It's a Super Bowl flavored episode of The Beancast, where host Bob Knorpp is joined by panelists Steve Hall (Adrants), Tedd Aurelius (Martin Agency), Dan Goldgeier (AdPulp) and yours truly to discuss the following marketing topics:
Subscribe to this wonderful podcast series via iTunes here
PS I even got the title of the episode named after me as I attempt to validate Life after the 30-second spot to talk about Evol8tion (somewhat successfully)
In my new capacity at Evol8tion, we're looking to make connections between technology-based startups and established/blue chip brands.
The Evol8tion mission is to match "viable startups" to their "brand soul mate," but the real platform here is innovation, defined as new approaches that achieve disproportionate positive business outcomes and effect transformational change.
Actually that definition is mine, as the dictionary one is so bland...but you get the gist: doing things differently in order to get a result (which is the opposite of - or antidote to - Einstein's definition of insanity, as well as synonymous with "productive originality" which is actually the definition of creativity...but I digress)
The concept was simple - lose weight by / via community. Put it out there and put it out there publicly. Get the support of the community, but also be accountable and beholden to that same community who will encourage and congratulate, but also chastise and commiserate. Why not?
I started (according to the post at around 224 pounds) and have yo-yo'ed since to 177 and back up to 212. Interestingly enough, I'm at the same weight now as I was in 2007 when my third child was born, so that can't be too bad. The real prize is to get back to my wedding weight of around 181, which takes me back to the beginning of 1999.
The ability to have a public "timeline" is interesting.
It's an archived record of your highs and lows (literally) and serves as a historical reminder of how you pick up weight, lose it and maintain. Sound familiar? (Facebook has just introduced "Timeline."
Right now, I'm back in the zone and #fatblogging again, but this time thanks to my Withings wi-fi scale. Yes, it's a wi-fi scale that tweets and posts to FB automatically. I realize that's a revolting concept to many, but it's equally empowering to others...you know, the masochistic narcissists.
Truthfully, that's the smallest piece of (somewhat unnecessary) functionality to the concept. The real functionality of the scale is to automatically detect a specific family member's weight and then map it to their profile to determine BMI, lean and fat percentages etc. This is automatically added to your online account, but also iPhone and iPad apps that graphs each weigh-in relative to goal etc.
Withings also allows you to share profiles with other Withings members, as well as to alert your doctor (it has a separate blood pressure product which plugs into your iPhone) if there are irregularities / negative trends etc.
It's just another example of how health is becoming intimately intertwined with digital, social and mobile technology.
My actual weight loss regime is managed via Weight Watchers Online. I've used WWO several times before and I love it. It works. Where I typically go off the rails is losing interest in the application during my maintenance period, but that's on me. Weight loss is really not that complicated:
smaller portions
Food awareness e.g. jumbo movie popcorn is essentially 29 points, 80 grams of fat etc.
Substitutions e.g. egg whites for regular eggs
Calories In vs Calories Out
The Weight Watchers App is good, but not great. It pivots around the size and quality of the database and whilst it's interesting to know every equivalent of Denny's products, truthfully no one should be setting foot into a Denny's if they're trying to lose weight. I'm not sure WWO fully understands community 2.0 and specifically social.
Perhaps they should take a leaf out of Withings book. Or Foursquare's.
I really love the ability to manage my own weight loss...with the help of technology and the community. It's empowering. Independent. And manageable.
I'd encourage any brands that either directly are built on a health and wellness platform and/or incorporate this theme into their branding, positioning and marketing to seriously look into this field. There are limitless possibilities of partnership with early stage startups, companies and apps looking to make their mark on this exciting space of DIY "Connected" Weight Loss.
What's your favorite weight loss, health or wellness startup, site or app? Share it with the community.
File this one somewhere between Holy Sh1t! and Who gives a Shit...
When you see a headline that reads, "Amazon will pay shoppers $5 to walk out of stores empty-handed," it definitely warrants a further read.
Turns out Amazon was in fact offering consumers $5 off if they compare prices using their mobile app during a one day promotion, which took place on December 10th. Actually it was 5% off or up to $5 on a maximum of 3 items.
So yes....lots of conditions, but this is a probe being launched to scour the realms of possibilities and potential. Or of course, if you're a traditional retailer it might feel like an anal probe.
