Brain Driven Brands

What if your next viral ad came from your meanest review? In this episode of Brain Driven Brands, Sarah and Nate dive headfirst into the world of negative feedback, brand psychology, and emotional resilience—starting with a spicy listener review about Sarah's voice. 😅

From Liquid Death's savage comment campaigns to Domino's "We're Sorry for Sucking" rebrand, they unpack how smart brands turn criticism into currency (and why most founders take it way too personally).

You'll learn: → Why consumers trust brands that own their flaws → The psychology behind "reversal bias" and "competence signaling" → How to decide if a bad comment is valid feedback—or just someone having a bad day

A mix of humor, honesty, and a little therapy banter (don't worry, Nate's still anti-therapy 😆), this episode will make you rethink how you handle haters—and maybe even thank them for your next creative breakthrough.

🎧 Listen if: You've ever been roasted online, doubted your product, or wanted to clap back at a troll but turn it into a high-performing ad instead.

👉 Learn more how to apply psychology to your ads: skool.com/tether-lab\

CoHost: Nate Lagos

Twitter: https://x.com/natelagosLinkedIn: 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/SarahLevingerLinkedin: 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 Halloween-themed episode, Sarah and Nate dive into the wildest (and weirdest) campaigns in advertising history (the ones that shouldn't have worked… but somehow did.)

From the Tango Orange Man who literally slapped sales up 33%, to the Diamond Shreddies intern who made millions by tilting a cereal 45 degrees, to Pepsi's 1992 Number Fever fiasco that sparked riots in the Philippines, this episode is a masterclass in how psychology, timing, and cultural context can make or break a campaign.

Expect laughter, disbelief, and plenty of "wait, that actually worked?" moments...plus two challenges for listeners at the end.

Because sometimes, genius isn't about doing more — it's about seeing differently.

👉 Learn more how to apply psychology to your ads: skool.com/tether-lab\

CoHost: Nate Lagos

Twitter: https://x.com/natelagosLinkedIn: 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/SarahLevingerLinkedin: 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

Coca-Cola once tried to sell apathy in a can. They called it OK Soda — a grungy, "anti-brand" aimed at cynical Gen Xers. The ads were clever, the design was bizarre…and the product died within a year.

In Episode 107, we dig into why "anti-branding" almost always backfires, why Liquid Death succeeded where Coke failed, and the psychology of why brands can't thrive on indifference. Inside the conversation:

✅ The real reason OK Soda flopped despite massive hype ✅ Why apathy is the weakest emotion you can build a brand on ✅ The key difference between active vs. passive emotions in marketing ✅ How today's "anti-agency agencies" and "non-beauty beauty brands" are repeating Coke's mistake ✅ Why rebellion only works if you give customers an identity to step into, not out of

If you've ever wondered:

1. Why some "anti" campaigns take off while others flatline

2. How to pick the right emotion to anchor your brand around

3. What Liquid Death nailed that Coke couldn't figure out

4. And why fighting your own category is the fastest way to lose…

…this one's for you.

👉 Learn how to become a psychology-based creative strategist: 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/

What if everything you've been told about the "right" ad length is wrong?

In this episode of Brain Driven Brands, Sarah and Nate dive into a surprising new study showing that one oddly specific video length outperformed the standard 15–30 second format — driving 40% more traffic and 3X engagement.

They break down:

• Why shorter ads spark curiosity (and clicks) while longer ones stall

• The real "job" of an ad vs. your landing page

• Why benefit-first storytelling beats pain-point rambling

• Live ad-read experiments (yes, in under 10 seconds)

Source: https://app.sciencesays.com/p/keep-video-ads-under-10-seconds

👉 Learn more how to apply psychology to your ads: skool.com/tether-lab

CoHost: Nate Lagos

Twitter: https://x.com/natelagosLinkedIn: 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/SarahLevingerLinkedin: 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

We dropped a stat this week that stopped Nate in his tracks: brands can see up to 42% more sales just by framing discounts the right way. No new ads, no extra products...just choosing percent off vs. dollar off at the right moment.

