become THE key strategic differentiator. It's time to talk about the REAL role of social media.

It's time to ask this question, "what if we got it all wrong?" What if all of marketing was completely backwards? If 75% (or more) of our revenue comes from returning customers, why on earth are we only investing 25% (or less) against them? If 20% (or less) of our customers are responsible for 80% (or more) of our revenue or volume, why don't we know each and every one of these customers by name? What are we explicitly doing for them? Or just watch this video:

The other day my colleague, Greg Verdino (himself an author) basically said to me, "what the hell is going on with promoting your new book?" loosely paraphrased and translated as, "what the hell is going on with promoting your new book?" Or why haven't you done a thing to pre-sell and ramp up buzz etc about the book's release?

Actually until this post, I haven't even officially acknowledged the NAME of the book (with a dedicated post). Here's why:

I've been busy
There's way too much artificial hype, misdirection and fluff associated with books nowadays. When I began my author journey with "Life after the 30-second spot" in 2004/2005, getting a book deal actually meant something. Today, anyone with a budget can buy a book deal. Or anyone willing to pretty much whore out their integrity by including the word, "Twitter" in a headline gets published. Then there's all the "marketing" tactics hype and the fluff support from cronies (poorly veiled as community). I'm not going for any of this, this time round. I've done it before, but this time - more than ever - I want the content to speak for itself. And I want my readers to help me with the marketing as in "use your existing customers to gain new ones" (the book's sub-head), which brings me to...
I'm a big believer in "Using New Marketing to Prove New Marketing" (UNM2PNM) - in other words, letting the book's principles and practices market itself. One of the central messages in the book is, "instead of ending with the purchase, BEGIN with the purchase." Start with the narrow end of the funnel and build from there. Translation: it's less about a big bang and more about "slow and steady wins the race." That's what I'm doing this time round.

So what's the book about?

It's about the rise of customer experience; the new rules of customer service; the reinvention of retention, loyalty, CRM and service not as a passive, defensive, reactive and static "back office" funtion, but instead as a proactive, offensive, dynamic and "front office" strategic imperative.
It's about slaughtering one of the all-time sacred cows of marketing, the traditional marketing (and sales) funnel and replacing it with the flipped funnel.
It's about restablishing order, balance and equilibrium from a lopsided and disproportionate acquisition obsessed and heavy end to an optimized and self-fulfilling ecosystem which builds existing customers into the ongoing go-to-market process and strategy.
It's about merging customer service and word-of-mouth
It's about converting loyalists and advocates into evangelists, influencers and ambassadors
It's about winning in a recession by recognizing that without our customers, we have no business; and without our employees, we have no way of doing business (there's a dedicated chapter on the importance of flipping the funnel for employees)
It's about A.D.I.A.

I could go on, but hopefully that's enough to get you hungry enough to find out more.

The book's foreword was written by The Consumerist's Ben Popken and the likes of Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, Best-selling authors Seth Godin and Jeffrey Gitomer, HP CMO, Michael Mendenhall and Panasonic's CMO, Bob Greenberg have endorsed the book.

Case studies include a host of very recent and topical examples, as well as a ton of unexpected and original illustrations including: Zappos, USAA, Virgin America, United (breaks Guitars), Domino's, Umpqua Bank, President Obama (he flipped the funnel and he may need to again...), Delta (Skelter), American Express (#fail), American Airlines, Hyundai, Best Buy, Panasonic, Comcast (cares), CustomInk, Three Wolf Moon, Coca-Cola and more.

Or just watch this video:

Here's a litany of information you might find useful:

The book's website: www.flipthefunnelnow.com
The books's twitter profile: www.twitter.com/flipthefunnel
The book's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/flipthefunnel
Amazon.com, BN.com, Borders.com and CEO-READ links to purchase online

It's time to P-A-R-T Why? Because I gotta!

If you're in New York City this Thursday, February 11th, come join me for a launch party and mixer at the Roger Smith Hotel from 6-8pm. More information here.

There's more....

I want the marketing thrust to come from "customers" i.e. readers i.e. hopefully you :) Here are a bunch of ways I'm going to be doing this:

"Bulk Sales"

Sounds crude, but in reality it's very much "on strategy" in the form of recognizing and rewarding my customers. So here's how it works: If you purchase...

75 books, I'll give you 1 x 30 minute telephone or VoIP Q&A about the book
250 books, I'll set up 1 x 1 hour in-person meeting (plus expenses) which can be Q&A book related or can be used for a general brainstorm
500 books, I'll provide a 1 x 1 hour webinar presentation with a 30 minute Q&A afterwards
1,000 books, you'll get 1 x in person keynote presentation (US/North America) plus expenses
1,500+ books, I'll hop across the border for a 1 x in person keynote presentation (international) plus expenses

There aren't many terms or conditions, but I will just call out the following:

This is obviously schedule permitting
My travel preferences are quite particular and I'll need them adhered to (it's a loyalty thing)
Any requests that involve travel to places like Japan, Australia, Russia, Brazil, South Africa etc. may involve a little more noodling (hell, you're far away!)

"Barnes & Noble (and Borders) Groundswell"

I'm not going to whine too much (more), but let's just say that most of the books you see on the "New Releases" and "Best in Business" section are 100% paid for placements. There's a sucker born every minute and I guess the old school publishers and buyers think you're dumb and I'm dumb. We're not.

So here's what I'd REALLY REALLY REALLY like you to do. Purchase your copy of "Flip the Funnel" in-store at a Barnes & Noble or a Borders. Specifically go in and pick it up and if there aren't copies available, order one. Or two. Or three. Or more.

And let me know about it...so I can let them know about it. As a thank you, I'll sign your copy (or copies for your clients, customers or colleagues perhaps) when I see you. I'll also acknowledge you on my blog or the book's website.

"I've reviewed the book"

There's no reason why "Flip the Funnel" shouldn't get more reviews than Twilight, Harry Potter, Good to Great or even "Three Wolf Moon". Why? Because I'm specifically asking you to review the book on a Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com site.

It's part of the "C" of Content Creation and Commendations in the 3-C Customer Activation Model

As I write in the book, I'd prefer an honest 4-star review over an empty 5-star review (although let me clear, an honest 5-star review is always best!)

When you've done this, please add yourself to the dedicated section on the book's site.

As an incentive (the "I" in A.D.I.A.), I'll pick one (or more) person randomly every month and give them something special (like a phone or meeting Q&A or even a guest slot on the Flip the Funnel podcast)

Of course you can still request a review copy via my publicist...

The Flip the Funnel Podcast

I haven't started it yet, but I promise to have the first episode out in February. This is the "D" of Dialogue in the Flipped Funnel. Every month, I'll tackle one chapter of the book and answer questions about the chapter in particular, but also general themes behind the book. Think of it like a Director's Cut or Commentary, except that you get to interact and participate as you wish.

"The Flip the Funnel Roadshow"

I'll be on the road soon. Dates to be announced. There will be meet-up or tweet-ups which ONLY people who have purchased the book can attend. This cuts right through Acknowledgement (of purchase), Dialogue (as in a delicious glass of Stella Artois), Incentive (see: Stella) and Activation (the community element).

New Keynote Material

I've also developed an entirely new set of material for keynote presentations (and based on reaction at MarketingSherpa's e-mail conference, this is resonating strongly) to complement my "Life after the 30-second spot" and "Join the Conversation" keynotes about new media innovation and social media respectively. If you want to book me for a speaking engagement, find out more here.

Here's a sneak peak at 3 new titles:

Flip the Funnel: How to use existing customers to gain new ones - In his keynote, Joseph Jaffe will outline how retention can become the new acquisition for businesses today and in doing so, literally transform the way companies go to market and establish a critical competitive edge and advantage. Using his new “flipped funnel” methodology, Jaffe will outline the notion of customer experience, introduce the 10 new rules of customer service and present a social media-powered customer activation model that harnesses the true potential and impact of customer-generated word-of-mouth, reviews and referrals. If “getting more from less” has become your new mandate, you won’t want to miss a new approach which presents the possibility of doubling your revenues whilst halving your budget in the process.
Retention is the new acquisition - For too long loyalty, customer service and relationship marketing have been thought of as passive, reactionary and/or defensive tactics. No more. In a world that is becoming ever more transparent, networked and dynamic, listening and responding has become a cultural imperative. But the real question is, “with whom?” And the answer is an unequivocal, “our customers”. In fact if you think about it, without our customers we have no business; we have no budget to invest in acquisition or awareness efforts. If this is in fact the case, why do we continue to throw good money after bad wooing strangers with no overt or explicit affinity towards our brand? Why do we relatively ignore our lifeblood – our customers? What would happen if we turn conventional business practices on its head and in doing so, elevate CRM, loyalty and retention marketing to head of the class; from back to front office; give it its deserved seat at the strategic planning table? What might the result be? Flip the funnel and you’ll find out for yourself!
The new customer service - This is no longer your grandfather’s customer service. With the explosive and exponential advances and evolution in technology innovation and adoption, companies have limitless opportunities to connect with their customers in unprecedented ways. No longer considered to be a cost center, but indeed a strategic imperative capable of building the business – efficiently and effectively – from the inside-out. Using a revolutionary “flipped funnel” methodology, author and thought leader Joseph Jaffe will introduce and outline how customer service 2.0 – and its umbrella parent, customer experience – can become a powerful 1-2 punch capable of profoundly differentiating a brand from its competitors, establishing powerful relationships with customer evangelists and influencers and more importantly, arming this base with tools, techniques and incentives to spread word-of-mouth, recommendations and referrals to social networks, trusted peers and communities.

Flip the Funnel for your business - Powered by Powered

So far, pretty much every marketing exec I've spoken to has been incredibly enamored with the potential and possibility of implementing a flipped funnel methodology for their own business. Over the months to come, I'll be working closely with my new colleagues to develop and implement the book's vision, ideas and processes for key brand (perhaps even yours).

I think that's enough for now. Assuming you've even read this far. Can you tell how energized and passionate I am about this subject? It's my third book and feels the closest to the "truth". They say there's no silver bullet in marketing, but honestly....I think this just might be it!

What are you waiting for? It's time to Flip the Funnel. Now!

PS The idea of doubling your revenues WHILST SIMULTANESOULY halving your marketing budget is both anecdotal and aspirational, but I don't think it's far fetched at all.

How Toyota can Flip the Funnel

Joseph Jaffe — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:15:45 PST

It's tough going these days if you work for Toyota or any of its partners. It's tougher being a customer especially with the doubt surrounding loose floor mats and sticking accelerator pads and safety concerns in general. And then there's the perceived broken trust and the lost credibility associated with a brand that seemingly reigned supreme in terms of relationship, bond and loyalty.

Instead of purposely piling on the hurt, I thought I'd offer 5 ideas, pieces of advice and/or feedback on how a company like Toyota - and other companies in similar industries (or not) - can avoid this kind of tumult in the future.

Open letters to customers need to be inclusive. Not exclusive. Taking out a full page "ad" in all the major daily newspapers essentially says, "an open letter to our customers WHO HAPPEN TO READ NEWSPAPERS." That's a dwindling bunch these days. Instead, if paid media is going to be used, think about owning YouTube, Facebook, the portals, etc. for a day. In other words, be where your customers are. (see point 4 about social media)
Pull all your advertising that sends out conflicting messages or projects an otherwise detached message. For example, I caught this 15-second TV spot talking about "reliability" the other day...when Toyota's are perceived to be anything but.
Your website is the first port of call. As shown in this illustration, only about 1/45th of real estate is currently being devoted to the Recall. That's clearly too low. Instead there seems to be an attempt to sell a Prius with a message that talks about harmony and efficiency. What I would be wondering about is whether this Prius was safe or not. This is not all that dissimilar to Domino's that tried to avoid being upfront and direct about their crisis. Decisive, pre-emptive strikes are the order of the day.
If ever there was any doubt about the importance of social media, that should surely be dispelled at this point. Toyota has less than 75,000 fans on Facebook. They have less followers than ME on Twitter. When times are tough, the first place and the first people to turn to are customers, loyalists, enthusiasts, fans, friends, followers, advocates, evangelists...hell, even critics. These groups of people don't magically materialize overnight. They are built, earned and nurtured over time. Toyota has struggled to cope, contain, address and engage because they don't have a place, space or venue to do so (see point 1). And even in these forums, Toyota does not appear to be actively participating and "joining the conversation." There's a fine line between dominating a conversation and fairly contributing to it. Toyota doesn't appear to be in the game. Step 1 is a group, page or presence on a third party social hub. Step 2 is a customer-centric branded community. Step 3 is the ability to active them. Customer service, crisis communication and relationship management are all blurring together at a frenetic pace.
Anticipate these problems. Because they will happen. And they may be product related. Or brand related. Or customer service related. It's not good enough to be caught unawares anymore. Contingency planning has got to be part of a brand's strategy nowadays. Being flexible, nimble, responsive and adaptive are not luxuries. Whilst several of Toyota's competitors like GM, Honda or have jumped on the brandwagon to essentially kick Toyota whilst it's down and offer to exchange faulty Toyota's for their brand, the tables will turn; the pendulum will swing. It always does. This absolutely applies to any business today.

In my new book, "Flip the Funnel," I talk about the need for companies to stop focusing on acquiring new customers and instead focus on their existing ones. If brands begun with the purchase, instead of ending with the purchase, they'd have a unique opportunity to grow the number of potential transactions (via increased basket sizes, repeat purchase and signficantly, word-of-mouth referrals), deliver a superior customer experience and service their lifeblood at unprecedented levels. They'd also have a direct line to them when they needed advice, help, support and rescue.

Let me be clear...this post isn't about selling my book. If you buy it, you'll be better off for doing doing so. If you don't, it's no sweat off my back. I only wish I'd been able to build Toyota into the book as a case study, because it's exactly this type of situation that the book is hoping to help companies avoid and/or best deal with.

