Richard Shotton - IS IT TIME TO DITCH THE JARGON?

In the inaugural episode author and behavioral scientist, Richard Shotton describes three of his worst insight industry pet peeves and aims to banish one of them away forever in Room 101, much like the popular British TV show.  He describes each of the three items and offers guidance on how we could actually solve these marketing problems. The three pet hates from insights industry culture Richard describes are the myth of the public trust crisis, complex jargon and terminology, and an over-reliance on claims data. For each of the three pet peeves, he describes his own experience and suggests how advertising professionals could avoid these pitfalls and create more engaging and effective content.

Key Quotes:

“If you print out the data sheets and look at the reports, public trust [in UK brands] is static—it might even be rising, slightly.” (5:45)“If trust in advertisers isn’t the problem, we’ll be coming up with the wrong solutions.” (7:30)“I think that post-crisis, the data around who we trust might jump around a bit.” (9:45)“If you admit a flaw, you’ve tangibly proven your honesty, and your other claims become more believable.” (13:00)“You come across as more intelligent if you speak in simple terms.” (16:00)“Using abstract terms is a mistake—if people can picture it in their minds, it makes it more memorable.” (18:00)“Say exactly what you mean and not what you think you should say.” (18:50)“It’s often not researchers that are the problem, but the interpretation of data.” (24:00)

Key Topics: 

Richard describes how he got into behavior science. (2:30)Dissecting and banishing the myth of the public trust crisis. (4:50)Understanding the Veracity Index. (9:00)The Pratfall Effect. (11:45)Banishing complex jargon and terminology. (14:45)Advertisers need to talk in plain, concrete terms. (19:30)Banishing the over-reliance on claims data. (22:00)Driving value perceptions with plain data. (27:00)What is banished into Room 101? (28:30)

About - Richard Shotton:

Richard Shotton is a behavior scientist and advertising expert who brings psychological insights to marketing. As a founder of Astroten, he helps companies use behavioral insights to improve their marketing gains. Shotton is also the author of The Choice Factory, which some have already heralded as the greatest advertising book of all time.

Relevant Links:

Pick up Richard’s bestselling book, The Choice Factory.Ipsos Veracity Index 2021.View Richard’s LinkedIn.The Pratfall Effect.Read Oppenheimer’s Consequences of Erudite Vernacular.Read more about Steve Jobs’ “1,000 Songs in Your Pocket.”Read about confabulations.

The Day One podcast is published by the Day One Strategy and produced by Zorbiant.

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