May Featured Title: The Conscious Marketer

(Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2020)

“Brands can no longer market to consumers but instead have to market with them. In order for a brand to do that, it must be conscious of the world in which we all live together.”

Our May featured title is The Conscious Marketer: Inspiring a Deeper and More Conscious Brand Experience by Jim Joseph! We asked Jim about his writing process, how social media is changing the brand experience, and his best tips for brand managers.

1. As the Global President of marketing communications agency BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe), and the recipient of Entrepreneur of the Year, Agency of the Year, and Consumer Launch Campaign of the Year (just to name a few), why did you decide to write The Conscious Marketer and share your knowledge with others?

As a passionate leader and follower of brands, I’ve been carefully watching with fascination how marketers are starting to take a stand on social issues. I’ve also had many clients ask if they too should take a stand on social issues. So I decided that this was an issue that I’d like to tackle, as a way for fellow marketers to think about how what’s going on in the world affects their brand activities

2. What was your writing process like for The Conscious Marketer? How did this process differ from your first book with the Mascot/Amplify team, Out and About Dad?

I’m an early riser and an early writer, so I write a lot when I first wake up. And I’m also an editor by nature. Every morning I would write another chapter and then constantly edit it until I felt it was perfect—which is also why I wrote the book in quick little snippets so that people could read it easily piece by piece. My writing process for this book was a bit different than for Out and About Dad where I did most of that writing while I was traveling. That book was more of a long-form story so I wrote in longer segments to get the story to flow together. I’ve learned to love writing!

3. At the beginning of The Conscious Marketer, you tell (or warn) readers that the tone of the book will be casual—like a two-sided conversation. You use a similar style and tone of voice in your blog, where you post frequent, succinct blogs about a wide variety of topics in the marketing world. Why do you think this type of content is so consumable and convenient for readers?

In many many cases, people are reading on the fly and on mobile devices—at least when it comes to business books. My perspective is to give readers the ability to quickly grasp a concept, think about it, apply it to what they are doing, and then move on! I think it’s more actionable that way.

4. You also have a strong following on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Why do you think it is important to engage with your audience and post frequent, useful content? How has social media changed the brand experience?

I think that thought leadership should be a constant flow of information, not an occasional brain dump. I like to post content on an almost daily basis so that people can get a little dose of thinking to motivate their work for the day. And then the next day. And then the next day. As for the brand experience and social media, well, social media is the brand experience these days. Particularly in our current COVID-19 world. Everything is online and everything is a two-way dialogue. Social media is a great place to be a brand and to live along side your consumers.

5. What are the main takeaways that you hope readers will understand from the book?

It’s vitally important for a brand to be aware of what’s going on in thier consumers’ lives and take it into account when forming marketing programs. Brands can no longer market to consumers but instead have to market with them. In order for a brand to do that, it must be conscious of the world in which we all live together.

6. What’s next for Jim Joseph? Any future books on the horizon?

I’m thinking about a sequel to Out and About Dad. So many people have asked me if it’s coming, so I’m starting to write it in my mind. I need to decide if it’ll go from my mind to a piece of paper!

Amplify, an imprint of Mascot Books, specializes in game-changing political, business, and current affairs titles. Want to learn more about Amplify? Visit the Amplify website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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The Big Ideas Coming Your Way in 2020

(Posted on Friday, January 17, 2020)

Thought leaders. Influencers. Disrupters.

How we label them doesn’t matter. It’s the ideas that matter. And our Amplify authors have the kind of big ideas that will change minds, shift perspectives, and—at the very least—make us stop and think this year. (Something we can all agree we need more of.)

Contract to Unite America: Ten Reforms to Reclaim Our Republic
Available February 18.
As an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018, Neal Simon witnessed the destructive nature of modern American politics. He experienced firsthand the perverse incentives that push candidates and lawmakers to ideological extremes. He watched as party leaders resisted pragmatic solutions to our nation’s problems. He saw politicians prioritize loyalty to their party bases over progress for the American people.

In this comprehensive analysis of United States politics, Simon shows how degradations in party primaries, campaign finances, and election rules have caused American self-government to collapse into gridlock and divisiveness. However, the American promise is so much greater. As the first U.S. President, George Washington, noted in his famed address, “The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.”

