Jaffe Juice

Jaffe Juice #181 - Up Periscope with Jaffe and Joel

My brother-from-another-mother, Mitch Joel (a 2-time best-selling author with 6 Pixels of Separation and Ctrl-Alt-Delete, as well as a successful entrepreneur, having recently sold his agency, Twist Image to WPP) get together once a month to do a healthy debate about the state of the agency business, creativity, innovation or whatever is on our mind. We put this out on our respective podcasts (Jaffe Juice and 6 Pixels of Separation.)

In this episode we discuss live and streaming (they are not the same thing), the rise of Periscope (and fall of Meerkat) and a few zings on pundits and punditry to boot.

Give it a listen by downloading or listening here. Or you can subscribe to the show here.

Z.E.R.O. Paid Media as the New Marketing Model

A month after the book launches, I'm finally getting to the blog post about my 4th book, which I've co-authored with my former client and current friend, Maarten Albarda.

Why has it taken me so long to write about it? I suppose a number of reasons:

1. I've been really busy with Evol8tion work, extensive travel and a ton of speaking, including giving the Z.E.R.O. Keynote, which I'm happy to say is extremely tight and being tremendously well received. Normally it takes me a while to find the perfect presentation mix, but with Z.E.R.O., I've hit the ground running...
2. I've had blogger's block or writer's blog or something to that effect. Writing a book really takes everything out of you and I've been waiting to find my writing groove at least on the blog
3. What I have been doing is writing Online Spin on MediaPost bi-monthly. It's been just over a year now and I'm happy to announce that I'm moving to the "Lead Off" position on Monday's, alternating with Maarten, who makes his debut next Monday.
4. Most importantly, Z.E.R.O. marketing is all about slow burn and long tail. It's about using existing customers to gain new ones. It's about utilizing customers and advocates in innovative ways, leveraging existing assets as opposed to piggy bagging on the borrowed interest and/or equity of middlemen.

So with that said, I am pleased and proud to present Z.E.R.O.: Zero Paid Media as the New Marketing Model

In Z.E.R.O., our position is that a perfect storm is coming…in fact it may already be here. To make this case, we introduce several key arguments: business, economic, consumer, media and creative cases – any of which could – by itself - be enough to be the straw that breaks the camel's back, but when combined presents a perfect storm scenario.

Our central premise is that if media inflation continues to outpace and run away from economic inflation, the bottom may fall out the media model. Put simply, it will become practically impossible to maintain minimum acceptable levels of reach, frequency, share of voice and presence in the marketplace.

Our solution for this eventuality is the Z.E.R.O. Manifesto, which holds that in a perfect world, the optimal paid media budget would be zero. In other words, brands would not need to spend a dime on paid media, because they would have enough customers; enough word-of-mouth; enough rabid fans and advocates; enough referrals; enough partnerships with entrepreneurs, startups and technology investments; and last but not least, enough assets to activate, amplify and monetize. What is an asset? Your people. Your products. Your packaging. Your clothing. Your billboards. Your trucks. Your stores. Your website. Your content.

Talk is cheap. So many books outline a problem, without putting forward a solution. Section 3 introduces a 10-point action plan, which presents 5 ways companies can implement Z.E.R.O. Internally (Cultural, Organizational), as well as 5 ways they can truly bring Z.E.R.O. to life externally (Strategic, Tactical). From compensation to budget setting; from flipping the funnel to innovation. It's all inside.

Whilst the Z.E.R.O. Vision is for brands to shift from being tenants (renting media) to landlords (owning assets), the "hidden message" here is the paid media will continue to exist (after all the world is not perfect), BUT it shifts from being the "go to" first port of call or star of the show to the final piece of the puzzle; a topper up or co-star / supporting member of the cast/ensemble. That's a significant shift as is the call-to-action for brands to audit their connections and ultimately strive for a 50:50 mix between direct:indirect (assets:media) by 2020.    

Z.E.R.O. is not for everyone and I think it's important to manage expectations. This book is specifically written for C-suite executives that work for leading brands. Which doesn't mean to say that if you are a small business owner, this book isn't for you. In fact, you should look at the struggles and challenges presenting themselves to larger companies as your "foot in the door" or gain. In the 10-point action plan for example, the first 5 items that Maarten writes about from first-hand invaluable experience should all be second nature to you and non-issues. So skip past these if you like...or plan for the time when you get so big that you too will suck (as Jay Chiat once said)

And now comes the part where I ask for your help. 

