Think. Do. Say.: How to Seize Attention and Build Trust in a Busy, Busy World

THINK

DO

SAY

Ron Tite

THINK

DO

How to seize attention and build trust in a busy, busy world

SAY

Copyright © 2019 by Ron Tite

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

Cataloguing in publication information is available from Library and Archives Canada.

ISBN 978-1-989025-71-0 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-989603-10-9 (ebook)

Page Two

www.pagetwo.com

Cover design by Peter Cocking

Interior design by Taysia Louie

Ebook by Bright Wing Books (brightwing.ca)

Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Distributed in the US and internationally by Publishers Group West, a division of Ingram

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thinkdosay.com

This is for Christy & Max

Contents

• • •

Foreword by Michael Port

1 The Opt-for-Change Part

2 This Is the Chaos Part

3 They Don’t Know Where to Look

4 They Don’t Know Who to Trust

5 They Don’t Know What to Do

6 Thinking and Doing and Saying

7 This is the THINK Part

8 This is the DO Part

9 This is the SAY Part

10 This is the End Part

Acknowledgments

References

Landmarks

Cover

Copyright Page

Dedication

Table of Contents

Body Matter

Acknowledgments

Foreword

• • •

Even though we’re around the same age, I want to be Ron Tite when I grow up. And, after reading this book, I bet you will, too.

At a recent strength-based leadership development program, I was asked to choose a leader who has the most influence in my daily life. Immediately, I thought of Ron Tite, even though I don’t interact with him on a daily basis. I was then asked to write down three attributes that best describe his contributions to my life. Those, too, came to me quickly:

Generosity

Egoless guidance

Visionary thinking

Ron’s work is always in service of other people. Whether he’s leading the advertising initiatives for Fortune 50 companies or taking time out to let one of my clients pick his brain, Ron is there, helping us become not just better at what we do, but better at who we are.

Now he’s sharing his visionary thinking with you in Think. Do. Say., a book that offers you a unique and effective model for both personal and organizational branding and messaging.

He’s the perfect person to deliver this message, because he understands the world of advertising and marketing in a way that few do. Ron is a performer, writer, producer, creative director, and agency owner. He’s also a teacher who inspires us while making us laugh out loud.

At my company, Heroic Public Speaking, we see thousands of authors and speakers each year, and we work with most of the A-list speakers in the business. Everyone is unique, but I’ve never met anyone as generous, egoless, and visionary as Ron Tite. He’ll help you think better, do better, and say it better. And he does it without ever mentioning Apple.

Simply put, Ron is best in class—and so is this book.

MICHAEL PORT

Co-founder, CEO

Heroic Public Speaking Worldwide

May 28, 2019

A book introduction is like an analogue device on a 5G data network. Kinda useless.

• • •

WINSTON CHURCHILL

This Isn’t an Introduction

• • •

Most books have an introduction.

I don’t know why, but most publishers gasp at the idea of not having one.

Apparently, people want a preamble. A rationale. A setup.

Or do they?

I respect your time and I appreciate the level of impatience you probably have.

So here’s my introduction: Thanks for buying this book. I hope you like it.

Now, let’s get to the goods.

I’m not an inventor. I’m a Thought Leader and Disruption Evangelist with a focus on Change Management and Authentic Engagement. Too douchey?

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

1

THE OPT-FOR-CHANGE PART

In a sea of promos and prices, purpose is what people can see from shore.

A Life Lived

• • •

Retail’s dead.

Retail’s back!

Retail’s dead again.

Retail’s back!

Who the heck wants to invest in brick & mortar?

Online businesses are investing in brick & mortar!

Sears just went bankrupt.

Amazon just bought Whole Foods!

Depending on the day of the week, retail is either the best or the worst business to be in. Margins are tight, rents are high, and let’s admit it, customers can be jerks. But people do love a great experience, they want to occasionally see and touch stuff before they buy it, and a street presence can help with brand awareness and distribution.

One thing is certain: Retail is reinventing itself, and not every single shingle will survive. A lot of retailers are in a street fight to stay profitable until they know what works and what doesn’t. That’s what made the following statement from one retailer’s head of merchandising even more jaw-dropping:

We could never do it, but what if we close on Black Friday?

Wait, what?

You’re contemplating closing your stores on the busiest retail day of the year? You want to shut down when your competition is slashing prices, driving promos, and spending a large part of their budget kick-starting the holiday spending spree? Are you insane?

That retailer is REI and I don’t think they’re insane. I think they’re brilliant.

REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) is an outdoor clothing, gear, and footwear company organized as the largest consumer co-operative in the US. Its 6 million active members buy tents, kayaks, mountain bikes, and other outdoor stuff from over 150 retail locations in thirty-six US states and through catalogue and e-commerce channels. It also has REI Adventures, a global leader in active adventure travel, and REI Outdoor School, which teaches courses on outdoor activities.

Every year on Black Friday, REI closes its stores, processes no online payments, and pays its 12,000+ employees to opt outside with friends and family. While retail staff at other stores are facing life-threatening injuries from deal-hungry crowds stampeding through the doors like the bulls of Pamplona, REI staff are enjoying the tranquility of taking in a hike or a paddle. Since they began #OptOutside in 2015, 15 million people and more than 700 organizations have joined the movement. Unlike most movements, it wasn’t created as a response to a creative brief. It was just an idea someone tossed out during a brainstorming session.

It’s genius. Here’s why: At its heart, #OptOutside is not about a campaign, it’s about an action that reinforces a belief. When beliefs and actions come together, great stories are easy to write and worthy of being told.

