Celebrity CMO Jeff Hayzlett  was a big hit at Yahoo’s Global Sales Conference–so much so that we invited him back to our Sunnyvale HQ as part of our “Outside In” speaker series.  We sat down with Jeff to talk about Yahoo!, his new  book “The Mirror Test” and what it’s like to appear on Celebrity Apprentice with Donald Trump.

Q: You’ve been described as a Celebrity CMO, Digital Thought Leader, and Cowboy. Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

A: I’m from South Dakota. I’ve been involved in many different businesses throughout my career. I’ve owned several businesses. I worked in the print industry for many years. I was a lobbyist. I was Vice President and CMO of Kodak. These days I’m speaking all over the globe, appearing on TV shows, I’ve written the best-selling book, The Mirror Test and am working on a second book. And I consult with a variety of great companies as well. I have two grown children, Tyler and Lindsey. I’m married to a great woman, Tami.

Q: For those who haven’t yet read it, can you tell us what your book, “The Mirror Test”, is about?

A: “The Mirror Test” is a book for anyone in business or even those who teach others about marketing and business. It’s about every company’s need to ask the tough questions, know their conditions of satisfaction and be willing to create tension and drive change–all of that in order to grow and succeed. I’ve watched so many companies and business people fail. Heck, I’ve failed a time or two myself. This book is the wake-up call that everyone in business needs to hear.

Q: You’ll be speaking with Yahoos this week as part of our “Outside In: speaker series. Can you give us a sneak preview of what you’ll be covering in your presentation?

A: What exactly is the Mirror Test, adapt or die, radical transparency, the 118 pitch, conditions of satisfaction, the themes and lessons from the book. And we’re going to have fun while we do it!

Q: Any other observations about Yahoo! as a brand and company, based your experience as a CMO and your research on strategic change?

A: Yahoo! is a great brand and company. I can’t see something purple without thinking about Yahoo!. Your success comes from taking a look in the mirror, driving change and continuing to do so often. Your grasp of the breadth and reach of the digital market is phenomenal. The new “Trending Now” video offering is a great example. As a company, you know your conditions of satisfaction and work toward meeting them with everything you do.

Q: What other companies do you see out there who are marketing success stories, and why?

A: I see a lot of companies that are doing it right. Ford and Pepsi are great examples. They know that the new age of marketing is not about ears and eyeballs but hearts and minds. In the mobile sector, Mojiva has been knocking it out of the park. Mobile is growing faster than anyone in the industry anticipated and they are ready.

Q: What is the most important lesson that you’ve learned over the course of your career?

A: It’s okay to take a risk. No one’s ever died – that I know of – as a result of a marketing campaign. You have to step out there and own it. If you fail, learn from it and either try it again or move on.

Being grateful and thankful is another important lesson. I’ve never forgotten the people who have helped me. When I was 12, Mr. Pinson, gave me a job in his plumbing company. My dad was in Vietnam and he hired me so I could earn money, join a hunting club and be part of the community.

I’m grateful to everyone that helps me be successful and supports what I do.

Q: Okay – here are the questions everyone is wondering about – what was it like to be on “The Celebrity Apprentice”, and what is Donald Trump really like?

A: Being a judge on The Celebrity Apprentice was a blast. I made some life-long friends from that show. And Donald is exactly how you expect him to be – bold, straight forward, and an expert at what he does. His success is directly related to who he is and how he is as a person. He’s one of the most authentic, radically transparent people I know.

Into its eight successive year, this one day conference was opened by General Manager of Overture Korea, Kim Dae Sun with keynote speeches by Rose Tsou, Senior Vice President of Yahoo! Asia Pacific and Shashi Seth, Senior Vice President of Yahoo! Search. Rose reaffirmed Yahoo!’s commitment to Korea and reiterated the great potential for growth in Korea through Yahoo!’s partnership with Overture Korea.

Besides launching new advertising solutions by Yahoo! and Overture Korea, clients and agencies were recognised for their outstanding online marketing campaigns. Awards were presented for:

• Online Marketing Global Leadership: KIA Motors & INNOCEAN
• Online Marketing Frontier: Samsung, Hyundai Motors, GS Shop, Hyundai Capital, SHINSEGAE
• Online Marketing Innovator: OmyPC, 99Flower, OKoutdoor.com, Auction, Mirage
• Online Marketing Professional: eMnet, Clex, DTSI, eMforce, Echo Marketing
• Best Partnership: Daum, Nate, Paran, 11st

Full event details and presentations are available at http://www.omskr.com.

The portal, which debuted today, is a leap forward in communicating and showcasing Yahoo!’s advertising solutions for mid-to-large tier advertisers and agencies, giving Yahoo! a powerful vehicle to drive B2B Marketing goals and re-establish the company as a thought leader in the industry.

Most importantly, the portal intends to foster a water-cooler environment for marketers, ad creatives, producers, publishers, and other advertising execs to be educated and inspired by Yahoo!-specific and industry-related content. Together with award-winning advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Yahoo!’s engineering, UED, and B2B teams worked hard to construct a content-rich experience within a modern visual design.

The content on the portal combines two key elements of engagement: inspiration and information/education. With demos, videos, articles, and more, the site provides valuable and relevant info to help Yahoo!’s core audiences.

In addition to offering updated content on properties, products, audiences, and services, Yahoo! is proud to announce the new Futurist Series, kicking off with a video keynote by New York Times best-selling author Seth Godin (named “America’s Best Marketer” by American Way magazine). The portal also features a Y! Expert Q&A video series with industry knowledge from the likes of Yahoo! insiders Chris Barr and Lesley Kao.