1. Buy the book. For yourself. Your clients, colleagues, partners, superiors, subordinates, friends, enemies, frienemies!
2. If you buy in bulk, I will do my best to help you out. Just contact me. I'll also try and sign copies for you, which can be done a variety of ways
3. Please review the book on Amazon.com, BN.com etc.
4. Going back to Life after the 30-second spot and Using New Marketing to Prove New Marketing (UNM2PNM) which is very keeping with the Z.E.R.O. theme, if you agree to review the book, I'll send you a copy with my compliments.

Maarten and I know that this book will leave a lot of people very uncomfortable, but it's tough love at worst and a game changer at best. Maarten and I put it this way: if we're wrong about this, you're a winner because you diversified your portfolio, you retook control as a marketer and you invested in your customer...but if we're right about this, well then you just obliterated your competition, potentially changed the game and who knows...perhaps transformed marketing from a cost center to a revenue generator. Maybe you even discovered the next Snapchat, GroupOn or Instagram in the process.

So if you haven't done so already, please give Z.E.R.O. a try. Based on the reactions we're getting from brand marketers who have embraced #zeropaidmedia already,  you'll be glad you did!

Be a hero. Commit to Z.E.R.O.

Related articles

Startups Need To Embrace Zero Paid Media Marketing

Z.E.R.O. Adds Up To New Ways To Approach Marketing

Earned, Owned And Paid Media: How They Impact Your Social Media Campaign

Startups Need To Embrace Zero Paid Media Marketing

Paid Media: it would be so much easier if only robots were on twitter.

From Z.E.R.O. to Hero via Kickstarter

It's hard to resist making this a looooooooooooong post, so instead I'll do my best to be as brief and succinct as possible, so here goes...

My good friend and ex-client, Maarten Albarda and I are co-authoring a book together. It's my 4th book (after Life after the 30-second spot, Join the Conversation and Flip the Funnel) and Maarten's first. Besides sharing the same vision and passion for the subject, we're bringing a 1-2 punch to the table in the form of advertising-agency perspective on the giant elephant in the room: media or rather paid media.

The book is called z.e.r.o. and the sub-title, "zero paid media as the new marketing model" kind of says it all (and in less than 140 characters).

The book posits that in a perfect world, your paid media budget would be z.e.r.o. - literally, but also figuratively in the form of an acronym which stands for Zealots (advocacy), Entrepreneurship (innovation), Retention (customer centricity) and Owned Assets (moving from tenant to landlord)

On one hand, it's me returning to my "Life after" roots, but on the other other (and more poignantly), it's our set up of our premonition of a perfect storm approaching in marketing; one in which the bottom could conceivably fall out of the media model. Fortunately, the world is not perfect and change takes longer than we expect, but then again...just look at how your world has changed in the past few years to validate the fact that sitting and doing nothing is not a viable solution.

For me, it's a bold move for two reasons:

1. I've made the move from being a 3-time published author to self-publishing (thanks to Richard @ Wiley for everything to get me this far and props to my new home, Archway Publishing)
2. We're kickstarting this revolution and here's how you can play a key role.

Kickstarter component:

• Go to Kickstarter and visit our page or just search Kickstarter for Z.E.R.O. or zero
• Check out the video and the overview of the book
• Review the various pledge rewards and become a backer. We've named them after famous misers.
• From the Hetty Green and Warren Buffet (digital and hardcover copies respectively) to the maximum reward, which delivers 10 autographed books and an in-person keynote from either Maarten or myself (only 2 available per person)
• The no-brainer and value rewards are the Mr Burns and Mr Krabs respectively, that also include a 140-character acknowledgement (plug) in the book itself

We just pre-launched the book and Kickstarter campaign at the Festival of Media in Montreux, but here's the crazy part...in just over 24 hours after I hit the publish button (in stealth mode), we've almost hit our initial funding goal of $10,000. With your help, we'll push this over the edge and see how far we can take it.

The wild thing is that the book will become it's own case study insofar that it will demonstrate how we were able to self-publish our book for "z.e.r.o." by tapping into our advocates and leveraging our owned assets. It's U.N.M.2.P.N.M. circa 2005 retooled for 2013.

So...if you're part of my community and/or appreciate my content, show your support on Kickstarter with the pledge amount (or more if your heart desires). I will post regular updates over the 6 week period to acknowledge my backers (which would be you)

And all things being equal, Z.E.R.O. will launch in September of 2013 and will contain the 10-point action plan towards implementing this bold vision towards helping marketing evolve, normalize and allocate scarce resources to a re-prioritized hierarchy of connection points.

