Anthony Deloso Book Report: Life After the 30-Second Spot About: Joseph Jaffe Joseph Jaffe is a consultant, speaker and one of the foremost thought leaders on new marketing. He is the founder of jaffe, L.L.C. (www.getthejuice.com) - a "New Marketing" consulting practice. His first book, "Life after the 30-second spot: Energize your brand with a bold mix of alternatives to traditional advertising" is a revolutionary view on change in the marketing and advertising industry. Jaffe is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School. He has worked part-time at NYU's Stern School of Business, Cornell's Johnson School of Business and Syracuse University. He is also the host of Across the Sound - a New Marketing Podcast (www.acrossthesound.net). Jaffe is from South Africa and he lives with his wife and two children in Westport, Connecticut. Abstract: Life After the 30-Second Spot Jaffe’s book “Life After the 30-Second Spot” is a diagnosis and recommendation for the advertising and marketing industry for now and years to come. He discusses the failing broadcast model of the Industrial Age and offers new methods of reaching consumers through new media such as the internet, gaming consoles, music, cell phones, DVR, and short films. He serves up the information that most advertising agencies might not wish you had. His analysis of the state of advertising today is accurate and intriguing. Thebook “Life After the 30-Second Spot” the author offers thought-provoking insight and advice on how to effectively and adequately serve the changing customer. Although not all readers will agree with Jaffe’s points of view, they should not turn a deaf ear. Summary: Brains No Longer Peppered By Electrons Joseph Jaffe believes that media advertising as we know it is in trouble of dying out. He knows the network model is failing and is certain that there is a better way to advertise than the traditional broadcast methods that have been used by ad agencies for decades past. His book is divided into three sections. The first section describes why the 30-second ad spot is no longer the answer to Media Advertising. The second section delves into rethinking what he calls the Four Fundamentals of Marketing: the consumer, branding, advertising, and the advertising agency. This section of the book is where he builds his argument and addresses remedies to the current advertising models. In the third section Jaffe illustrates 10 approaches to advertising that he believes are revolutionary in their execution. As you slip into section one of Jaffe's prose you find that he is in love with new marketing strategies. He is quite happy that the broadcast model is going to be history and goes on to say, "I dance on the 30-second's grave and sing hallelujah." That is a pretty strong statement to make as an advertiser knowing that almost 25% of the industry's revenue comes from creating TV ads. He makes sure to mention the insane amount of advertising (3,225 ads) that the average citizen is subjected to every day. He serves up a four part dissection of this foray of ads by resolving that there is too much clutter, the creativity sucks, the consumers aren't stupid and that half of the millions ofdollars poured into television is wasted; he just doesn't know which half. Viewing this downfall of broadcast advertising as a downward spiral Jaffe predicts that there will be a loss of viewers and a decline in the quality of programming that feed on each other until little to nothing remains. He writes that, "Sitcoms are anything but funny...[the] canned laugh tracks create the impression of being laughed at rather than with." This comparison of advertising with entertainment accentuates the point that broadcast advertising is dying and if the industry does not embrace change will be consumed by it. He concludes his description of the problem facing advertisers by describing something he calls the perfect storm. The perfect storm is the next big thing in advertising. It is where the four ingredients of broadband, wireless, search and networks come together to create a dynamic that has not been witnessed before. This dynamic is what Jaffe believes will empower consumers to bring the 30-second spot to its knees. He finishes part one by saying, "There is no way back. There is only a way forward. Continue with me. Discard and re:think everything you thought made sense. Embrace the bold mix of alternatives to traditional advertising that may be the shot in the arm that ultimately saves it." As Jaffe marches into section two of his book he outlines the four fundamentals that marketers need to "re:think": the consumer, branding, advertising, and the advertising agency. He starts into step one, the consumer, by acknowledging the change that has come over most consumers: "they control what they want, when they want it, and how they view it." He then describes 10 tenets of marketing to the new consumer. The first of these tenets is the super intelligent customer. He notes that most consumers have the Internet and Google to turn to when they need more information. Underestimating the consumeris one of the biggest mistakes that marketers can make. Intelligence leads to empowerment. Parallel to the chain of intelligence and epowerment tenet one leads to tenet two: Today's Customer is empowered. Jaffe knows that the marketers do not hold the power anymore, the consumers do. Jaffe continues to tenet three by syaing that Today's consumer is skeptical. He writes "Corporate scandals, shortcomings and consistent under delivery have resulted in an extremely brittle and precarious relationship between consumer and corporation." Tenet four is that consumers are always connected. Whether it be the broadband at home, the wireless at starbucks, or the cell phone consumers allow consumers to connect with information and with each other. The connected consumer can find what they are looking for quickly and painlessly without listening to the marketer. If you can sell your attention you may have a feasible business idea; tenet five is that the consumer is time-pressed. Jaffe emphasizes that "Time is the new currency" and at an incremental level we are still dealing with one consumer who only has one attention span. Jaffe observes that consumption of media is no londer viewed as a privilege, which leads into tenet six: today's consumer is demanding. Instant gratification and heightened expectations have