For anyone new here, I’m the founder of Woo Punch, a brand consultancy rooted in evidence-based brand design. I write about the evidence that debunks brand purpose, differentiation, brand love, loyalty marketing, customer personas, color psychology, mission statements, customer engagement, AdTech, and “hustle culture.”

Want to chat about your advertising? Schedule a free intro call.

Latest Episodes

*You can also listen on Google Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Watch the Video for a Better Experience.

This might be the last episode for a while.

Stef and I are now only releasing episodes for special occasions. We have had a lot of fun but we also have a lot on our plates. We hope to release episodes every now and then when we have time or a topic comes up that we just can’t miss talking about.

Thank you for watching or listening and remember to subscribe to:

* Branding B******t, as I will still be writing articles.

* The BS Show, on YouTube or whatever podcast platform you are using, so you can get notified when rare episodes are released.

* Let’s Talk Branding (Stef’s Podcast and YouTube Channel).

Watch the commercials we discuss here.

Thanks for reading Branding Bullsh*t! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribed

In Part 2 of our Design Thinking series, we discuss why Design Thinking is a poor tool for innovation and Austin reveals his alternative oversimplified hexagons for success.

Visit the episode page to watch the video or follow along with any relevant images (by scrolling down to the bottom of the episode page).

In Part 3, we discuss:

* The three primary pitfalls of Design Thinking as a tool for innovation.

* Why Apple and Steve Jobs have never been design thinkers (despite Design Thinking enthusiasts pointing to them as Design Thinking gods).

* The iPenis.

* Problems with brainstorming.

* The many biases that have led to Design Thinking becoming a $6 billion industry.

* Why Design Thinking is a dangerous tool for brand identity design.

* My signature (oversimplified) 5 hexagons that can help you become the next Facebook or Coca-Cola.

* The famous brand that has always followed my 5 hexagons.

In Part 1 & Part 2, we discussed:

* The red flags that led Austin to doubt Design Thinking 3 years ago.

* What Design Thinking is.

* The origins of design thinking (you don't want to miss this fascinating story).

* Why innovation is the first key to understanding why Design Thinking is bullsh*t.

* Where the theory of “disruptive innovation” came from and how it was built on cherry-picked case studies (that didn’t pan out in the end) and circular arguments.

* The reality of innovation.

* The myth of IDEO's success.

* The biases that led to Innovation's popularity.

* The surprising source of most true innovations throughout history (Spoiler Alert: It wasn't 5-day Design Sprints).

* The inaccurate and misunderstood lore of IDEO’s Apple Mouse.

* Austin’s boring (but effective) alternative to innovation.

For more from Austin Franke, visit brandingbullshit.com & woopunch.com. For more from Stef Hamerlink, visit letstalkbranding.com.

Austin goes even deeper into the pitfalls of our obsession with innovation for brand growth. He also starts making the case against Design Thinking as a tool for innovation, even if innovation is the magic bullet Clayton Christensen and others say it is.

Visit the episode page to watch the video or follow along with any relevant images (by scrolling down to the bottom of the episode page).

In Part 2, we discuss:

* The reality of innovation.

* The myth of IDEO's success.

* The biases that led to Innovation's popularity.

* The surprising source of most true innovations throughout history (Spoiler Alert: It wasn't 5-day Design Sprints).

* The inaccurate and misunderstood lore of IDEO’s Apple Mouse.

* Austin’s boring (but effective) alternative to innovation.

In Part 1, we discussed:

* The red flags that led Austin to doubt Design Thinking 3 years ago.

* What Design Thinking is.

* The origins of design thinking (you don't want to miss this fascinating story).

* Why innovation is the first key to understanding why Design Thinking is bullsh*t.

* Where the theory of “disruptive innovation” came from and how it was built on cherry-picked case studies (that didn’t pan out in the end) and circular arguments.

For more from Austin Franke, visit brandingbullshit.com & woopunch.com. For more from Stef Hamerlink, visit letstalkbranding.com.

Visit the episode page to watch the video or follow along with any relevant images (by scrolling down to the bottom of the episode page).

Austin has wanted to debunk Design Thinking for years now, but with everyone so sensitive to its critique (including some potential clients), his case had to be very strong. And yet, there are so few critiques of Design Thinking and even less research into its effectiveness.

Throughout 3 episodes of The BS Show Austin critiques what few have. Design Thinking and Innovation. He will combines the critiques of Natasha Jen (designer), Lee Vinsel (historian), Adam Ferrier (marketer), Jill Lepore (journalist), and others, as well as go even deeper with his own criticisms.

In Part 1, we discuss:

* The red flags that led Austin to doubt Design Thinking 3 years ago.

* What Design Thinking is.

* The origins of design thinking (you don't want to miss this fascinating story).

