Brain Driven Brands

In this episode, Sarah and Nate unpack the fascinating story of Febreze, a product that nearly failed because the company misunderstood how people were using it. The breakthrough came when they stopped making assumptions and started observing real customer behavior.
They connect that lesson to behavioral cues, micro-wins, and the moments that trigger someone to use or buy a product. You'll also hear practical examples from watches and men's health, plus a simple post-purchase survey exercise to help you uncover new marketing angles.
Here's what we'll cover:
00:00 Why we're talking about marketing history
01:00 The story behind Febreze
02:00 Why Febreze struggled after launch
03:00 What observing customers revealed
04:00 How Febreze changed its positioning
05:00 Are you selling to the right people?
06:00 Finding the behavioral cue for your product
07:00 Acute problems, chronic problems, and unexpected use cases
08:00 Finding micro-wins in the watch category
09:00 Why recurring moments matter
10:00 Stop assuming, start asking your customers
11:00 Your homework: Find your customers' micro-trigger points
👉 Join my community: skool.com/tether-lab
CoHost: Nate Lagos
Twitter: https://x.com/natelagos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natelagos/
Tactical and Practical Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534
CoHost: Sarah Levinger
Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/
Twitter: https://x.com/SarahLevinger
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.levinger/
Watch me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg

In this episode, Sarah and Nate revisit the Valence and Intensity framework, a psychology-based approach to understanding how your ads communicate emotion. They break down how to use it as a diagnostic tool, identify opportunities in your existing creative, and build separate funnels around positive and negative messaging.
They also get into why marketers often give up on strategies too early, why execution matters more than collecting frameworks, and why there's no shortcut around getting the reps in.
Here's what we'll cover:
00:00 Why marketers are struggling with Valence and Intensity
01:00 Understanding the four Valence and Intensity zones
02:00 Using Claude to analyze your existing creative
03:00 Why positive and negative messaging need separate funnels
04:00 Matching your ads and landing pages
05:00 Why chasing marketing trends can hurt your brand
06:00 The importance of executing a strategy properly
07:00 Why one failed ad test doesn't count
08:00 Valence and Intensity as a diagnostic tool
09:00 Finding the right message before using frameworks
10:00 Why experience and repetition matter
11:00 Your homework: Build and test an opposite-framed funnel
👉 Join my community: skool.com/tether-lab
CoHost: Nate Lagos
Twitter: https://x.com/natelagos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natelagos/
Tactical and Practical Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534
CoHost: Sarah Levinger
Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/
Twitter: https://x.com/SarahLevinger
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.levinger/
Watch me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg

In this episode, Sarah and Nate break down the psychology behind Black Friday shopping, why discount hunters can be difficult to retain, and how to create offers that make people excited to buy without relying on endless discounts.
You'll learn how to gamify your offers, protect customer lifetime value, and use a Better Than Black Friday campaign to encourage earlier purchases. Plus, we have some thoughts about brands that keep extending a sale they promised was ending. Please stop doing that.
00:00 Why we're late with the Black Friday episode
01:00 The psychology behind Black Friday shopping
02:00 Why shoppers love the thrill of the hunt
03:00 Turning scarcity into a compelling offer
04:00 How a timed Black Friday promotion worked
05:00 Gamified offers versus blanket discounts
06:00 How to structure tiered offers
07:00 Why early Black Friday customers can be more valuable
08:00 Protecting customer lifetime value with bundles
09:00 Selling to gift buyers who aren't your usual customers
10:00 Why you need to keep your sale deadlines
12:00 The Better Than Black Friday strategy
👉 Join my community: skool.com/tether-lab
CoHost: Nate Lagos
Twitter: https://x.com/natelagos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natelagos/
Tactical and Practical Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534
CoHost: Sarah Levinger
Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/
Twitter: https://x.com/SarahLevinger
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.levinger/
Watch me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg

Sarah and Nate break down the research behind product names, then get into how to use it in your own marketing.
You'll learn why easy-to-pronounce names can matter for supplements, when unusual names spark curiosity, why mystery products can be so appealing, and how a boring product title can waste the momentum from a great ad. There's also a practical breakdown of naming products across different categories, from luxury goods to everyday essentials.
And yes, apparently we may have a future tea brand to discuss.
00:00 The science quiz begins
02:00 Can hard-to-pronounce names feel riskier?
03:00 How one vowel changes product expectations
05:00 Matching product names to customer psychology
06:00 Why unusual names can increase consumption
07:00 When a great ad leads to a boring product page
09:00 Why testing product titles matters
10:00 How revealing a product can reduce satisfaction
11:00 What mystery products teach us about perceived value
12:00 Naming products for different categories
14:00 Describe the experience customers actually want
15:00 Why curiosity matters for unfamiliar products
👉 Join my community: skool.com/tether-lab
CoHost: Nate Lagos
Twitter: https://x.com/natelagos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natelagos/
Tactical and Practical Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534
CoHost: Sarah Levinger
Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/
Twitter: https://x.com/SarahLevinger
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.levinger/
Watch me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg

Sarah and Nate break down how Schlitz Brewing went from struggling to become America's number-one best-selling beer brand by showing customers what made its product different. Copywriter Claude Hopkins visited the brewery, discovered the quality controls behind the beer, and turned those overlooked details into a compelling marketing story.
They explore the psychology behind why this worked, from the curse of knowledge to the power of specific details, perceived effort, and being the first brand to explain a claim convincingly.
They also get into why explaining why your product is better can build more trust than simply calling it the best, and why copy that converts might look very different from copy that sounds cool.
00:00 The story behind Schlitz Brewing
01:00 The difference between sounding good and selling
02:00 Why Sarah picked a history episode
03:00 How Schlitz started losing market share
04:00 What Claude Hopkins discovered at the brewery
06:00 Why experiencing a product matters
08:00 How understanding customer pain points builds trust
09:00 The curse of knowledge in marketing
10:00 Making product claims more believable
11:00 Why being first to prove a claim matters
12:00 How showing the work builds perceived value
13:00 Using specific details to justify a higher price
15:00 Why longer copy can convert better
18:00 Connecting product benefits to customer identity
21:00 The psychology of quality signals
23:00 Why product titles can influence buying decisions
👉 Join my community: skool.com/tether-lab
CoHost: Nate Lagos
Twitter: https://x.com/natelagos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natelagos/
Tactical and Practical Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534
CoHost: Sarah Levinger
Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/
Twitter: https://x.com/SarahLevinger
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.levinger/
Watch me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg