Launching a new brand can feel overwhelming—but what if you're bringing an entirely new product to a crowded market? This episode of Cover Brand dives into the branding and positioning challenges faced by Joel Grabois, a media expert and founder of Blue Onion Media, as he launches Sweet Stack Media: the industry’s first AI-enhanced media planning toolkit.

Alongside stories of his journey from musician to media maven, Joel shares the thinking behind using memorable, category-breaking branding (think pancakes, not pixels!) and discusses why connecting your brand with customer needs trumps talking about features.

Host Ethan Decker delivers expert guidance on market segmentation, the “jobs to be done” framework, positioning strategy, and how to harness metaphors to make your brand instantly sticky and irresistible. If you’re wrestling with how to launch, differentiate, or explain a new offering—or just want to be inspired by creative brand thinking—this episode is your launchpad to brand brilliance.

Tune in to learn how to:

• Cut through the noise with distinctive, memorable brand identities
• Position your product using audience needs—not just features
• Apply the “job to be done” approach for sharper brand strategy
• Use metaphors and context to make your value instantly clear
• Navigate branding challenges for AI, SaaS, and service brands
• Learn from real-world examples and expert advice

Main Topics:

• The story behind launching Sweet Stack Media, an AI-driven media planning tool
• The importance of category-breaking branding in a crowded marketplace
• How to position new products: Segmentation, needs, and “jobs to be done”
• Messaging that focuses on customer benefits—beyond just features
• Making your brand memorable through metaphor, context, and creativity
• Building flexible agencies for the evolving landscape of marketing teams
• Real-world challenges in introducing AI-powered services to SMBs
• The role of creativity (and even music) in strategic branding

Links to Additional Resources:

• Blue Onion Media
• April Dunford on Positioning
• Jobs to be Done Theory

Ready to build a brand that stands out and speaks directly to your audience’s needs? Apply the strategies shared in this episode—think outside your category, go beyond features, and frame your solution in a way your ideal client instantly understands. Check out the resources above and share your biggest branding challenge with us on social media!Subscribe to Cover Brand for more insights into the world of branding and marketing. Share this episode with a friend who could benefit from these strategies, and head over to appliedbrandscience.com to dive deeper into the principles of brand science. Your success starts here!

Castmagic and Descript used to create drafts and then edited with human eyes, ears and hands. Produced by BiCurean.com

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