“Mama Mia!” Joey exclaimed.  You want me to call this “Joe’s Pizzeria”?  I wouldn’t even make it a quarter the way down the block in Brooklyn without somebody from the old gang putting a knife on me for changing our name.  What’s wrong with “Joe’s Pizza”, for Pete’s sake? 

The marketing consultant, just out of university in London, could already feel he was in over his head with his new job.  “Mate… I mean, Mr. Bruzca.  With much respect, we’ve already gone over this.  You’ve got brilliant pizza, but we’ve got to update your brand.  I thought you liked what Angie had showed you the new logo- ‘Pizzeria’ gives it a new flair.  With the launch of the adverts for your Facebook Fan page and e-mail marketing, we’ve got to go with new and modern.  Don’t you agree?”

The only thing Joey agreed with was what he was doing wasn’t working.  When “Alphonso’s Original Pizza Pie” opened across the street with $1 slices, he had seen his customer traffic drop drastically.  Business was down and cheese prices were up.  He already had to tell his son, Junior, to find another job outside of the pizza place.  Paying him less had hurt his pride more than it helped his finances.  “Fuggedaboutit… fine, we’re a ‘pizzeria’ now.  You happy?” 

“Hardly,” thought the consultant.  Changing a few letters in the name had been a chore, and now a discussion on marketing in the Digital Age?  Joey still thought his ad on the B Train and coupon in the Bensonhurst News were sufficient.  How could he fathom that marketing had turned to reaching out to customers individually and not just reaching out to the masses?

As the consultant massaged his temples, Junior walked in with his new fangled phone.  “Yo, pops!  You see this new app that Alphonso’s got?”  Joey looked up nonchalantly. “What, meatballs with marinara now?  That guy is always copying me!”  Junior laughs.  “No, apps, Dad, it stands for ‘mobile applications’ or something.  The small things on the phone.  You click on it and you get a free coupon- I think its garlic knots today.  Giuseppe just texted the app deal over to me.”  Joey looked even more puzzled.

The consultant then saw his opening.  “See!  That is the new marketing.  It’s not all about what you tell your customers; it’s a lot of what customers tell their friends about you.  In a way, Giuseppe just advertised Alphonso’s Original Pizza Pie to your son by sending him their pizza app with a free coupon.  But you can do the same by getting your customers to advertise for you.”