Posts tagged advertising
Think. Do. Say.
Think Do Say book by Ron Tite

I’m writing the next sentences in my best Julia Child voice... Combine a large pot of stellar speaking skills with several dollops of branding and marketing smarts. Mix a fresh bunch of humor, several cups of creativity, sprigs of kindness. Add these ingredients together, bake, and voilà - Ron Tite!

Ron is the president and CEO of Church + State, a creative agency in Toronto. He is also the author of the new book, Think. Do. Say. How to seize attention and build trust in a busy, busy world. I loved it!

I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with Ron over the last several years. We both belong to a speaker mastermind group called Speak & Spill. Ron has also graciously shared ideas and feedback with me. He’s a solid fellow, but let’s get back to that book.

The following are my takeaways from Think. Do. Say. I highly recommend you pick up a copy for yourself if you work with an agency or marketing firm. The book is full of case studies and examples of how we can improve everything we do by focusing on our beliefs, actions, and communication.

Key Takeaways from Think Do Say

Three pillars of great organizations know:

What they think

What they do

What they say

Your clients don’t know where to look and they don’t know who to trust.

Move from being product-focused to purpose-focused.

Believing isn’t enough. You have to act to reinforce your beliefs.

What you do immediately following an integrity gap will say more about your character than what you did before.

Believe in something more important than your bottom line. 

Answer the following questions

What’s your essential do?

Who do you do it for?

What do they want you to do?

Who do you do it with?

It’s easier to come up with a revolutionary idea to topple the establishment when you’re not a part of it.

Want people to look in your direction? Start solving their real problems before someone else does. 

The first step to innovation is improving the efficiency of what you already do. 

Honesty and transparency lead to trust. And trust leads to momentum. 

True authenticity is being comfortable with your imperfections. 

Something we’ve never seen before will get our attention.


I wanted to close this blog post with a Julia Child quote (there’s even one in the book). I found the perfect one that sums up Ron and his work, “Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”

One last Julia Child quote because I couldn’t resist, “A party without cake is just a meeting.”

Now go order your copy of Think. Do. Say. You will be glad you did.

Outsiders Beware. Your Brilliant Idea Could Be Terrible.
Zappos advertisements in airport security bins.

Outsiders Beware. Your Brilliant Idea Could Be Terrible.

Several years ago, I was standing in the security line at Nashville's airport. I stood there anxiously like the rest of the cattle, with my shoes in one hand and my bag in the other. As I lowered my shoes into the white plastic bin, I noticed a brilliant marketing move. 

The base of the bin had been lined with an advertisement for Zappos, the online shoe store. Picture placing your old, worn shoes into a bin with an ad encouraging you to order your next pair online. Talk about reaching your target market, right? Brilliant! 

This was the first time I had seen the white, security bin boxes branded. I imagined how many people would see the ads before arriving to their gates. What do people do when they get to their gate? They wait. They hop on their phones, tablets, or laptops, to surf the web before boarding time. I imagined Zappos' sales had spiked as a result.

Photo from http://blog.garrettspecialties.com/2009/05/22/

Photo from http://blog.garrettspecialties.com/2009/05/22/

She shook her head in disagreement and said, "It's terrible."

When I passed the security check, the TSA agent stood behind the conveyor of plastic bins. She looked to me as I picked out my shoes. I told her I thought it was a brilliant idea for ads to be placed in the bins. She shook her head in disagreement and said, "It's terrible."

She explained that since the ads had appeared in the otherwise white bins, passengers were continuously leaving something behind. The ads camouflaged their wallets, passports, purses, and keys. I wondered how many people had to dart back to security in a mad panic after realizing their wallet was left behind. I bet people have even missed flights because of this. I agreed with the TSA agent that it was a terrible idea after all. 

What can seem brilliant in a boardroom can be terrible once rolled out, because there is not enough knowledge about the environment. I don't blame Zappos for this, I still think it was a clever idea. Unfortunately, it has also proved terrible for TSA agents and unsuspecting passengers. 

Can you think of other examples of brilliant, terrible ideas?