Here’s the full script for the #OptOutside launch spot:

Open on the top of a mountain. A man sits at a desk.

JERRY: I’m Jerry Stritzke, the CEO of REI. This Black Friday, we’re closing all 143 of our stores and we’re paying our employees to get outside. We believe a life lived outside is a life worth living. We’d rather be in the mountains than in the aisles. Join us on November 27th on opting outside. Thanks.

(Couple hike up to where Jerry is)

MAN: Whoa. Hi.

JERRY: Hi.

MAN: What are you doing here?

JERRY: I work here.

Logo + Super: #OptOutside 11.27.15

There were three pillars behind the incredible growth REI created:

They believed in something beyond their merchandise. REI couldn’t have been much clearer about what they believed. Stritzke said, We believe a life lived outside is a life worth living. We’d rather be in the mountains than in the aisles. In a sea of promos and prices, purpose is what people can see from shore.

They consciously took actions to reinforce that belief. Stritzke prefaced their beliefs with a clear indication of how they would live them. I’m Jerry Stritzke, the CEO of REI. This Black Friday, we’re closing all 143 of our stores and we’re paying our employees to get outside. He actually mentioned the action before the belief, which gave it a greater priority. To help build trust, REI didn’t pay an actor to deliver the message. Stritzke did it himself.

They said it in a simple and memorable way. What an easy story to tell and a simple structure to follow, huh?

They stated their beliefs.

They described the actions they would take to live them.

They described how customers could get involved.

They delivered it with an authentic REI personality.

Best of all, they accomplished all this in thirty seconds.

That may be the most efficient and compelling organizational story ever told.

It’s a clearly articulated Brand Belief that shows REI cares about more than the products it sells. It supports REI staff and acts as a phenomenal recruiting tool. It announces a bold action that flies in the face of convention without trying to look and act rebellious. It showcases a personality who believes that the warmth of a smile resonates better than the knee-slapping of a laugh. It invites consumers to participate through a hashtag but doesn’t desperately beg for user-generated content. Finally, it brands the initiative—#OptOutside—not as an event but as an action.

REI did all of this in under seventy words.

Don’t worry, I know exactly what you’re thinking. Did it work?

As an experienced marketer, everything about this feels right. It checks all the boxes in an interesting way, and given the fictional approach to metrics these days, I could find data that builds a case for its success. So, yeah, I could mention that they got 2.7 billion PR impressions in the first twenty hours. Yes, billion: 6.7 billion media impressions overall, 1.2 billion social impressions... blah, blah, blah.

But to me, this is what matters. In the year #OptOutside launched:

REI inspired 1.4 million people to spend the day outside.

REI posted its largest-ever membership growth.

REI increased revenue by 9.3 percent to $2.4 billion.

Think about that.

REI shut down on its busiest day of the year and actually grew revenue in the process.

They got consumers to look. They established trust in the brand. The result was incredible momentum and growth, all because everyone from the CEO to the cashier were aligned on what they thought, what they did, and what they said.

But why did they have to do it in the first place? Couldn’t they have just run a Q4 BOGO (Buy One Get One) banner campaign that was announced internally through an impersonal email from the CEO? Couldn’t they have just funneled their money into AI like everyone else? Couldn’t they have just gotten the team together for a brainstorming session where they spent four days rewriting their mission statement?

Sure. They could have done all of that.

But consistent growth and momentum for people and organizations require a bit more. On one hand, we need to step away from the MBA textbooks and jargon-filled exercises to land in a truthful and honest place that is as compelling as it is simple. On the other hand, we also need to step away from the latest and greatest technologies and platforms to set up for continued success regardless of when the device we’re holding is obsolete and when version 2.0 of our sales software is replaced by version 3.0.

Great organizations know it. So do great people.

It’s time to be calm in the chaos.

Because the chaos certainly isn’t going away.

I don’t know shit. But I do know not to trust anyone who calls themselves a ‘Growth Hacker.’

MARIE CURIE

2

THIS IS THE CHAOS PART

Buying the space is easy. Standing out is not.

Get into a New York State of Mind

• • •

Two ad campaigns I created have been featured in Times Square. As a Canadian ad guy mostly doing stuff north of the border, I was proud when my work made it to New York’s biggest stage. I mean, hell... if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere, right?

Times Square is the most expensive promotional real estate in North America, with more lights, signs, bells, flashes, and distractions than your average stretch of pavement. The Times Square Alliance reports that sign-age in the area generates 1.5 million impressions from over 380,000 pedestrians and 115,000 drivers and passengers every day. It may surprise you to find out that over 60,000 people live in the greater Times Square area, too. That’s a ton of eyeballs, and they all need something to look at. Brands buy billboards because they want those eyes to look at their ads.

But here’s the real problem:

Buying the space is easy. Standing out is not.

When a consumer stands in the middle of Times Square, they don’t even know where to look. Every inch of peripheral vision is filled with something that pulls the eyes away. Blinking. Moving. Waving. Animating. Shining. Flashing. Ringing. Look here. No, here. No, here.

Down on street level, it’s even worse.

Evangelical preachers are trying to get you to convert.

Buskers are performing for change.

Food carts are hawking street meat.

Scammers are asking for bus money.

Young comedians are papering a local comedy club.

Curbside entrepreneurs are selling everything from T-shirts and theater tickets to recreational drugs and prostitution.

So not only do they not know where to look, they don’t know who to trust, either.

They don’t know where to look. They don’t know who to trust.

Well, I hate to break it to you, Billy Joel, but you’re not the only one in a New York state of mind, because today, Times Square isn’t just isolated between West 42nd and West 47th. It’s everywhere.

Times