In any event, I wish the folks over at Toyota the best of luck in terms of being able to make it through this mess. People have short memories, but when it comes to safety, all bets are off. Toyota will need to painstakingly earn back the trust they've lost in the process. It's doable. But it'll take time, commitment and a genuine attempt to demonstrate staying power. In other words....reliability.

JJTV #71 - Is Your Brand Social

Joseph Jaffe — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:54:19 PST

Do you have a social brand? What is a social brand? Can a shoe or a can or a car even BE social?

How come Apple is the "most social brand" when in reality they're anti-social.

I also introduce R.E.A.C.H. - 5 guidelines to determine a brand's sociability...

Additional links:

Adweek article which references this conversation

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - What makes a brand social? Why is an anti-social brand like Apple considered to be most social? http://bit.ly/socialbrand
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

Thank you to HP for sponsoring this show. In addition to their Employee Purchase Program (see below), you can also participate in their very worthy Create Change program. In a nutshell, for every purchase you make at the Direct Store, HP will donate 4% of the total product purchase to support a range of charities in the areas of conservation, education, enrichment systems, healthcare support, disaster recovery and the battle to fight poverty. These charities include: WWF, Junior Achievement, American Red Cross, CARE, Susan G. Komen, Make-A-Wish Foundation®, and DonorsChoose.org

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

JJTV #70 - The Great Agency Race

Joseph Jaffe — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:27:44 PST

The changing landscape of the agency business and the race between traditional, digital and social agencies to lead branding efforts.

Additional links:

Adweek article that started this conversation
Podcast debate between myself and Twist Image's Mitch Joel

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - are traditional, digital or social agencies best equipped to lead brand strategy? The debate continues: http://bit.ly/greatrace
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

JJTV #69 - Nook's Promotion Strategy: The Best or Worst EVER???

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:40:30 PST

In this episode, I debate whether Barnes & Noble's promotion and distribution strategy for their e-Reader - the Nook - was the best OR worst EVER.

Whilst I'm not sure about the limited supply portion, the in-store promotion via pop-up retail kiosks was sheer genius.

...and I did purchase Nook's for all the crayon employees, so I guess something's working.

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Jeff Bezos, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - was the Nook's Promotional and Distribution Strategy the best or worst EVER???!!! - http://bit.ly/7dFBRQ
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Keynote for a Cause - the Final Tally: $20,000 to Haiti

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:45:00 PST

Really proud to announce that - thanks to two companies (one a large CPG global brand and one a Belgian agency) and my big mouth, I will be donating $20,000 to the Red Cross' Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund/efforts.

It's also been great to see how this has caught on and how many people are following suit. The more, the merrier.

Jaffe Juice #133 - The one with the raging social media agency debate

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:33:18 PST

My good buddy, Mitch Joel, and my new colleague, Powered's CMO, Aaron Strout, "sat down" to debate whether the industry needs a dedicated social media agency or alternatively, whether digital agencies are best suited/positioned to deliver on social as just another element of an expanding digital toolbox. The seed for this was an Adweek article.

Clearly, both Mitch and I have our own unique biases. He works for a digital agency and I work for a social media agency. That said, Mitch and I both felt that there isn't enough productive debate (read: disagreement) in the industry right now and so we came to "blows" in the name of conversation.

We're both secure enough in terms of who we are and what we bring to the table to do this and most importantly, we're both GOOD friends and we respect each other deeply.

...that said, you wouldn't know it at times as things get quite heated.

At the end of the day, the result is probably a hard fought out draw and hopefully the real winner is the listener and the industry in general.

So if you want to spend 1h15 of your time listening in, enjoy....

PS The episode was also syndicated via Mitch's Podcast, Six Pixels of Separation

PPS I'm pretty sure I'm right about this :) Just had to throw in the last word (sssh - don't tell Mitch)

As always, send in your audio comments to me on +1 206 203-3255 or follow me on Twitter (why? I have no idea)

Direct download here

iTunes subscription here

Donate your Beans here

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:35:56 PST

Been a little slow on the draw to cross post my monthly stint on The BeanCast, so here is the direct download (which will download automatically if you are subscribed to Jaffe Juice - The New Marketing Podcast)

Topics covered on the show included:

Haiti Text Messaging Campaign and Best Practices
Conan versus Leno (Told ya!)
IKEA's Easy to Assemble Web Video success
Google leaves China
Vanity Fair's Tweetheart Racism Kerfuffle

Guests on the show (including yours truly) included:

Bill Green, Publisher, Make The Logo Bigger and co-host of AdVerve

Joseph Jaffe, Chief Interrupter, Powered (Find out about Joe's podcasts, video content and auction of a keynote for Haiti at JaffeJuice.com)

Åsk Wäppling, CEO, Adland.tv

Dave Wilkie, Blogger/Copywriter, Hire Dave at GreenHammock.com and read his blog Where's My Jetpack? (Like to read, or better yet publish, Dave's first novel? Find out more at Random Scratch)

Tefillinage: How to pray with Teffilin on a plane

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:15:53 PST

Shmuly Tennenhaus, the man behind the Obamica and the John McKippah (scroll down) is at it again!

This time in response to an incident which just occured involving a young Orthodox Jew who was praying on a plane (doing the ritualistic morning prayer involving "Teffilin" (a set of small cubic leather boxes painted black, containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, with leather straps dyed black on one side, and worn by observant Jewish men during weekday morning prayers) and ended up being diverted by a panicked flight crew, surrounded by FBI and taking into custody...but later released.

So much for religious freedom, 'eh?

He put together this video which gets really good around the 2 minute mark. Personally I can't wait for his how-to perform a Jewish ritualistic circumcision using a box-cutter. Cheeky!

There are (believe it or not) several marketing implications with this affair:

Shmuly understands "viral"; I've often spoken about a luck factor associated with getting noticed, but cite South African golfer, Gary Player who is quoted as saying, "the more I practice, the luckier I get". Well, Shmuly gets lucky more often than most and his hit:miss ratio is higher than most. Why? I guess you'll just have to ask him...or read on.
Shmuly is an opportunistic marketer...he acts quickly, decisively and smartly on an issue that is topical, current and relevant (if not to you, then to him)
He's not afraid to tackle areas which most marketers will never tread
He has a sense of humor
Most importantly, in this case he's been able to turn a negative into a positive. In this case, he's been able to shine attention to a passion point: his Orthodoxy and Judaism in general. He's educating those who might never have seen Tefillin before (which by the way includes plenty of Jews these days) and making it OK for a Jew to "daven" on a plane (just travel to Israel on El Al and you'll see this pretty consistently at the back of the plane)

Note to TSA: you'll probably want to scan the Tefillin next time, but just be thankful that they don't come sewn to the insides of someone's underpants.

We'll make it up in volume: Keynote for a Cause v2.0

Joseph Jaffe — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:54:19 PST

Change of plan....I'm going to honor all bids of $10,000 or more. And I'm going to extend this until end of day Friday.

