Jaffe Seeks To Connect Startups With Their Brand Soulmate

After selling his consultancy, crayon, in January of 2010, Joseph Jaffe is back in the agency saddle again. His new company is called Evol8tion, LLC.

Evol8tion aims to change the way brands work with technology-based startups via early stage participation with early stage ventures.

“The startup lives in the epicenter of technology-inspired innovation,” said Jaffe. “But brands are often not brought into the picture until the startup is so far downstream in the process that it’s too late to influence direction, partner or truly innovate.”

Jaffe, who is also author of Flip the Funnel, wants to build a bridge between Madison Avenue and Mountain View. Yes, it is a transcontinental project, but it’s work that needs to be done.

On board with Jaffe’s new venture already are two blue chip companies, Kraft Foods and Anheuser-Busch InBev.

“Innovation is no longer a nice to have for brands, it’s now become imperative to stimulate a deeper and more meaningful connection with consumers,” said Ed Kaczmarek, Director of Innovation, Consumer Experiences at Kraft Foods. “We’ve been doing just that with initiatives like our iFood Assistant and Big Fork Little Fork apps, as well as our partnerships with Intel and Shopkick. Through our collaboration with Evol8tion, we are looking to accelerate our innovation pipeline even further.”