 

Innovation at 128,000 feet

Still playing catch up and so here's my Mediapost article from 11/6, which covers Red Bull's incredible Stratos content integration or is it NASA sponsorship? Either way, it was unprecedented, ballsy, mega risky shows why Red Bull marketing deserves to be up on the honors podium, along with all-stars, Nike and Apple.

When I mention the name Baumgartner, you might immediately think of a certain baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. That’s Madison Bumgarner, and I’m referring to Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper, who – in October of 2012 – set almost broke a world record for free fall/skydiving, but pretty much broke every other brand record in the process:

That previous statement is a gross understatement. This is what he did: He jumped at a distance of 24 miles or 39 kilometers above the Earth. (A plane flyingat 35,000 feet is only 6.6 miles above the Earth. Baumgartner was in a space capsule; in a space suit and could see the curvature of the Earth!)

He become the first person in history to break the sound barrier — putting him in the same category as the Concorde. He reached an estimated speed of 834 miles per hour or 1,342 kilometers per hour, faster than a Boeing 777.

During the fall, Baumgartner went into a spin, where he was seen hurtling through space like a tumbleweed on steroids. Remarkably, he stabilized — and said this was anticipated and under control — and landed on his feet. 

The “mission” itself was five years in the making and has delivered several key insights that will help scientists and aviation experts on the development of equipment, clothing, safety, tourism (!) and evacuation procedures.

Most remarkably, however, this was essentially a giant ad for Red Bull. Ordinarily, I would be on my “Life after the 30-second spot” or “Join the Conversation” soapboxes lambasting brands for elongated, protracted and procrastinated planning cycles in favor of a “real time” and dynamic shortened time to market. But not this time.

Red Bull — yet again — hasn’t just raised the bar; it pretty much obliterated the bar by demonstrating the relevance, role, purpose and utility associated with a brand that has truly invested and vested itself in “extreme” sports and lifestyle. Calling Red Bull a “content marketer” is an insult to Red Bull. Red Bull is so much more.

Not only did it almost literally bring its core positioning to life, “Red Bull gives you wings,” but ishowed an acute understanding and mastery of pure and unadulterated innovation in the form of a unique and original idea that had zero precedent and quite frankly (and again quite literally) no safety net.

I cannot even begin to fathom the thousand ways this could have gone wrong and the huge risk at stake. The “experiment” itself was already aborted once because of weather conditions, but the blunt risk here was the very real possibility and scenario of witnessing a “live death.” (All brought to you by Red Bull.)

Ironically (and it is a monstrous – pun intended – irony), a competitor in the form of Monster Energy drink is currently being sued and subsequently investigated by the FDA for a number of alleged consumption-related deaths.

Conversely, Red Bull brought a symphony to life, with more than 8 million people worldwide watching YouTube’s live stream of the free fall. Within four days, and across 1,700 related clips, it was the second-fastest video: to 50 million views in history. (The first was Kony 2012.)

I look at the average Nascar driver, tattooed or should I say littered with a cacophony of conflicting brand logos and juxtapose this with the clean and clinical branding 24 miles up in the air. I raise a can of congratulations to this marketer.

I speak to marketers worldwide, representing every major corporation. They all envy and want to be like two brands: Nike and Apple. Well, make that three brands: Red Bull joins the hall of fame trinity. 

The combined jealousy and respect are palpable, and so is my advice to every Red Bull wannabee: “Just do It” or to quote Baumgartner’s mentor, retired USAF Colonel Joseph Kittinger: “Start the cameras, and our guardian angel will take care of you.”

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/185877/innovation-at-128000-feet.html?edition=53177#ixzz2C8Qu1RFu

Earned Beans (Marketing Podcast Panel)

Latest Beancast marketing podcast is up, where I join host Bob Knorpp, and panelists George Parker, Griffin Farley and Jeff Cutler to discuss the following topics:

• The Cannes P.R. Controversy with an Ad Agency (vs P.R. firm) winning the grand P.R. prize
• Branded Content versus Ads
• Monetizing Social Networks for Kids
• Mobile's effect on SEM
• Another year where online video fails to capture the Upfront wave

Download or listen here

Subscribe to this wonderful podcast series via iTunes here

Jaffe Juice #139 - Jaffe and Joel Part 6 on Life after the 30-second spot

Can you believe it's Mitch Joel who brings up the "Life after the 30-second spot" topic? It's a subject which is near and dear to my heart, but it's also one that I have some very informed and strong feelings about.