So if you'd like a Jaffe keynote at a steal and in the process, be able to contribute to more than a worthy cause, contact me via comment, tweet, Direct Message, e-mail [jaffe at powered dot com] or cell and I'll lock in you.

Remember that 100% of the proceeds will go towards helping Haiti recover from the horrific earthquake.

Think I'll cap this at 5 speeches. Right now I have 2 confirmed. That's $20,000 to the Red Cross to help with Haiti earthquake relief.

So essentially 3 more opportunities to be enlightened, challenged and motivated...whilst at the same time making a difference.

To me, that's a win-win.

Step up people. Step up.

JJTV #68 - Et tu Twitte

Joseph Jaffe — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:42:48 PST

Twitter - with its retweeting policy - seems to be going the same way as Facebook - with its privacy policy: GET BIG FAST.

Perhaps this episode should have been called deja vu.

Come on people....there's more to conversation than reach and CPM's!

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Biz and Ev, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - It's groundhog day for Twitter and its - yawn - get big fast strategy - http://bit.ly/5hetgi
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Accenture the negative part 2

Joseph Jaffe — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:38:17 PST

I passed through La Guardia airport a week ago and saw this billboard featuring their spokesperson, Tiger Woods. Except for the fact, Accenture had turned their back on their cash cow celebrity endorser following his multiple transgressions.

Oops.

The headline of the billboard was even more ironic, "it's what you do next that counts." Indeed.

The body copy read, "We know what it takes to be a Tiger. Talk to us to see how we can help." Indeed

Like you helped Tiger Woods? Perhaps providing him with marriage counselling? Or...when the going got a little tough, you turned and headed for hills...

Oops.

When I saw this, I immediately tweeted about it, recorded and released a JaffeJuiceTV episode, and then on Sunday's Beancast, I noted that Accenture was replacing Tiger with an elephant.

And then lo and behold, today (just over one week later) as I walked by the same billboard, I see this:

Coincidence? I think not. I think someone at Accenture and/or their agencies reads Jaffe Juice. In fact, I know they do.

Either way, an elephant never forgets. And neither will Accenture's customers. Nor me.

Oh yeah, crayon got acquired...

Joseph Jaffe — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:13:53 PST

It's probably testiment only good things, but I've been too busy to focus on the acquisition/roll-up announcement since the day it happened.

I still haven't gotten around to telling about 90% of the people I'd like to tell...including family members! I've had to fend off several friends and family members who snarled the following words: "...this I had to find out from a BLOG???!!!!!!!"

Shortly after everything got announced, all of Powered's NEW executive team from crayon, Drillteam, StepChange and of course Powered, were locked into planning sessions which spanned Monday and Tuesday.

News coverage was pretty encouraging. We pretty much got coverage from every major marketing/media outlet (thank you Agency Spy for this rotten photo of me at CES last year 50 pounds heavier and clearly inebriated), with the exception of Ad Age (I live in hope...) We also got a mention in the New York Times. Twitter coverage (as you can imagine) was extensive. On a personal note (and as someone who once launched a company called crayon), I found that there was considerably less hype from the fishbowl this time round. Normally you'll see these kinds of blog posts with pages upon pages of "congrats" from social media cronies in blind support. This time it appears that people really get how significant this move may prove to be....and so there was either genuine encouragement or badly veiled bitterness.

Either way, it's all good.

We did however get time to do an episode of Jaffe Juice - the New Marketing Podcast and you can listen to the raw MP3 here or the slightly branded one here (as in with JJ bumpers).

It's quite a unique opportunity to hear from the principals of all 3 companies, including crayonista Greg Verdino, Powered CMO Aaron Strout AND even an ex-crayonista and current social media marketer muckety-muck, Scott Monty...so give it a listen if you'd like to hear more about the acquisition, motivations for selling, vision we're buying into and thoughts about whether the industry needs a social media agency (hint: yes)

We also launched a white paper with consolidated predictions from the principals of the 4 companies. I think this speaks to the diversity of the individual offerings as specific pieces of what would be considered to be a holistic/end-to-end social media solution/service. The predictions are:

Social Media Gets Down to Business by GREG VERDINO, VP Strategy and Solutions
Mobile Becomes the First Screen by JOSEPH JAFFE, Chief Interruptor Powered, Inc.
Real-Time Converges with Geolocation by JEN van der MEER, Principal Drillteam, A Powered Company
Facebook Connect by AARON STROUT, Chief Marketing Officer Powered, Inc.
Local Goes Loco by KEVIN TATE, Principal StepChange, A Powered Company
Branded Online Communities by AARON STROUT, Chief Marketing Officer Powered, Inc.
Facebook Turns Inside-Out by KEVIN TATE, Principal StepChange, A Powered Company
Marketing to the Pack by JEN van der MEER, Principal Drillteam, A Powered Company
Rise of Customer Service as THE Strategic Differentiator by JOSEPH JAFFE, Chief Interruptor Powered, Inc.

You can download the entire document for free right here.

I then headed to Fort Worth to present to the amazing folks at Southwest Airlines. I met Christi Day who runs their Twitter account, @southwestair. In fact, just that day, they announced 1 million followers, which is a pretty significant number in terms of being able to acknowledge, dialogue, incent and activate on a daily basis (hint: Flip the Funnel) I also met their CMO and CEO.

Southwest - through Herb Kelleher - is definitely one of the brands which has helped guide, mould and inspire me to be a better marketer.

I then moved on to Miami and got to present to another great brand, that conjures up incredible memories of growing up in South Africa. More on that soon...

And now I'm back for a few days, but gearing up to officially launch my new book, "Flip the Funnel" (which you'll notice I *still* have not promoted or mentioned in any standalone capacity) at MarketingSherpa's e-mail conference in Miami.

And the weather will be great, so I'm hoping for 1 hour of beach time (if schedule allows)

Which brings me back to "Flip the Funnel". Schedule allowing, I'm going to write a complete post on the new book this week. It's officially out (as in, in stores) around February 8th, so there's still time to share with you some thoughts, insights and high level vision behind the book. In a nutshell, I've been overwhelmed with how positively this book has been received by/from marketers. It's NOT a social media book, nor a digital book per se....in fact it's a far cry (thankfully) from all the books telling you to get on Twitter and the like. The book takes me back to my marketing roots and if I can get Philip Kotler to tell me he's proud of me, I'll be a happy camper.

So now it's off to upload the latest episodes of Jaffe Juice TV and then get back to my keynote at MarketingSherpa's e-mail conference.

PS Don't forget that I'm auctioning off a keynote presentation with 100% of the proceeds going to Haiti Earthquake relief. Current bidding is at $10,000 and I can tell you that it's still pretty significantly under my rate card. Find more here.

JJTV #67- Accenture the negative

Joseph Jaffe — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:59:07 PST

I wonder if there will be any backlash against Accenture for pulling their sponsorship of Tiger Woods. It shows how fickle and spineless this brand really is....with you during the good times; first to bolt when things get hairy.

