I had the privilege of hearing Joseph Jaffe speak tonight. Jaffe (marketer, consultant, author, blogger extraordinaire) was the fourth speaker taking part in the Conversations About the Future of Advertising series.

His presentation (and the theme of his latest book, Join the Conversation), focus on the refreshing concept of brand engagement with customers as a conversation. One that involves give and take, not just push and pull. He had lots of examples of how this can create real engagement with companies, especially those reaching into the social web space. He also spoke of the pitfalls when initiatives are not supported longterm or companies refuse to truly listen.

I was struck by a story he shared about how he uses his personal social networks. By just promoting it on his blog, Twitter and Facebook he orchestrated quite a successful bumrush on the Amazon charts for Join the Conversation. It’s a great example of the focused power social networking can wield.

His blog, Jaffe Juice, has become one of my new favorites and is packed with tips and lessions about this brave new world of marketing and advertising we find ourselves in. I’m looking forward to reading his books and finding ways to help my clients start their own conversations.

Jan Leth gave a thought-provoking presentation kicking off the Conversations About the Future of Advertising series. As Vice Chairman, Global Digital Creative for Ogilvy & Mather, Leth has an intimate understanding of advertising today. He’s worked with global mega-brands like Coca Cola, Dove and Cisco.

His vision of the future of advertising is made up of four elements: Dada, Data, Alpha, Beta.

Here’s my attempt at a summation.

• Dada – This was the most compelling thought I’ve heard in a long while. Leth equates the social web with Dadaism, an early 20th century cultural/artistic movement. Dadaist artists like Duchamp (detail from L.H.O.O.Q. above) rebelled against conformity by mocking traditional conventions. They did things so differently from the established norms that they changed the conversation. What a perfect analogy for the state of the web today! The new school of advertising is all about throwing out the old ways and embracing drastically new ideas about engagement, interaction and participation. Agencies and brands that fail to grasp this revolution will be left behind.
• Data – User data and other metrics are among the most powerful tools in the marketers arsenal.
• Alpha – Gone is the notion of broadcasting to huge numbers of potential customers in hopes of converting a tiny percentage. Leth proposes that we reach out the strongest advocates for our brand, the Alpha Users, to experience much richer benefits.
• Beta – A recognition of the concept (popularlized by Google and the software industry) that successful projects don’t have a fixed “ending” anymore. Nothing is set in stone. They are always evolving, always in beta. Users and consumers provide the feedback for the next iteration. Campaigns, like the web iteself, should be ongoing entities.

UPDATE: A podcast and slides of the presentation are avilable on the MIMA’s site.