You get a LinkedIn notification from an overeager new connection named Dave. He wants to talk. You feel flattered. Until he smacks ya across with the face with a pitch slap you should’ve seen coming.
No wonder we have trust issues. EVERYONE AND THEIR PET CHINCHILLA HAS SOMETHING TO SELL THESE DAYS. Your sister’s goofy friend Pat with the embroidered cat sweatshirt doesn’t want to “chat.” She wants to hawk you essential oils! Erica from freshman biology doesn’t care “what’s up with you,” she’s just waiting to get you in her downline!
We used to be able to see advertisers and marketers coming a mile away. We gathered around our televisions to watch Super Bowl ads with syncopated frogs and talking babies and it felt gentler, somehow, because we knew we were being sold.
But today’s advertisers don’t always dress in $20 million TV budgets. They’re not on the big screen anymore. They’re on your touch screen, sending you artful DMs, and then clobbering you with a pitch slap.
Enter Think Do Say: How to Seize Attention and Build Trust in a Busy, Busy World by Ron Tite.
Not only is it the only* business book not to mention Apple, Think Do Say is hilariously self-aware in a sea of marketing “thought leadership” that often takes itself too seriously.
*I did not fact check this but you can trust me, I’m a marketer.
Which is why I asked Ron to be the inaugural guest on my new Awkward Marketing interview series, Awk Talk. Just like his book, Ron Tite is also hilariously self-aware and he understands that “seizing attention” on its own just simply isn’t good enough in a consumer culture that has massive trust issues.
Check out 05:01 for Ron’s advice for advertisers who just want attention. Unless you’re a member of PETA. Then, please DO NOT watch this.
Ron and I chat about Think Do Say, trust issues, dick pics, my mom, and what today’s businesses need to do to earn back their customers’ trust. (Spoiler: it’s definitely not dick pics.)
If you (or your pet chinchilla) are selling ANYTHING – or if you just want to be a decent human being – this interview is a must watch.
About Ron Tite:
Ron Tite is the founder and CEO of Church+State, an innovative ad agency based in Toronto. He’s also a celebrated keynote speaker, comedian, and a damn good time. In addition to Think Do Say, Ron is the author of Everyone’s An Artist (At Least They Should Be).
Listen to the full, unedited audio interview here:
Skip to 23:01 for footage not included in the video clip and a story I was one of the first to hear Ron tell!
p.s. Are you getting pitch slapped? Yes, this link is an affiliate link for Amazon. Ron didn’t pay me to do this interview, but if you buy it, you can throw me a few coins for my pet chinchilla maintenance.
