You can’t sell sriracha to people who hate spice.

Victoria Carrington Chávez and I talked identity, confidence, and why pointy brands win.

Stop convincing the wrong room.
Signal to the right one.

#BrandScience #CoverBrand #Marketing

We confuse "looking professional" with "looking trustworthy." Usually, it just means "looking invisible." If your brand fits in too well, nobody can see it. Sometimes you need a mascot in a raccoon suit just to prove you have a pulse.
#CoverBrand

We confuse niche with small. But in branding, specificity creates value. If you solve a painful problem for a specific group, you don't need to be everything to everyone. You just need to be essential to them. #CoverBrand

We kept noticing how often luxury shows up as restraint, not excess.

Less noise. Fewer steps. More memory.
Harder to do than it looks.

#BrandScience #Marketing #BrandExperience #LuxuryThinking #CoverBrand

Sebastian Hidalgo and I spent this episode talking through a simple tension:

From the inside, consistency feels repetitive.
From the outside, it feels reliable.

Music, brands, and why recognition usually does more work than novelty on Cover Brand.

#BrandScience #AppliedBrandScience #CoverBrand

Close your eyes.
If your brand disappears, it was never really landing.

Shez Mehra joins Cover Brand to explain why sound—not visuals—is doing the heavy lifting in memory and meaning.

🎧 Episode 48

#BrandScience #SonicBranding #MarketingEffectiveness #CoverBrand

Casey Hill & I dig into one of the surprises you only see when you test at scale: best practice can lose.

This episode is about asking better questions, observing carefully, & looking at the data without prejudice.

🎧 Ep 47 wherever you pod.

#BrandScience #Marketing #ABTesting #CoverBrand

Most brands fail quietly.

Not because they’re bad.
Because they’re forgettable.

Matteo & I chat about-
• Branding ≠ logos
• Distinct beats “on-category”
• Freeze-dried mangoes are just the excuse

If people can’t find you again, you don’t exist.

#coverbrand #B2Bmarketing #GrowthStrategy

Marketing isn’t the engine.
It’s the headlights.

New Cover Brand episode with Krista Michener on growth, clarity, and why most “marketing problems” start way upstream.

Less hype. More truth.

#coverbrand

Hot take:
If your business is growing by referrals, you already have a brand & you're "doing branding".

Debbie Huttner explains how reputation got her to ~$100M AUM.

Spoiler: the next growth move isn’t a logo refresh. It's realizing that "marketing" is a lot more than advertising.

#coverbrand

Shop Talk episode

Jonathan James and I dig into social proof, likability, and why brands grow by doing the basics well (plus champagne).
Timeless ideas > trendy tactics.

#CoverBrand #BrandScience

Beyond the Numbers
or When to Trust the Unquantified

vist.ly/4kz7x

#businessasunusual #coverbrand #energyequation

AI is getting faster.
Consumers are getting sharper.
And authenticity? Still undefeated.

I talked with Charles Swan of Forage about the gap between shiny new tech and actual human behavior. A fun, nerdy, myth-busting episode for anyone tired of hype cycles.

#CoverBrand #BrandScience

Are marketers losing their guts?

Daniel Rauchwerger and I unpack why we’ve traded instincts for “please-don’t-fire-me” levels of data — and what that means for creativity.

A spicy one for anyone tired of defending ideas with 42 slides.

#CoverBrand #BrandScience

Most taglines are beige wallpaper.
Jenny Desmond and I talk about how to create one people actually remember—and maybe even repeat to their friends over mojitos in Havana.
Sticky beats clever. Clear beats cute.
#coverbrand #BrandScience #BrandStrategy

Even IT brands can learn from Prada.

This week on Cover Brand, I chat with Laura Diral about how to make serious B2B brands 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆—not just “relevant.”

Turns out, salience beats logic every time.

🎧 Listen anywhere you pod.
#CoverBrand #BrandScience #Marketing #B2BBranding

Your audience’s brain syncs with your brand—literally.