The process is still clunky:
consumers would walk into a store
open up their Amazon.com App
scan a bar code or take a photo of the item in question
check and compare prices
In retailers' favor, this process makes several assumptions and requires several additional steps to be in place:
To start, consumers would need to have the app downloaded
...and be aware of the service (requires advertising, messaging, CRM etc)
They'd have to have the time to conduct the comparison searches (which - when time strapped and/or distracted by kids etc - is no given)
The offer in question would have to be compelling and whilst $5 isn't exactly like hitting the Powerball jackpot, it's not insignificant, especially in these trying times
They'd have to sacrifice the convenience or desire of walking out the store with the item in question in favor of receiving it 2+ days later
That said, it's quite possibly the beginning of the end and any retailers that ignore this (and mobile in general), are doing it almost certainly at their peril.
Retailers will have to invest now - more than ever - in a combination of innovation, service and experience if they are to remain competitive, differentiated and compelling to consumers.
In this monthly debate, Mitch and I have a meaty conversation about one of the hottest and endless topics in the marketing world: how to correctly value, price and position ideas.
It all stems from an article which Scott Montgomery wrote in Ad Age, where he attempted to debunk the myth about how long idea generation takes and on a parallel path, how ideas should be valued and compensated as such.
We also open on a brief conversation about blogging, authentic voices and being re-certified.
Join the Conversation dammit (it's not a cliche when I coined the term and wrote a book on it!) @jaffejuice on Twitter and @mitchjoel on Twitter.
And be sure to forward this to any brand marketers you think would benefit from the discussion and ultimately give their perspective on the theme at hand.
Listen to it LIVE (left click) or download it HERE (right click)
I just finished recording one of my monthly "debates" with my industry colleague and friend, Mitch Joel. I had two topics I wanted to discuss - the first of which was #occupywallstreet. We had a really terrific conversation around the movement and right at the end of the conversation, Mitch innocently brought up my second topic, which we very briefly skirted.
So now I want to discuss further...
Steve Jobs. Legend. Icon. Visionary. Dreamer. Ideal Client. Over the past few weeks, we've said good bye to a business genius. To be sure, Steve Jobs grew, turned Apple around and then extended this leadership by transforming it into the world's most valuable company, taking over from Exxon Mobile (at least this was in August)
And then, as if by some grand design, Steve Job's commissioned Biography, aptly titled, "Steve Jobs," comes out days after Jobs passes away and rockets to number 1 on Amazon.com. Hot on these heels are a number of press appearances, including the book's author, Walter Isaacson, making an appearance on 60 minutes.
And as I'm watching Isaacson and listening to various accounts of Jobs' life, I'm deeply troubled. The fact remains, Jobs does not appear to be a very nice man at all. In fact, he comes across as a proper son of a bitch. Denying paternity rights to his child, refusing to give options to one of his long time colleagues and when a sympathetic co-worker offers to give some of his options if Jobs matches him, Job says, "good idea...I'll give zero and you give zero".
Jobs also critiques Bill Gates in the biography, calling him "basically unimaginative" and someone who "shamelessly ripped off other people's ideas". Not that we needed a book to see Mac vs PC commercials which did likewise. This to a man who has pledged to give away half his fortune to charity.
I'm confused. I see the iconic Apple commercial that talks about the people that are crazy enough to change the world and they are all good people.
Or maybe there weren't, but chose not to commission a biography.
I wonder if this commercial was briefed by Steve Jobs to be about Steve Jobs i.e. his future legacy.
I'm confused because I wonder if being a visionary genius and being a mensch are mutually exclusive.
I'm confused because I wonder why Apple doesn't bring all those jobs back to America as it continues to manufacture luxury products at bargain basement prices and charge a fortune to an endless sea of willing lemmings.
I'm confused because the same sea of lemmings are probably occupying wall street right now with a 110% incidence of owning at least 1 i-product.
...and I'm probably one of them as I have my iPad, MacbookAir, iPhone, iPod and about to make the permanent switch away from PC to Mac. And I bought the book as well.
So am I a hypocrite? Probably. A confused one, because I'm not sure if it's fair or right to mix personality with profits - or at the very minimum, a person's private life with their business leadership.
Was Steve Jobs a right ole meanie? Most likely, but the people around him adored him and look back on even the public displays of displeasure with pride. The honor of getting to work with a true legend...