Other areas to check out include: Creative Canvas, a collection of inspiring and engaging ads found at the Inspiration tab; Industry Knowledge, where you can tune in to the latest industry events and read news, insights, and blogs (such as Adweek, Digital Daily, MediaMemo, and more); and Y! Media Kit, which features a collection of easy-to-download insights, case studies, and research papers.

Say hello to Advertising Solutions, the new Yahoo! portal that promises to inspire, inform, educate, and help advertisers and agencies do business in new and creative ways.—Kylee Swenson Gordon

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and Yahoo! Sports is the #1 destination, reaching more than 20 million users each month-it makes perfect sense to team up with the world’s leading soccer star-David Beckham.  Earlier this week, Yahoo! announced David Beckham would be Yahoo!’s global football ambassador throughout the World Cup. Beckham will be featured in our marketing campaign, provide content for Yahoo!’s World Cup site, tweet and post Yahoo! content on his Facebook page, judge a World Cup Flickr photo contest and more.

And at the conclusion of the Tournament, Yahoo! will host a live global press conference/Q&A with David Beckham in London, which will allow fans from around the world to ask questions of the superstar!  Finally, for several months following World Cup he will be a featured analyst for Yahoo’s football coverage as the world makes the transition back to the regional leagues and competitions.

Yahoo!’s World Cup program is a true global, integrated marketing campaign. It includes live kickoff events in various cities around the world, fun ways to share with your own social networks, a cool online interactive global game to play and a chance to WIN the first-ever Yahoo! Sports Pass (the ultimate prize for sports fans!).

This month, we have also begun launching even more exciting elements of Yahoo!’s campaign.  Our campaign is digitally led with a huge focus on and off the Yahoo! network across all segments with, of course, online activation as one of the major drivers to show the power it has to drive business and build brands.  We will execute a dynamic takeover of the homepage on June 17th illustrating Yahoo! properties in a 3D experience–entertaining, engaging and inviting users to make the web their own with Yahoo!.

Our TV spots, developed for video use on the Web as well, hit screens this week on MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central.  The “Entertainment” spot was also featured on the Glee finale!  Our campaign is cohesive and impactful, communicating one idea-Yahoo! brings Your World together with The World.  We’re continuing to focus on driving deeper engagement through unique demonstrations and trials of our products.

On the cusp of the launching the next release of our campaign, our creative advertising agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners has received some very special recognition in the industry. Not only have they been named “Agency of the Decade” by AdweekMedia, but recently, at the CLIO Conference Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein were honored with the CLIO Lifetime Achievement Awards, one of the most prestigious honors in advertising. It recognizes outstanding and ongoing contributions of individuals who lead the industry and gives public recognition of something that we already knew — that we’ve got some of the world’s most talented creative partners helping us continue to build the Yahoo! brand.

Here is a preview of the actual ads that you will start to see in major cities soon:

Look for lots more great stuff to come!

Elisa Steele, EVP & CMO, Yahoo!

• GOLD – BEST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN: For use of Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook
• SILVER – TOP ONLINE PERFORMANCE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
• BRONZE – BEST ONLINE CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

Watch our work:

Congrats to the team!

Check out this space for more upcoming news from Yahoo! in Asia!

Bennett Porter
Vice President, APAC Brand Marketing & Southeast Asia

Here’s the result:

BTW: The music track, “Hot To Trot,” is from his “Spectacle” EP and is available on iTunes.

Nicki Dugan
Blog Editor

Why Purple? Back in 1996, our humble digs needed quite a bit of renovation so our co-founder, David Filo (notoriously frugal), went out to buy some paint at the store. Once everyone had painted most of one large wall under dim fluorescent lighting, they stepped back and realized Filo had bought light purple (it was probably on sale). From that day on, Purple stuck.

But Purple ’s not just about the paint on the wall. It’s not just the blend of blue and red. It’s not just the latest trend in gardening and fashion (though it is). Purple is the color of innovation and ingenuity. It’s fun and youthful, but also courageous and daring. It represents a spirit of individuality but also a sense of connectedness with others. For us, it represents the spirit of our company, our culture and our products –- Purple is Yahoo!.

As a resident brand marketing guy (though we often say that the Yahoo! brand is too important to be left in the hands of brand marketers), I’m pleased to share that we’re launching a variety of Purple projects over the next few days and weeks. We’re embracing our Purple and sharing the spirit and pride with hundreds of millions of users who, perhaps, feel a bit of that spirit and pride as well.

“Start Wearing Purple” is the theme (and theme song) of this effort to celebrate Purple. It’s not about selling Yahoo! clothing – though we do have some amazing new limited-edition gear coming in from partners like Pony, tokidoki, big wave surfing legend Jeff Clark, Mimoco, and more. “Start Wearing Purple” is about celebrating that unique, charmingly eccentric side of all of us. You’ll see and hear about Purple Picks, the best Purple content from across the web hand-picked by Yahoo!; Purple Photos on Flickr and omg!; Purple Pranks with our friend Charlie Todd from Improv Everywhere; Purple Bikes that take photos; and even some Purple Acts of Kindness. And you’ll meet the Pioneers of Purple, inspiring people who’ve changed the world by following their passions and pursuing their dreams. “Start Wearing Purple” is, quite simply, an invitation to embrace and share the Purple in you.

Check out what we’re up to at startwearingpurple.com. And may some of that Purple pride rub off on you.

Purple reigns,
Nick Chavez
Senior Director, Brand Advertising