In Episode 105, we dig into the psychology behind that lift and why most brands blow Q4 by overcomplicating offers, stacking promos, and teaching customers not to trust them. Inside the conversation:

✅ The science behind when to use % off vs. $ off (and why it changes sitewide vs. single product)

✅ The 5 offer types we see every year — and which ones are worth your testing budget

✅ Why "combo deals" and "sale extended" emails wreck trust long-term

✅ Sequencing tactics (like Nate's "Better Than Black Friday" play) that build urgency without burning credibility

✅ Why sometimes the boldest Q4 strategy is raising prices, not cutting them

If you've ever wondered:

1. How to simplify offers so customers don't need a calculator

2. Why half-off deals aren't always the flex you think they are

3. How to build trust during the most profitable month of the year

4. And why less discounting can actually mean more margin

…this one's for you.

Season 3 keeps pushing, and the data's spicy. 🧠

Source: https://app.sciencesays.com/p/coupons-when-to-give-10-off-vs-10

👉 Learn more about applying psychology to your ads: 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/

This episode of Brain Driven Brands is a survival guide for founders, media buyers, and creative teams heading into the chaos of Q4.

Sarah sits down with Joanna Wallace (VP of Paid Creative @ Bird Dog, formerly HexClad) to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to prep for Black Friday without burning your team out—or losing your sanity.

We dig into:

✅ Why burnout hits creative teams hardest in September (and how to stop the slide) ✅ The hidden costs of "just make more ads" during Q4 ✅ How to prep your staff, editors, and assets so you're not scrambling in November ✅ Why organization (not genius ideas) is the real secret weapon for BFCM ✅ The playbook Joanna used at HexClad to survive—and even thrive—during Black Friday

If you've ever felt like Q4 is a treadmill you can't get off, this episode gives you the strategy shift (and the permission) to slow down, get organized, and protect your team while still hitting your numbers.

🎧 Listen in—and if you're a founder or creative staring down Q4 panic, this one's for you.

👉 Learn more about applying psychology to your ads: skool.com/tether-lab

Guest: Joanna Sloane Wallace, VP of Paid Creative @ Bird Dog LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannasloamewallace/

CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter: https://x.com/natelagos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natelagos/ Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534

CoHost: Sarah Levinger Website: https://www.tetherinsights.io/ Twitter: https://x.com/SarahLevinger LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.levinger/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg

This week, Sarah and Nate are joined by Alyssa Wallace, retention & lifecycle marketing pro, for a conversation that flips the usual DTC playbook on its head.

Here's the hard truth: blasting 100+ AI ads and endless "buy now" emails isn't retention. It's noise. Consumers aren't dumb—they're tired, frustrated, and tuning out.

Together, we dig into:

• Why retention is really about habit-building, not just marketing

  BDB - Episode 103

• The difference between lifecycle vs. loyalty vs. acquisition (and why most brands get it wrong)

• Why your email list isn't full of "customers"—it's mostly prospects

• How to align ads, offers, timing, and messaging to create actual lifetime value

• Why silly things (like mocktail recipes or "sandwich emails") often outperform discount blasts

• And why the future belongs to brands that connect emotionally, not just transactionally

If you've ever wondered why your retention campaigns feel flat, how to build real loyalty, or what it actually takes to keep customers around, this episode will give you the straight answers.

Season 3 is here, and we're starting loud. 🧠⚡️

👉 Learn more about applying psychology to your ads: skool.com/tether-lab

Guest: Alyssa Wallace Twitter: https://x.com/xalyssajeanx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xalyssajeanx/

CoHost: Nate Lagos

Twitter: https://x.com/natelagosLinkedIn: 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/SarahLevingerLinkedin: 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

This episode of Brain Driven Brands is a wake-up call for every founder, media buyer, and creative who's been told the secret is more ads, more volume, more work.