So is all of this irrelevant? At the end of the day, isn't it just about manufacturing the world's greatest suite of products? Perhaps and perhaps not. The world is certainly blurring and younger consumers in particular are not separating the products the buy from the companies' ethics, morals and business practices that manufacture them.
Personally, I will choose to divide Steve Jobs the man, CEO, business leader and visionary into two buckets. I will discard the things about him that I don't identify or agree with, or approve and I will integrate the practices, principles and ideas which I can learn from.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
Steve Jobs was a complex man to be sure. I'm not sure it's fair to hold him to a higher standard, after all he was human. Very human. Sadly so. I also don't think it's right to worship him as an idol - false, American or otherwise. That too ends badly for all.
I guess I will continue to support the company, based on my - along with seemingly everyone else's - inability to "force quit" this addiction to design, functionality and sexiness in general. Although I'm not sure how long this may be the case if the company chooses not to adapt, evolve and be a better company in the wake and shadow of its creator, who might not always have been as such.
You can quote them.
Disagree with them.
Glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do it ignore them...
In this episode, Mitch and I discuss #occupywallstreet - its consumer behavior insights and learnings for brands and brand marketers.
We discuss some of the obvious and less than obvious catalysts or ingredients that have contributed and combined to create - arguably - a force for change and an idea whose time has come.
We debate whether #occupywallstreet is just the left's version of #teaparty or something else.
We also attempt to isolate government versus big business' role and ultimately responsibility in terms of weighing in, being accountable and taking action.
Most interestingly, we chip in our respective marketing POV's and 2c as we talk about some practical and tactical next steps and ideas.
Oh yeah, there's the whole social media component as well. I almost forgot.
PLUS: At the end, we get into a really meaty topic and I turn the tables on YOU for your thoughts, input, feedback, pushback, ideas and recommendations.
Join the Conversation dammit (it's not a cliche when I coined the term and wrote a book on it!) @jaffejuice on Twitter and @mitchjoel on Twitter.
And be sure to forward this to any brand marketers you think would benefit from the discussion and ultimately give their perspective on the theme at hand.
Listen to it LIVE (left click) or download it here (right click)
In this episode, Mitch and I discuss the oft maligned "social media expert" (12.9 million results on Google!) and make the case for and against the importance of specialization and subject matter expertise versus the "one size fits all" approach of the larger players (agencies).
To be sure, there are several key benefits and shortcomings of "one throat to choke" i.e. single point of contact versus the peacock approach. And visa versa.
It's less about the size of the agency than it is about making sure:
Brands are able to deploy an integrated approach
Execution. Execution. Execution to balance all the strategic and creative ideas
Honesty and management of expectations
I'm fairly certain you know which end of the spectrum I sit, but why not take a listen and weigh in with your perspective? @jaffejuice on Twitter and @mitchjoel on Twitter.
And be sure to forward this to any brand marketers you think would benefit from the discussion and ultimately give their perspective on the theme at hand.
Listen to it LIVE (left click) or download it here (right click)
It's a double edged sword with respect to celebrities, personalities, people of prominence or even just people with a job. They need to "join the conversation" and yet when they do, they seem to muck it up and more often than not, royally mess up their lives. So Mitch and I discuss and provide some triangulated thoughts on how to navigate through this unpredictable panacea. Follow us on Twitter: @jaffejuice @mitchjoel
Listen to it LIVE (left click) or download it here (right click)
Just in time for the Upfronts and perfectly timed with The Rapture, Mitch and I lock horns to debate the 30-second spot and all the sweeping generalizations surrounding its demise or resurrection.
Listen to it LIVE (left click) or download it here (right click)
Is it just me or does this feel too desperate? Kind of feels like the whole weblebrity craze on YouTube falling all over you for "subscribes"...which is fine for them, but pretty tacky for brands.
I also have a strategic concern about the fact we're creating closed walls around our brands and their content which can only be unlocked (or perhaps I should say un-liked) by "liking" them. In this case I expect the Like button to be immediately replaced with an "Unlike" button and a Thumbs down icon which allows me to opt back out after I've "unwrapped my chance to win prizes".
to the reincarnated and reinvigorated Jaffe Juice.
What was once a weekly op-ed column is now an unshackled, uncensored and uninhibited dialogue
on the subjects of new marketing, advertising and creativity.
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