The foremost authority on innovation and growth presents a path-breaking book every company needs to transform innovation from a game of chance to one in which they develop products and services customers not only want to buy, but are willing to pay premium prices for. How do companies know how to grow? How can they create products that they are sure customers want to buy? Can innovation be more than a game of hit and miss? Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen has the answer. A generation ago, Christensen revolutionized business with his groundbreaking theory of disruptive innovation. Now, he goes further, offering powerful new insights. After years of research, Christensen has come to one critical conclusion: our long held maxim-that understanding the customer is the crux of innovation-is wrong. Customers don't buy products or services; they "hire" them to do a job. Understanding customers does not drive innovation success, he argues. Understanding customer jobs does. The "Jobs to Be Done" approach can be seen in some of the world's most respected companies and fast-growing startups, including Amazon, Intuit, Uber, Airbnb, and Chobani yogurt, to name just a few. But this book is not about celebrating these successes-it's about predicting new ones. Christensen contends that by understanding what causes customers to "hire" a product or service, any business can improve its innovation track record, creating products that customers not only want to hire, but that they'll pay premium prices to bring into their lives. Jobs theory offers new hope for growth to companies frustrated by their hit and miss efforts. This book carefully lays down Christensen's provocative framework, providing a comprehensive explanation of the theory and why it is predictive, how to use it in the real world-and, most importantly, how not to squander the insights it provides.

Praise for "The Online Advertising Playbook"

"Finally, someone has documented all we know about online advertising and how to do it right. As much as this confirms that online advertising really works, we know that marketers don't always get it right. The ARF's The Online Advertising Playbook provides critical insight on what sticks and what doesn't in online advertising and marketing."
--Greg Stuart, CEO and President, Interactive Advertising Bureau and coauthor of "What Sticks"

""The Online Advertising Playbook"'s principles, case studies, and strategic insights equip marketers with the best knowledge available. It will help your online advertising achieve the full range of marketing objectives, from lead generation and customer acquisition to driving trial and loyalty."
--Tim Kopp, Vice President, Global Interactive Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company

"To grow interactive marketing from here we need to institutionalize our wisdom and experience about what works. This book explains, in a disciplined way, what marketers have learned from a decade of massive change."
--Ted McConnell, Interactive Innovation Director, Procter & Gamble

""The Online Advertising Playbook" is a milestone in the maturation of interactive advertising, but also an invaluable go-to guide for managers trying to make smart decisions with their advertising budgets."
--Van Riley, Vice President of Research, AOL

"The best marketing communication is spawned from what I call 'informed intuition.' After reading "The Online Advertising Playbook," I am far better informed on how to optimize the online channel in our advertising and promotional programs. It's a perfect blend of case studies and research-backed learning."
--Rod DeVar, Manager, Advertising and Promotion, United States Postal Service

"Savvy marketers should take advantage of "The Online Advertising Playbook"'s findings and principles to get real results."
--Chris Theodoros, Director of Industry Relations, Google

"A work of wisdom and rigor in the digital space that is as relevant for the newbie as it is for the digerati."
--Mike Donahue, Executive Vice President, American Association of Advertising Agencies

"This is a must-read for any marketing executive involved in online advertising. It's high time that a book looks at online advertising in the context of an integrative promotional strategy, one meant to set objectives, establish creative strategies, and measure results. The book nicely ties the various components of online advertising to relevant case studies, and the emphasis on measurement and results is refreshing. Not only is it relevant for marketing executives, it would also be a good basic text for any Internet advertising course and a good adjunct to any Internet marketing course."
--Henry Assael, Professor of Marketing, Stern School of Business, New York University

The foremost authority on innovation and growth presents a path-breaking book every company needs to transform innovation from a game of chance to one in which they develop products and services customers not only want to buy, but are willing to pay premium prices for. How do companies know how to grow? How can they create products that they are sure customers want to buy? Can innovation be more than a game of hit and miss? Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen has the answer. A generation ago, Christensen revolutionized business with his groundbreaking theory of disruptive innovation. Now, he goes further, offering powerful new insights. After years of research, Christensen has come to one critical conclusion: our long held maxim--that understanding the customer is the crux of innovation--is wrong. Customers don't buy products or services; they hire them to do a job. Understanding customers does not drive innovation success, he argues. Understanding customer jobs does. The Jobs to Be Done approach can be seen in some of the world's most respected companies and fast-growing startups, including Amazon, Intuit, Uber, Airbnb, and Chobani yogurt, to name just a few. But this book is not about celebrating these successes--it's about predicting new ones. Christensen contends that by understanding what causes customers to hire a product or service, any business can improve its innovation track record, creating products that customers not only want to hire, but that they'll pay premium prices to bring into their lives. Jobs theory offers new hope for growth to companies frustrated by their hit and miss efforts. This book carefully lays down Christensen's provocative framework, providing a comprehensive explanation of the theory and why it is predictive, how to use it in the real world--and, most importantly, how not to squander the insights it provides.