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with the PGA, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - Will there be a brand backlash against fickle/spineless sponsors like Accenture? - http://bit.ly/5r94jA
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

JJTV #66 - Your 15 seconds of fame courtesy of Kodak

Joseph Jaffe — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:49:08 PST

A great example of innovation and leveraging media assets (in the form of digital/OOH) in the form of Kodak's Times Square billboard interactive session. Here's Kodak's Tom Hoehn's blog post.

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with the world, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - Your 15 seconds of fame courtesy of Kodak - http://bit.ly/15secsoffame
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Keynote for a Cause (Reserve has been met)

Joseph Jaffe — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 06:16:26 PST

Update: The reserve has been met. Current bid is at $10,000. Let's go up in increments of $5,000, shall we? $15,000 to play

Update: My friend, and fellow agency-entrepreneur, author and thought leader, Mitch Joel, has joined the "Keynote for a Cause" meme. Why not bid on both of us? We'd make a formidable 1-2 punch at your next conference...

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I'm auctioning off a keynote presentation with 100% of the proceeds going to the Red Cross / Haiti Relief.

I'm putting a reserve at $10,000.

If you want to put in a "bid", DM me on Twitter (@jaffejuice) or e-mail me: jaffe [at] powered [dot] com

I'll update any bids on this post.

Bidding ends Wednesday, 1/20 at midnight.

Travel outside of NYC would be over and above. As would any copies of my 3 books.

Step up. And while you're at it, text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10. Do it now.

The Power(ed) of Social Media

Joseph Jaffe — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:04:26 PST

WOW! It really is possible to keep a secret in a world where there are no secrets (only information you don't already have). I just got back from C.E.S. in Vegas and after hanging out with people like GaGa, Levar Burton, Brent Spiner, Scottie (Monty), Jeff Cutler, Chris Heuer, Brian Solis, Chris Brogan (not really), Bobbie Scoble (not really), Jeff Pulver (not really), Leo (really), Justine (i), Sarah (almost told her), Rick (sorry), Steve Rubel, Rohit (how was the Adult Film party?), David Churbuck and much much more, not a word or whisper about 00011110 (the binary equivalent of the magic number 30).

Sooooooo......after 3+ years after founding and building crayon into a social media strategic playa, today I get to announce that crayon is now the "powered crayon" (hat tip to Forrester's Augie Ray) AKA crayon has been acquired by Austin-based Powered, Inc.

Along with crayon, Powered has also acquired Portland-based StepChange, gurus extraordinaire in all things social networking and mobile apps, widgets and presence (fan pages etc) and New York-based Drillteam, demons in engaging brand loyalists and advocates in the form of offline and online seeding and activation programs.

I should probably also tell you that Powered itself is a leader in terms of creating, building and sustaining branded communities online.

You don't have to look too hard to connect the dots and see that the concept of "community" is an incredibly strong common thread that brings all four companies together - whether this lives in the form of social networking or a tupperware party.

We don't want to resort to the usual plethora of poppycock and bravado (other than solely mine of course) and we're mindful of empty promises - especially in the social media space. So for now, let's just say that the four compaines have combined to build - what we believe is - the first full service social media agency with scale.

Let me stress this is a work-in-progress and that we intend to prove ourselves and let our collective work speak for itself. We already have an arsenal of case studies, but now it's time to let 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 30.

I'll be constantly updating a list of resources that you can refer to for more information, including the social media press release and various blog entries from both inside our company (CMO Aaron Strout's post here, including answers to several FAQ's) and outside.

Update: Additional press/blog mentions:

For now, I wanted to do 3 things:

Share with you why I sold the company I started
Talk to you a little about my passion for what I think we can achieve
Give thanks

I actually don't look at this as selling (or certainly selling out), but rather "buying in." Whereas most company owners, founders or execs sell and as quickly as you can say "golden handcuffs", bolt....I'm joining a company that I think can do amazing things - not only for its shareholders and clients, but for the industry at large. More on that in a jiffy.

I have to say that being an "entrepreneur" or "small business owner" is probably the hardest and most worthwhile thing I've ever done professionally. I guess I was both when I left the traditional agency world in 2002 and formed my jaffe, LLC army-of-one, but when you have partners, employees, members or professional "dependents," it's a different ballgame altogether.

To explain why I sold crayon is to explain to you why I started crayon in the first place. I've always believed that it's easy as pie to be a prognosticator or pundit. Writing books or giving speeches about dumb companies making dumb decisions is just part of perpetuating the status quo. This is probably why there's so much (justified) backlash against self-proclaimed social-media experts. I didn't want to be part of the problem; I wanted to part of the solution. I wanted to be part of a team again. I wanted to turn strategic and creative ideas into reality and in doing so, prove that the vision in my books was credible and capable of moving mountains.

I believe that we did just that in the past 3 years for clients including the likes of Panasonic, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, American Airlines, H&R Block, Colorado Technical University, Facebook, ooVoo, GyPSii and much more.

So now it's time to kick that up a few hundred notches. I call it taking one step forward in order to leap forward 100 more steps in the process.

Those of you who know me are well aware that I'm "financially challenged". I'm also no operational guy. I'm an Interruptor and I wanted to focus on doing what I love and what I do best, as opposed to the incredibly complex and demanding rigor of running a company.

...and that's exactly what's happening. I get to ramp up my evangelism big time, focus on maximum damage and destabalization within the lethargic industry, whilst simultaneously helping our clients reap incredible rewards from implementing commitment-based programs that are head and shoulders ahead of their competition.

On the way into Vegas, I had a chat with my friend, Sean Finnegan, who heads up all of Starcom Mediavest's Digital Media. We debated whether business needed a dedicated social media department or the industry needed a dedicated social media agency. The counterargument was that social media was too important to be siloed or specialized into a vertical capability. I was itching to tell Sean the news, which quite clearly emphatically communicates where I sit on this debate.

Put succinctly, what percentage of traditional agencies TODAY truly gets (and delivers against) digital, let alone social? I rest my case. How on earth can we expect traditional agencies to master both digital AND social at the same time? On a different level, I'd argue that the same could be said about digital and P.R. agencies when it comes to social. And I did in this Adweek article and as you can see in the comments, the truth hurts.

Bottom line: social is both a horizontal and vertical imperative and I intend to do my part to help Powered become one of (if not the) leading social media agency that can deliver broad-based and profoundly transformational social media solutions to brands that need them.

With my third book, "Flip the Funnel" coming out in about a month's time, I expect to invest a good chunk of my time promoting and talking about the book; dividing my time between writing, speaking and conference events on the one hand and working closely with the group's clients on the other. I'm giddy with excitement about the rise of customer experience and how "retention can become the new acquisition" (more on that soon) and will be devoting much headspace to the central themes of the book.