This episode of Cover Brand, I talk with Evante Daniels about how neuroscience, physics, and culture collide to shape what trends (and what tanks).

Forget messaging. Start with the nervous system.

🎧 Listen anywhere you pod. #CoverBrand

Ever tried to explain your business and ended up saying, “You just have to see it”?

I chatted with Amy Biondo about marketing what people feel, not what they buy—aka, vibe marketing.

Turns out, the best brands sell an occasion, not a product.

Listen anywhere you pod.
#BrandScience #CoverBrand

Ever try to nudge a client off vanity metrics—& realize your killer ROI graph is about as persuasive as a fax machine ad in 2024?

Learn about the psychology of data obsession, & why persuading with playfulness works better than pummeling with numbers.

Listen everywhere you pod. #CoverBrand

Ever try to explain your shiny new AI thing & watch eyes glaze over?
Yeah—same.

On Cover Brand, I talk with Joel Grabois of Blue Onion Media about Sweet Stack, a media brand that proves even tech needs syrupy simplicity.
AI’s a feature. Clarity’s the benefit.

Listen everywhere you pod. #CoverBrand

What happens when your brand mascot hits retirement age?

This week on Cover Brand Covers On Brand, Laura and I talk Doughboy, nostalgia, and how to make brand characters feel human (without losing the frosting).

🎧 Cover Brand Covers On Brand
#CoverBrand #OnBrand #TeamPyper #TeamBianca

Think your market’s too crowded?
Spoiler: it’s not.

In this week’s Cover Brand, I talk with Julianna Strickland of Space Camp Organizing about the myth of saturation, charging what you’re worth, and why math beats panic every time.

#CoverBrand #brandscience #branding

Your brief says: “Make it go viral.” Your soul says: Please no.

This week on Cover Brand Covers On Brand, Laura & I unpack what happens when Captain Morgan, the Super Bowl, & a doomed brief collide—& what it teaches us about real brand building.

#CoverBrand #TeamFreeze #TeamMustache

What does “authentic” even mean in the age of AI?

In this episode of Cover Brand, I sit down with longtime friend (and AI consultant) Carl Roose to tackle one of marketing’s most overused — and misunderstood — words: authenticity.

#CoverBrand #AI #authenticity #brandscience

Making "discount" look “designer” is harder than it sounds.

This week Laura Dodds and I break down Jimmy Fallon’s 𝑶𝒏 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅 — and what happens when Marshalls tries to walk the premium/value tightrope.

Cover Brand Covers On Brand - where you pod.

#CoverBrand #brandscience #branding

If you want to understand why B2B buyers aren’t as “rational” as you think, this episode is for you. From sunk cost fallacy to luxurious thinking, learn how making it easy for their brains is smart marketing.

Your buyers? Still very human.

#coverbrand #b2b #aiagents

New #CoverBrand episode is live! I sat down with Lili Siegelson of Gelt + Glow to talk Hanukkah, branding, and what it’s really like launching a seasonal biz. Want the story behind her stylish Hanukkah wrapping paper and how she’s navigating growth? Give it a listen!

This week on COVER BRAND: "personal branding."

Anne Macomber asks about personal branding for the sake of her students. We talk about how to be more you, and do it more consciously, and commit to the bit.

Tune in and get your dose of Cover Brand this week.

#podcast #coverbrand #personalbranding

How do you define an IDEAL CLIENT PROFILE (ICP)?

Chelle Johnson joined me on COVER BRAND to talk about how to define your target, especially as a small B2B business.

Listen anywhere you get your podcast fix: we're on All The Places.

#BrandingTips #coverbrand #marketingpodcast

WHAT DOES "BRAND" MEAN??

On this episode of COVER BRAND, Marc Wallace and I talk about what "brand" is. It's a word that means different things to different people. Like love. And nerd.

In this episode, we take out some of the confusion around what "brand" means.

#CoverBrand #branding #marketing