JDub focuses its efforts to meet the needs of disengaged Jewish young adults, but also creates a safe common meeting point for Jews of all denominations and affiliations. JDub appeals to a diverse audience; one of its major successes is its unique ability to bring this audience together to share a common, positive Jewish experience. This audience can be broken down as follows:
- Jews with little or no history of communal affiliation.
- Jews with previous affiliation (day school, Hebrew school, summer camp, and/or an Israel experience), but who no longer have a strong Jewish connection. Their Jewish identity is rooted in past experiences but does not include an active Jewish present or future.
- Identified Jews (who affiliate in a variety of ways) who carry with them the pride and positivity JDub hopes to instill in all of its participants.
- Non-Jews attending with a friend or significant other, or simply interested in Jewish culture and good music.
When young people read about a JDub event or artist in their favorite blogs or magazines, it reinforces powerful messages: that they can be proudly Jewish in their everyday life; that Jewish culture can be relevant, meaningful, and fun; and that they are connected to a Jewish people that is not unlike themselves. No other organization infuses a component of popular culture with meaning and relevance to young Jewish adults as JDub does - strengthening Jewish identity and building community among a disengaged population from a proud, unapologetic standpoint rooted in Jewish values and tradition as well as the secular world in which its target population lives.
JDub began with a hypothesis that disengagement did not equal disinterest. Young Jews today hunger to connect with their Judaism and with like-minded peers, but most often do not find traditional Jewish offerings inspiring, welcoming, or meaningful. By creating an agile, market-savvy, peer-led Jewish organization, JDub has helped break down these barriers to engage hundreds of thousands of previously neglected young Jews.
An important aspect of JDub’s innovation is that JDub’s staff is a part of its target demographic, and its programs and marketing are designed and implemented by, and for, a peer audience. JDub’s staff ranges in age from 21-31, two staff members have young children, and each identifies and engages Jewishly in a variety of ways. This greatly increases the effectiveness of its programming and marketing. Programmatically, JDub is constantly experimenting and reevaluating how it creates authentic, modern, and accessible Jewish content. In terms of marketing, JDub is excruciatingly careful about the language and design of materials, as well as where they are placed and where publicity is sought.