I also intend to rededicate myself to blogging...yes, blogging. To hell with Posterous and Twitter. I'm all about the renaissance of blogging. I also plan to revive Jaffe Juice - the New Marketing Podcast, starting with a live podcast on Tuesday morning at 9am EST with all the new members of the Powered family talking about the momentous event. If you'd like to listen in and participate with questions, comments or challenges, here's the link. And last but not least, I'm going to continue building out Jaffe Juice TV (check it out why don't you and subscribe on iTunes or via YouTube)

Whereas Drillteam and StepChange will continue to operate as independent entities, crayon is very quickly rolling up into a bundled Powered package. That said, crayon's strategic solution of consulting, planning and advisory services will continue to be offered (only now with more oomph, diversity and scale).

And so finally to thanks. I wanted to start off by thanking my family for putting up with me working 7 days a week for the past 7 years and spending so much time on the road.

I want to thank my family of crayonistas: Greg, Jane, Amadeo, Kate and Gary for putting up with me until the end. In particular, I have to single out Greg Verdino, who is my right hand and without him, I would be lost.

I want to thank all of our clients. Your belief, support and most importantly, friendship, is invaluable beyond words. One of my most incredible memories from crayon will be the EQUAL partnership and bonds formed with our clients. I simply despise how so many agencies have a superiority complex and feel their clients "don't get it"; they do. Big time. I totally expect these relationships to continue; with genuine personal and professional respect as a mandatory.

Finally, I want to thank all the ex-crayonistas who played their part at some point in building this company, but for whatever reason moved on. As you can see there are a lot of them and I think this emphasizes how difficult it is to run a business that is so strongly reliant on talent and properly invest and manage the cultural, interpersonal and yes, even political dynamics that are part of the job. Every single person here is a star and many have gone on to achieve fantastic things since leaving (which is something that I'm pretty proud of). Your color from the big box will always remain "retired": Gary C, Francis, Shel, Neville, CC, Aaron, Michael, Chris, Steve, Scott, Melissa, Seni, Deb, Earl, Adam S, Adam B and Gary K (and if I left anyone out, I apologize and will you add you in ASAP.)

So I guess that's it for now. I'll be spending the next day or two trying to respond as much as possible to comments on this blog, Facebook, text messaging, e-mail, cell and yes, of course Twitter (there's a Twitter press conference today at 2pm EST, hashtag #powered). I hope you can join tomorrow's (Tuesday) podcast recording at 9am EST. I hope to see many of you and continue this conversation in person at some point....sooner rather than later. Perhaps at SXSW or next week's MarketingSherpa e-mail conference in Miami.

These are exciting times and the tide is going to rise like no end to float all boats that embrace change, and sink those that resist it (because of all those holes)

The magical number 30

Joseph Jaffe — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:52:15 PST

30 is an incredible number with both magical and mystical properties. It has huge implications for business, economics and finance. It also has a series of very relevant marketing attributes which include holistic thinking, integration, (strategic) planning, innovation and more.

13 Reflections from C.E.S.

Joseph Jaffe — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:46:25 PST

So as most of you know I'm at CES for the second consecutive year. Last year I was with our Panasonic client and up to my eyeballs managing (or do my best to manage) the likes of Chris Brogan {he's such as Diva) and the less needy Steve Garfield, Ponzi Pirillo, Stacey DeBroff and Melissa Pierce. This year I'm flying solo and taking in the sights and sounds of this crazy anomaly called CES.

So last year NBC Universal had this blogging booth in the shape of a circle. On a bunch of flat screens, it would read, "Now blogging" and would include the name of someone who was hunched over a laptop presumably surfing porn. I remember thinking to myself, "what a bunch of losers/nerds/etc"

And so this year, I'm sitting under a sign that reads, "Now blogging: Joseph Jaffe".

I'm actually glad I got the chance to do some longer form blogging. It's been way too long. I also get the opportunity to sit down (finally). recharge my tired iPhone, drink my quad grande Americano that I waited in line for 40 minutes to get and hang out with the likes of Revision 3's Jim Louderback. Paidcontent's Staci Kramer and hackcollege's Kelly Sutton.

We're the cool ones.

Anyhoo, here are 10 make that 13 - reflections of my trip so far in Sin City. They're in no particular order and are not necessarily even remotely representative of the real state of affairs. Here goes:

The big 3 - Panasonic {a crayon client), Samsung and Sony. It almost seems like a giant battle to see who can outdo whom. Panasonic's presence is always very solid, polished and self confident. Samsung is the Apple to Panasonic's PC insofar that they're very preoccupied with visual/form. Sony was a little staggered and even disjointed. Maybe that's the point I guess.
So what were my takeaways from the Big 3: Panasonic was all about 3D, 3D and 3D (in that order). They've invested hugely in 3D and although the others carried 3D as well, it was in no way, shape or form even close to Panasonic's presence. Also impressive was the 154" screen. Check back over the next couple of days for a photo. Samsung's takeaway was an extension of aesthetic design and visual appeal. They definitely emphasized THIN in terms of their TV's and also put together a few layouts of multiple screens patched together to deliver enhanced gaming, trading and viewing experiences. Sony's presence to me could be summed up with the words "Tactical" and "Practical". They definitely are focusing a considerable amount of things like wireless or bluetooth sharing, uploading, editing etc and of the big 3, put the most tangible stake in the ground to capture the hearts and minds of content creators
Most impressive product for me was Sony's Bloggie camera. It's good enough to put the Flip cam out of business. Period. It's available today for under $200 and quite clearly was designed by content creators for content creators. Check it out.
Social media Fail - part 1: Very little blogger or influencer outreach to me ahead of this event and of the major players, only Sony seemed to step up in terms of their social media investment as a companion and enhancement to their on-site presence.
Social media Fail - part 2: Very little social media products that caught my eye. Although it appears everyone and their grandmothers dropped the words "twitter" and "Facebook" into everything they did in/on their booths
Pretty high agency presence. I attended Medialink's party and it was overrun with a very solid and senior leadership and management delegation from the major holding comanies. Perhaps with the exception of Omnicom. Jus' sayin'.
Lady GaGa rules. When in doubt, go for the celebrity. Sony turned to Taylor Swift and Monster and Polaroid turned to GaGa. Of course there were plenty more "borrowed interest" celebs designed to draw in delegates (ok, geeks) like a moth to a flame. Don't knock it...it works. I ended up literally right next door to the Diva and got some video footage, which I'll upload shortly and embed over the next few days (check back why don't you periodically)
It's time to P A R T, Why? Because I GOTTA! (bonus points if you know where that's from) - ultimately CES is about networking and professional socializing. Last night I was at Medialink and then NextNewNetworks/Boxee (with Obama Girl). Tonight I'm hanging with Universal McCann, @dchurbuck and Lenovo.
In one word: STANDARDS or two words: STANDARDIZATION (wait, I think that's one word as well). With multiple companies all vying for the same consumer's attention and dollars in key categories, it's going to become increasingly important for companies to let go of their delusional and old-fashioned attempts of proprietary technology, closed systems and esoteric bundling (bungling?). Case in point: Sony's Bloggie has both Sony's Memory Stick slot and an SD slot. SD. USB. Good. Memory Stick. Bad. Companies that make their hardware and products interoperable will win. Period.
The future of consumer electronics? Yes, I think there is one. And it's certainly going to be a lot more mobile, connected, Web-enabled, democratized, etc. I'm predicting (and I'm going out on a limb here) that there will be a C.E.S. in 2011. And perhaps even 2012. Not sure I feel that same way about Twitter and Foursquare, but that's another story for another day.
Bonus reflection: Actually I should include LG in the big, expansive and alpha-male booth camp. So it's a big 4, not big 3. They had an incredible welcome array/arch of TV's collaged together. Not really sure what their schtick is though. The one thing is that their location - and Microsoft's for that matter - sucked. Location. Location. Location.
Speaking of Microsoft and cars...I feel remiss that I didn't talk about the whole auto part, but if Scott Monty had given me a tour, perhaps I'd have a bit more to reflect on. There's definitely a lot of stuff going on...I liked the quick demo from Fiat where a USB connection essentially does a Nike + (Apple/Nike) kind of assessment...helps you with gear changes, better driving, tips for fuel efficiency etc coming from logging your trips and car performance etc. On the Ford/Microsoft side, I need more info. but for the most part, I am intrigued about wi-fi and in particular, how this may help podcasting reach its tipping point.
Finally, if all else fails and this entire economy goes to pot, I'd recommend either going into the security business, the video conferencing business or the event business. I can only imagine how much some of these booths cost. Mega Mega $$$'s. Actually I overhead some of my bus-riding cohorts giving out awards to the booth with the most plush carpeting. Nuff said.

