The Fire That Changed My Life Forever And The SHOCKING Truth About Purpose and Advertising with Ron Tite
In this episode of the Influence Anyone podcast (previously Legend Effect), host Howie Chan interviews Ron Tite, an award-winning creative, the founder of the Church+State Agency, and the mind behind campaigns for brands like Google, Walmart, and Microsoft.
Ron delivers a true masterclass on the purpose of purpose and alignment, both personal and organizational, and how to get your message across in a relatable and engaging way. The discussion emphasizes that people used to vote with their wallets, and now they vote with their time. So, to influence others, our message must be worth their time.
Ron provides us with how to craft a purpose for a company and for yourself, the right way, along with his "Think. Say. Do." framework. He shares the ins and outs of how he structures all his speeches and how to apply comedy to them. Lastly, he flips advertising on its head.
Ron’s brush with death in a hotel fire changed his life.
Episode Breakdown:
03:32 Ron's life-altering brush with fire
06:54 Understand what purpose is and how brands have gotten it wrong
09:50 The parallel between personal purpose and the organization's purpose
13:04 How purpose can lead a profit-driven company towards growth
16:49 The different business model of purpose-driven companies
20:30 How to get the purpose right within the company
23:49 What you need to craft an organizational purpose that actually gets buy-in
30:59 The big flip in advertising from promise to confirmation
34:39 When belief is brought to life
36:26 You don't have to save the world, focus on what you care about
38:15 The power of starting with comedy
42:41 The warm open technique that silences the room
48:08 How Ron did it and your permission to fake it as you go
51:45 The process of comedy and how you can apply it
56:43 How Ron structures and customizes his speeches
59:21 The key ingredients of a successful and relatable speech
1:05:54 We don't need a great big meaningful story to deliver value
1:08:10 One simple exercise to help you better influence behavior
1:10:00 A letter to Ron Tite’s younger self
From Our Guest:
Get the books, Think. Do. Say. and The Purpose of Purpose.
Listen to the podcast, The Coup.
Read the Mark Ritson article on the purpose and profit paradox.
Listen to my interview with David Aaker about his book The Future of Purpose-Driven Branding from a few years ago.
Quotes:
“ I think purpose is a fundamental belief. It's a belief that drives what you sell and how you grow. So it needs to be strategically linked to where you make your money.” – Ron Tite
"We know that employees are way more engaged when they have a clear understanding of what the organization stands for and believes in, and know that they have a clear and valued role in bringing it to life." - Ron Tite
“ The world of marketing is so chaotic that you can't meet chaos with chaos, so you need to meet chaos that is out there, the uncertainty that is out there, with consistency and simplicity.” – Ron Tite
The Influence Anyone Podcast
The #1 podcast on applied influence psychology. Each episode, Howie Chan, a veteran brand and behavior strategist sits down with world experts and practitioners to uncover the hidden psychology that helps you influence yourself (mastering your mindset, habits, and decisions) and get buy-in from others (your team, clients, and audiences.) Together, we turn science into playbooks you can apply to lead, persuade, and create extraordinary success.
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