Capitalizing on personal insight derived from Simon’s political campaign along with extensive research, Contract to Unite America provides specific, practical solutions for an improved government and a better tomorrow.

Invisible Solutions: 25 Lenses that Reframe and Help Solve Difficult Business Problems
Available March 3.
Unprecedented access to infinite solutions has led us to realize that having all of the answers is not the answer. From innovation teams to creativity experts to crowdsourcing, we’ve turned from one source to another, spending endless cycles pursuing piecemeal solutions to each challenge we face.

What if your organization had an effective and systematic approach to deal with any problem? To find better solutions, you need to first ask better questions. The questions you ask determine which solutions you’ll see and which will remain hidden.

Stephen M. Shapiro’s compact yet powerful book contains the formulas to reframe any problem multiple ways, using 25 lenses to help you gain different perspectives. With visual examples and guidance, it contains everything you need to master any challenge and will help you discover why we are hardwired to ask ineffective questions; learn to work through those barriers; understand the power and importance of well-defined questions; reframe any problem multiple ways to find the optimal solution; and move from idea-based innovation to question-based innovation that drives higher ROI.

Apply just one of the lenses and you will quickly discover better solutions. Apply all of them and you will be able to solve any problem—in business and in life.

The Conscious Marketer: Inspiring a Deeper and More Conscious Brand Experience
Available in April
The parameters of what constitutes successful marketing are shifting. In today’s increasingly competitive, global marketplace it is essential for companies and brands to not only understand what consumers are buying, but why they are making those purchases. That is where The Conscious Marketer comes in.

It’s one thing to be conscious, but it’s something else entirely to do something impactful with that consciousness. In this expansive guide, Jim Joseph breaks down the ways the marketing industry is changing to meet the needs of a more conscious, engaged consumer, and how those within the marketing industry can adapt to meet those expectations.

The Conscious Marketer provides readers with the tools to navigate the ever-changing landscape of effective marketing and branding, explaining how to market empathetically, actively, and with intent.

Our Future: The Basic Income Plan for Peace, Justice, Liberty, and Personal Dignity
Available in April
Politicians promise to bring us together, seek the center, and reach common ground, yet our government is broken and paralyzed by partisan conflicts. Americans have been in need of a plan to unite the country and renew the vision and values of our founders, and it’s finally here in Our Future.

In this conversational and thought provoking book, basic income expert Steven Shafarman presents a comprehensive history of related ideas—as well as offers a solutions-based compelling vision—with basic income as the key. It’s a concept millions of us currently support, with liberal Democrats endorsing it as a solid floor to replace the tattered social safety net, and conservative Republicans as a way to cut and simplify government. The core of Shafarman’s plan takes the best of both, updating proposals form moderate politicians and leading economists.

Our Future holds the blueprint to successful years ahead, to acting together as We the People and making history.

Pivot & Go: The 29 Day Mindset Blueprint to Redefine and Achieve YOUR Success

Available in June
Most of us run on an endless string of vague goals, should-haves, and “tomorrows”, with true, empowering change always just out of reach. Most of us feel stuck in a pattern or are unknowingly trapped in our day-to-day routine, without the proper tools to break the mold and live our best lives every single day. David Nurse, a renowned optimization and life coach of more than 100 NBA players and CEOs, knows it doesn’t have to be that way, and a powerful shift in perspective is the answer.

Pivot & Go is a compelling, hands-on blueprint to changing course and leading the life you want to live—today. In this energizing, adventurous, and actionable guide, David outlines a clear 29-day plan; not to living the life, but to living your absolute best life. His key is to make mindful mindset pivots, ones that allow you to shift your perspective by incremental, but profoundly powerful, degrees. Focusing on success, failure, passion, joy, and confidence, Pivot & Go is here to help you find your genuine rhythm—one that will carry you through each chapter of life with the energy and ability to make the most of every day.

Punctuated with stories from his own journey to leading a full and rewarding lifestyle, as well as featuring never-before-told stories of triumph from some of the top NBA athletes in the world, David has delivered a book like none other. Not only will it give you the power to change your life, it will give you the strength to do so. Get ready to banish negative thoughts, live to the max, and become energized and ready to tackle each and every day.

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