If you were at C.E.S., I'd love to hear your reflections and insights from the techapalooza. If you weren't, I hope you enjoyed hearing from me on my experience so far.

Now it's time to hit the tables. Wish me luck...

PS Thanks to NBC Universal for letting me blog in their inner sanctum. Check out their presence at http://nbcuatces.com

JJTV #65 - CES or bust

Joseph Jaffe — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:00:57 PST

I'm at C.E.S. and exploring some of the most exciting consumer electronics gadgets, gizmos and technology that is hitting, about to hit or will hit the marketplace.

In this episode I discuss some of the trends to watch out for as per an article from Ad Age. The article itself mentions the following trends:

3D TV's
e-Readers
Netbooks
Paid content
What will Apple do?
Connected cars
Real-time Web
Mobile
Green tech
'err....Recovery?

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Bill Gates, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends & family (in that order)
Tweet or RT this: New JJTV - Some of the trends to watch for at this year's CES - http://bit.ly/6M2IEc
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

The 3Six5 is in the house

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:20:16 PST

Len Kendall's and Daniel Honigman's very original, creative and once ambitious (but now not so much) idea to get 365 different authors to write 365 posts in 2010 on life, love, personal reflections and insights into day itself (as well as headlines defining the day) is now a reality!

I had the real privilege to kick off the entire initiative and in my post I reflected on the year that was (2009) or perhaps I should say, the year that wasn't...as well as looked ahead to the year that is upon us (2010). I referenced being in Times Square and reflected on the incredible resolve of New Yorkers in particular to give terrorism the bird in favor of celebration, community and optimism.

Here's my post in full (all 350 words worth), as well as a link to the posterous blog of the live time capsule as it unfolds.

I believe there's still opportunity to join in this unique effort and I encourage you to do just that i.e. spread the word and step up to the plate.The next available opening is May 29th!

361 days to go! Hope they're eventful in the best possible way and uneventful in the worst possible way (if you get my drift)

JJTV #64 - Kelly Clarkson retouching kerfuffle

Joseph Jaffe — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:09:21 PST

Self Magazine recently defended their "retouching" of Kelly Clarkson in their September issue in order to make her "look her personal best". And in doing so, managed to reaffirm the magazine industry "looking their professional worst."

Which got me to thinking...is the magazine business arrogant or just (hopelessly) out of (re)touch?

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Lucy Danziger, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends & family (in that order)
Tweet or RT this: New JJTV - Truth in advertising is an oxymoron - http://bit.ly/selfmag
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

JJTV #63 - The Perfect Tablet

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:27:31 PST

What is the perfect tablet device? Companies like this show's sponsor, HP, have been in the game for a while. And with Apple about to make a play, as well as other newcomers like the JooJoo (legit challenger or also ran?), it certainly is going to be very interesting (not to mention competitive)

So time to imagine what this might look like...

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Mike Arrington, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - In search of the perfect tablet - http://bit.ly/jewjew
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

JJTV #62 - Ali G was right about Da Meedya

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:59:34 PST

"Never a truer word said in Jest," goes the saying. And when it comes to "the media", the real question is this: "Who do you trust?" The Fake news? The mainstream news? The sensationalist news? Or your neighbor?

PS Congrats Phillies on back-to-back World Series victories :)

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Borat, Bruno, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - Ali G was right about da Meedya - http://bit.ly/meedya
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

JJTV #61 - Method and scum do not mix

Joseph Jaffe — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:58:01 PST

My thoughts on the Method "Shiny Suds" Kerfuffle.

In short, my 2 points concern "activist" consumer groups gaming the rhetoric system and also a brand disconnect AKA Method did not need to resort to this typical creative agency-led schlock.

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Eric, Adam, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - Method and scum do not mix - http://bit.ly/methodsoap
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

On the Record with Eric Schwartzman

Joseph Jaffe — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:08:55 PST

At the recent PRSA conference in Slam Diego, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Eric Schwartzman, host of the fantastic "On the Record" podcast.

I'd never met Eric before, but as a fellow podcaster, we were bound by our secret code of friendship (and our subscription to the very exclusive and almost impossible to join, CAPOW = Communications and Advertising Podcasters Of the World).

Here's the link to listen to the podcast directly, but while you're at it, you should subscribe as well.

Shownotes are below to give you a sense of what we discussed (hint: more Twitter hate):

01:10 – Why it’s dangerous to measure and judge the effectiveness of social media by old media standards, how podcasts generate business opportunities, and reaching the right people versus a lot of people.

02:34 – Jaffe talks about his three books, the conceptual thread that binds them and building businesses from by marketing from the inside out.

06:16 – The sleaze factor associated with incentivizing people to recommend brands to their online social networks, how recommendations can determine the degree of trust, credibility, authority and consistency we have for someone, and how “street cred” or social currency is starting to become a factor in keeping people honest.

08:55 – Erik Deutsch asks via Twitter, “How should clients balance corporate branding with personal style in social media.”

09:30 – A discussion about personal branding, repositioning and controversy, and why putting too much value in your own self-worth can side track you from achieving real business objectives.

11:11 – Trolling for criticism, the importance of self-confidence and standing for something you believe in, even if it is just giving away a free iPhone.

13:09 – Being first, taking risks, experimentation and analysis paralysis.

14:42 – Giovanni Rodriguez asks via Facebook, “Is social media up-leveling or marginalizing people in the PR profession?”