It's a fascinating conversation, which touches on the evoution and future of TV, the very definition of what is TV versus video for example and the critical distinction between content and commercials. There's also an interesting exchange at the end where I talk about Bud United/Bud House, where - even though Mitch says I'm shilling for one of my clients - I ask whether this is digital, social, video or TV advertising. Or not even advertising at all...

If you like these "debates" between Mitch and myself, look out for our tweets about upcoming shows or get alerts via my page on Talkshoe. What's great about listening live is that you can also call in live and we want to encourage more listeners to be active participants.

 Audio comments to +1 206 203-3255. Follow us on Twitter: @jaffejuice and @mitchjoel

Direct download here

Tunes subscription here

The Power(ed) of Social Media

 
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:

• crayonista Greg Verdino's post
• MediaPost
• Adweek
• PaidContent.org
• Austin Statesman
• Web Strategy
• Agency Spy

For now, I wanted to do 3 things:

1. Share with you why I sold the company I started
2. Talk to you a little about my passion for what I think we can achieve
3. 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)

JJTV #31 - The death of the 30-second spot

Thank you to HP for sponsoring this show. Great news as they've extended their support through August. That means you can still take advantage of some pretty sweet deals on Netbooks, Printers and more...especially with Back to School around the corner. See below for information on how you can become part of HP's Friends 'n Family Plan.

In this episode I talk about Cannes and zero in on the exact moment the 30-second spot didn't just jump the shark, but was devoured by it.

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

Spread the word:

• Tell your creative director, friends, clients and co-workers
• Tweet or RT: New JJTV: The day the 30-second spot died - http://bit.ly/30secspot
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Leave a video response

If you haven't written a book, you can't work at crayon

A while back (January to be precise), I posted that if you don't blog, you can't work at crayon.

For the most part, I don't think this was a particularly provocative statement at all.

In fact, I believe that blogging is a bare minimum in terms of demonstrating both a baseline understanding of the space and being able to apply this in first-hand, practical terms.

Whilst some people argued that Twitter should count as a blogging equivalent, I largely ignored them as twits.

Well now I'd like to up the stakes and take this to the next level. And so with that said, here's the new bar: if you aren't a published author, you can't work at crayon (and a book on Twitter doesn't count)

Whilst it might sound elitest and a tad snobby, it's too bad. That's the way it is. To be a crayonista, you need to be a prolific thought leader and to prove it, you need to be a published author. Anything else is just fooling yourself into believing you're better than you actually are.

I'm kidding of course (kind of).

The real reason for this post is to congratulate fellow crayonista and our Chief Strategy Officer, Greg Verdino on his own book deal. Greg is writing a book on microMARKETING and his book is slated to be released in Q2 of 2010. My third book is due out in Q1 of 2010 so it's going to be a busy first half of 2010 for crayon!

Here's a little blurb of Greg's book to arouse your curiosity:

Enter micromarketing – a new approach to building brands, marketing products and services, and growing meaningful long-term customer (and corporate) value.  Micromarketing emphasizes relationships over reach, interactions over interruption, and the network effect over the broadcast network.  It is built upon the premise that the “next big thing” is really lots and lots of small things, and that to survive and thrive, even the biggest marketers must think and act small (make that “micro”), too. 

Congratulations Greg....welcome to the author's club. I'll pass on the secret handshake, codewords and underground meeting schedule when I see you next.  

Kudo's to Boone Oakley

Finally, an agency gets it right.

Now whilst I'm still not a fan of any company (Skittles, Modernista) completely ceding their digital presence to a surrogate/substitute e.g. YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia or Twitter, I think Boone Oakley did a terrific job with this expression of their passion for producing 30-second spots :)

I say that tongue-in-cheek of course, because they've chosen video (much like I've done with JJTV) to demonstrate that they understand how to best use new media to tell an old story so to speak.

Specifically, they're showing their understanding of non-linear storytelling brought to life through YouTube annotations and hyperlinks. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, give Boone Oakley a call...they deserve the shot to teach an old dog (you), new tricks.

It remains to be seen whether this agency actually is a cut above its competitors, BUT they've certainly been able to get their proverbial feet in the door, make their pitch (independence over conglomerendence) and I'll bet that you spent more than 30-seconds being entertained by (gasp) a sales pitch.

Quite lovely. Well done, lads and ladesses.