In his follow up book to ‘Life After the 30 Second Spot’, Jaffe gives us a ‘how to’ manual on ‘conversational marketing’ or the successful shift from marketing-funded ‘communications’ to ‘conversations’.

We recently sent out 50 pre-release copies of the Joseph Jaffe book ‘Join the Conversation’ to influential contacts and associates. Our motivation? Marketing success no longer has a static rulebook – it’s dynamic – much like a Wikipedia entry. And we were very keen to be a part of this sort of conversation within the industry.

Part manifesto, part opinion piece, Jaffe’s book is a comprehensive explanation of the steps to (and reasons for) a landscape where the consumer has an active role to play. If you want to know about corporate blogging, consumer-generated content, or the role of Second Life in your brand campaigns – this is your book. It’s not a new story but Jaffe is dogged in his do-or-die belief that consumer participation in brand dialogue is the key differentiator between brand success and branded failure.

Jaffe is raw and honest in his writing but on a few occasions I think he misses the point or perhaps too enthusiastically criticises past brand failures. But the industry is often critical of flag bearers and I think that while I don’t agree with everything Jaffe says, it really stimulated my own opinions. For example, I am still sceptical as to whether Dell really has overcome the impact of Jeff Jarvis and Dell Hell. And I believe that too often conversational marketing examples are born of desperation rather than optimistic belief. (Credit to Dell nevertheless for contributing to an excellent case study on corporate blogging - a refreshingly honest account from a multinational free to speak about its own marketing efforts).

The strongest point made in the book (and in my opinion it’s most important one) is that a commitment to experimentation is the only real way to ensure to future marketing success. And there is no better way to experiment than through dialogue direct with consumers.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to have their thinking challenged or keen to sharpen their interest in this emerging media. It’s not always an easy read but there are some excellent case studies and plenty of practical tips that should ensure that you’re across the emerging frontier.

I’d be very keen to know what you think if you have read the book. So leave a comment here, email me or go to joinin.com.au and have your say.

Jeremy Brook is Senior Account Director at Rivet

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 3:24 pm and is filed under General Stuff, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.