15:51 – Applying the skills of public relations, such earned media through media relations and nurturing relationships, to social media communications, and the mad dash among PR agencies, ad agencies and clients to lead in social media engagement.

18:04 – If you thought Second Life was the be all end all, here’s why Twitter is a bubble just waiting to burst. Looking at the finger instead of where it’s pointing. And how to effectively leverage Twitter in organizational communications.

22:18 – Why PR agencies, ad agencies and clients should NOT lead in social media engagement, and how to realign the corporate org chart to join online conversations.

24:19 – The findings of the Digital Readiness Report, by Tom Smith, Don Spetner, Barb McDonald and myself, and which department inside the organization is leading social media engagement at most companies.

26:15 – The difference between consumer generated content and consumer generated media.

27:16 – The difference between viral campaigns and memes.

29:22 – Whether or not marketers can and should actively engage in social media, or if they’re better off focusing on building an environment in which communities can grow organically.

31:39 -- End

JJTV #60 - Twitter Should Be Banned At Conferences

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:23:00 PST

Twitter should be banned at conferences.

There I said it.

You want to be part of the conversation...that's fine, but don't check your integrity, common sense and respect at the door.

And if I see heckling, insulting and disrespecting at any conference, I'll personally escort you out the room and out the conference.

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Biz Stone, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT the crap out of this: New JJTV - Twitter should be banned at conferences - http://bit.ly/8FCnhK
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Googly Bubbly Augmented Beans

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:17:27 PST

"The police asked Tiger's wife how many times she hit him. "I can't remember," Elin said, "just put me down for a 5." - when you're getting jokes like that coming from About.com, you know Tiger Watch isn't over. Here's my JJTV take on Tiger (it's still my Beancast story to watch) and here's the rest of Sunday's episode...

Host Bob Knorpp expertly moderated (or my case, attempted to restrain) a panel with myself and:

Bill Green - Make the logo Bigger and Adverve
Aaron Strout - CMO, Powered
Matt McDermott - ACD, Renegade

We discussed a range of topics including:

Google Google Google (in that order)
Astroturfing
Method's Bubble Kerfuffle
Overhyping Augmented Reality
Super Bowl ROI

As I have been doing of late, I'm releasing episodes featuring yours truly on the "Jaffe Juice - The New Marketing Podcast" feed. Makes sense imo.

Enjoy!

Direct download here

iTunes subscription here

JJTV #59 - Tiger Woods and the Death of Privacy

Joseph Jaffe — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:29:15 PST

What's the real story here? it's really about the death of privacy and whether this sacrosant aspect of our lives should be the price of fame and celebrity.

Spread the word:

Share JJTV with Harvey Levin, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT: New JJTV: Tiger Woods and the death of privacy - http://bit.ly/tigertrap
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

A sneak preview ahead of my MarketingSherpa Keynote in Miami, January 21, 2010

Joseph Jaffe — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:49:23 PST

Come join me at MarketingSherpa's 5th Annual Email Summit in Miami, where I will be keynoting on Thursday, January 21, 10:30 am-12:00pm. The topic of my keynote will be "Flip the Funnel" and it's essentially going to be the official launch of my new book of the same name.

I'll be signing the first 500 copies of my new book and meeting with attendees on how you can Flip Your Own Funnel.

I'd love to see you there!

More information about the event plus a special offer to save $600:

MarketingSherpa’s 5th Annual Email Summit 2010 Marketers are under increasing pressure to integrate social media with email, grow their list, deliver highly relevant content, improve deliverability, increase ROI + more. These tactics and many others will be the focus of Email Summit 2010. Highlights include dual B2C and B2B learning tracks, keynote speaker Joseph Jaffe, an emphasis on the convergence of email and social media and more. Join your email marketing peers in Miami, FL, January 20-22. Special Limited-Time Offer: Save $600. http://EmailSummitJaffe.MarketingSherpa.com

JJTV #58 - Should HR own social media?

Joseph Jaffe — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:48:06 PST

Should HR own Social Media? 'Er, no.

Inspired by a Chris Kieff blog post.

Spread the word:

Tell that person with the pink slips, your clients and co-workers
Tweet or RT: New JJTV: Should HR own social media? Er, no. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqTj1c5x3fY
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Chatting about Community

Joseph Jaffe — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:08:53 PST

Agency Scoop in association with Adweek Media Connect has been running a series of "chats" with various guests over the past (the previous guest was Brian Solis)

This Wednesday from 2-3pm EST I'll be participating and chatting about the rise of "community". The format is good old fashioned text-based chat. Yup, we're kicking it back old-school style. Why not?

Considering "community" is one of the 3 pillars of Join the Conversation (as in community, dialogue and partnership), I thought it would be a good idea to dive a little deeper into the role and rise of community; why I think it's different from social networking; what the role for brands is with respect to community; and where I see it going in the next 3-5 years....

If you want to know more and more importantly register, here's the link (although you may need to register first with Agency Scoop/Adweek Connect, in which case just go here first)

JJTV #57 - Micro-soft

Joseph Jaffe — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:18:40 PST

Has Microsoft lost its way? That would be true if it ever were on the right path at all. In short, the brand has an identity crisis; an acute lack of purpose, conviction and confidence. It's about authenticity and what I mean by that is, "in order for Microsoft to be honest with their customers, they need to be honest with themselves."

This brand tries way too hard and in trying to be a Jack of all trades, it ends up being a master of none.

My advice to the brand - 3 words: KEEP. IT. REAL.

Spread the word:

Tell Steve Ballmer, your clients and co-workers
Tweet or RT: New JJTV: Micro-soft - my reflections and advice for a brand with an acute lack of confidence, identity & purpose http://bit.ly/4siXEm
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

JJTV #56 - Presentations as Conversations

Joseph Jaffe — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:09:35 PST

Presentations as conversations. Inspired by another conference twitter kerfuffle and a Jeremiah Owyang post.

Spread the word:

Tell the conference organizer, your clients and co-workers
Tweet or RT: New JJTV: If a presentation can be a conversation, so can your marketing - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89l-FM_1-yo
Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
Leave a video response

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Hack the Conversation

Joseph Jaffe — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:36:59 PST

Have you heard about Brandhackers yet? Here's the official blurb:

#Brandhackers is a monthly Manhattan Meetup and social network showcasing prominent and rising digital marketing opinion leaders providing an environment bringing people, technology and brands together.

I think I first heard about them via Robb Hecht when Noah Brier was the guest speaker. And now I get the opportunity to present to this great group.

And if you like, you can be there too for just $10 (that's half a Stabucks latte). Plus you may or may not get a copy of my book, "Join the Conversation" for anything between $0 and $5 extra.

The event will take place on December 14th at Red Sky (47 E29th St, New York NY 10016 - Google Map here) and kicks off at 5pm with an hour of networking, followed by my presentation at 6pm and post networking at 7pm.

For more information, check out the Brandhacker Speaker Series page where you can register to attend. There are about 80 odd places left, so spread the word.

Hope to see you there and join the face-to-face conversation!