Sarah, Nate, and guest Kevin (Head of eCom at High Camp Flasks) pull back the curtain on the creative hamster wheel and share why "a thousand ads a month" isn't just unrealistic—it's wrecking teams, draining budgets, and distracting from what actually drives growth.

We dig into:

• Why Meta's "creative volume" advice is being misapplied

• How focusing on holistic campaigns (not individual ads) changes everything

• The hidden burnout, team, time, and efficiency costs of chasing volume

• What great brands are doing instead: quality storytelling, high-impact campaigns, and customer research

If you're tired of the spray-and-pray approach and want to fall back in love with marketing again, this episode will give you the strategy shift you need.

🎧 Listen in, and if you're a brand stuck on the volume hamster wheel, this one's for you.

👉 Learn more how to apply psychology to your ads: skool.com/tether-lab\

Guest: Kevin (Never "Kev") Luby, Director of Ecommerce @ High Camp Flasks Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-luby-70b62445/

CoHost: Nate Lagos

Twitter: https://x.com/natelagosLinkedIn: 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/SarahLevingerLinkedin: 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

We kicked off Season 3 with some heat. 🔥

In this episode, Nate and Sarah talk about why the volume game in ads is broken — and how brands are shooting themselves in the foot by flooding their accounts with 100+ AI-generated ads a week. Spoiler: consumers aren't dumb. They're tired, frustrated, and tuning out repetitive, irrelevant creative.

We share some new stats on consumer behavior (61% are less likely to buy after seeing the same ad too many times, 49% flat out refuse). We dig into why volume ≠ diversity, why overloading creative teams is unsustainable, and why the future looks more like "7 great cookies" than "50 mediocre ones."

Nate and Sarah also shift into brand strategy — how to prime buyers long before the sale, the reality of emotional lag in purchasing decisions, and why building memorable brand campaigns is the antidote to cookie-cutter volume. We even talk about why silly things (like my little red dinosaur) actually work for brand recall.

If you've ever wondered:

• Why dumping ads into Meta isn't working anymore

• How to think about emotional timing in customer behavior

• How to balance brand vs. performance spend without losing your shirt

• And why "be more interesting" might be the most practical advice you'll hear this year

…this episode is for you.

Season 3 is here, and we're starting loud. 🧠⚡️

Marketers...Don't Think About WHO Think About WHEN: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000675762314

CoHost: Nate Lagos

Twitter: https://x.com/natelagosLinkedIn: 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/SarahLevingerLinkedin: 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 of Brain-Driven Brands, Nate and Sarah kick off Season 3 by reflecting on some of our favorite episodes from past seasons, share the lessons that stuck with us, and give you a preview of what's coming next. If you haven't listened to Brain Driven Brands for long, or if you jut wanna send your friend some good content this week, SEND THEM THIS.

• Why "just spending more on ads" is the wrong lever—and the surprising shift that actually drives scale.

• The one theme that secretly connected our favorite past episodes (storytelling, bias, and identity)… and why we didn't see it until now.

• A behind-the-scenes look at what we're building for Season 3—something we've never shared publicly before.

• The "When" Episode – about when people are primed to buy: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000675762314 $100M Marketing Challenge – a live experiment episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000693460164 The Orange Episode / Apples vs. Oranges – about the seriously shady business of orange juice vs apple juice (juice/consumables): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000702690496 Ford to Range Rover Episode – identity-based buying contrast episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000702997660 Sarah Makes Snake Cry – a memorable/funny one that might change copywriting forever: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000710416478 Gut Driven Brands – spinoff episode when Sarah was out, so Scotty & Nate ran it: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000679071306 The "Because" Episode – got notable (kinda negative) listener reactions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000687116891 BONUS: BPE Episode – people couldn't get enough of this one: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000700103181 BONUS: Valence of Testing – one of the best episodes we've done by far! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-driven-brands/id1752169629?i=1000710416478

👉 Learn more how to apply psychology to your ads: 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