SUBSCRIBERS RULE!

Better Subscribers, Better Relationships - Papa John’s

Normally, when the phones aren’t ringing at a pizza place on a Friday night, it’s a bad thing.  At Papa John’s, however, it’s a sign of the times.

As one of the first pizza delivery chains to fully embrace online and text-based ordering, Papa John’s has been quick to test the power of emerging one-to-one channels both to promote its products and to enable customers to place orders.  The result?  Earlier this year, the company reported that it had eclipsed the $1B sales mark from online ordering alone.

While at Connections ‘08, we caught up with Nigel Travis, Papa John’s CEO, and Bob Ford, Interactive Marketing Manager, to learn how their efforts line-up with the SUBSCRIBERS RULE! philosophy and why they are bullish on turning over more control of email marketing messages to their franchisees.

The resulting interview may leave more than a few email marketers wishing that they had a CEO as engaged and aware of the individual subscriber’s value as Nigel Travis.

Interview with Joseph Jaffe

As author of Life After the 30-Second Commercial and the more recent Join the Conversation, Joseph Jaffe has been waging a one-man battle to get marketers to build relationships with their customers rather than just make sales.  In fact, on his blog, Jaffe Juice, you’ll often find him dissecting those transcendent moments where companies connect with real people — and real people respond in kind.

We had the good fortune to catch up with Joseph moments after his Keynote at Connections ‘08.  And with his keynote at DMA ‘08 on next week’s agenda, we thought now would be the perfect time to explore his thoughts on how the SUBSCRIBERS RULE! philosophy and his vision of a future marketing environment governed by “Chief Conversation Officers” dovetail.

And yes, he is the most pleasant-smelling keynote speaker/author/blogger this reporter has ever had the pleasure to interview.

Recap Video from Connections ‘08

As previously mentioned in these hallowed pages, Connections ‘08 was a blast.  Thanks to everyone who attended & made the event so memorable.  It’s not often you get a chance to throw a party and invite 1K+ of your closest friends.

That said, we plan to do it all again next year at Connections ‘09!  So mark your calendars, and bide your time until next year by watching our Connections ‘08 Recap Video below.  Enjoy!