* Why innovation is the first key to understanding why Design Thinking is bullsh*t.

* Where the theory of “disruptive innovation” came from and how it was built on cherry-picked case studies (that didn’t pan out in the end) and circular arguments.

In further episodes, we will discuss:

* The reality of innovation.

* The myth of IDEO's success.

* The biases that led to Design Thinking's popularity.

* The surprising source of most true innovations throughout history (Spoiler Alert: It wasn't 5-day Design Sprints).

* The dangers of innovation for society and your bottom line.

* Design Thinking failures.

* Why Steve Jobs was the furthest thing from a "Design Thinker."

* What motivates the $6 billion Design Thinking industry (Spoiler alert: It's not proof of its effectiveness).

* Survivorship bias and the severe lack of successful Design Thinking case studies.

* The dangerous pitfalls of Design Thinking for advertising.

* The even more dangerous pitfalls of Design Thinking for brand identity design.

* Decades of evidence debunking brainstorming (and the absence of evidence supporting it) for generating good ideas.

* Why isolation and time are essential keys to solving complex problems.

And finally, Austin’s cheeky oversimplified hexagons for success.

For more from Austin Franke, visit brandingbullshit.com & woopunch.com. For more from Stef Hamerlink, visit letstalkbranding.com.

Visit the episode page to watch the video or follow along with any relevant images (by scrolling down to the bottom of the episode page).

“Advertising is the price you pay for having an unremarkable product or service.”

-Jeff Bezos

Really???

A few thoughts:

* Why is Amazon one of the biggest paid advertisers in the world today? Does that mean they are suddenly unremarkable?

* Almost every seller on Amazon has always advertised their products, even if Amazon themselves didn’t invest in paid advertising once upon a time.

* Amazon created its own sub-category, like Netflix, Uber, and Airbnb. These brands are the extremely rare exception, not the rule. The rest of us have to compete in sub-categories with hundreds of competitors at least. Once Amazon, Netflix, Uber, and Airbnb succeeded without paid advertising, Walmart online, Hulu, Lyft, and Vrbo came along and spoiled their fun. So now they have no choice but to invest heavily in paid advertising to maintain their market share.

* This quote completely ignores the fact that marketing involves much more than advertising. Amazon might not have paid for advertising early on. Still, they certainly paid to widen their distribution and broaden their services, invest in distinctive packaging, dramatically reduce their pricing to outcompete every other retailer (without even being profitable for over 20 years by wooing the stock market), and make the customer experience as smooth and convenient as possible. All of these are tactics and strategies that fall under marketing (Product, Place, Price, and Promotion).

Stef and Austin discuss Amazon, Tesla, Tony’s Chocolonely, Apple, Chris Do, Seth Godin, Gary Vee, and other examples of brands and people who have found success through paid marketing. Even while simultaneously preaching that brands can grow without.

For more from Austin Franke, visit brandingbullshit.com & woopunch.com. For more from Stef Hamerlink, visit letstalkbranding.com.

Visit the episode page to watch the video or follow along with any relevant images (by scrolling down to the bottom of the episode page).

Check out Austin’s slide presentation detailing the most ridiculous lines of recent Toys R’ Us, Velveeta, and KFC press releases below (including his personal translations of what they’re actually saying).

For more from Austin Franke, visit brandingbullshit.com & woopunch.com. For more from Stef Hamerlink, visit letstalkbranding.com.

We discuss some bad/good examples in OOH (out of home) advertising. We also discuss a Toys R' Us rebrand press release and the ridiculous Staples logo reveal.

Visit the episode page to watch the video or follow along with any relevant images (by scrolling down to the bottom of the episode page).

For more from Austin Franke, visit brandingbullshit.com & woopunch.com. For more from Stef Hamerlink, visit letstalkbranding.com.

Visit the episode page to watch the video or follow along with any relevant images (by scrolling down to the bottom of the episode page).

Is Saul Goodman's advertising strategy in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul effective? You bet it is!

Stef and Austin explain why Saul's commercials would have likely killed in real life!

We also look at local lawyer David Gruber, a real-life Saul Goodman in Milwaukee, WI (my home), who has leveraged his own cheesy persona and tagline for over 13 years.

Bonus: Stef dabbles with AI branding for the show again...

For more from Austin Franke, visit brandingbullshit.com & woopunch.com. For more from Stef Hamerlink, visit letstalkbranding.com.

Visit the episode page to watch the video or follow along with any relevant images (by scrolling down to the bottom of the episode page).

In our first live episode, we kept it off the cuff* and jumped in without a name or a brand. Then, after about 15 minutes of chatting, we settled on The BS Show. We even created our first meaningless distinctive brand asset! It’s a duck, by the way…

*Staying true to our plan to remain off the cuff, we also forgot to check our audio levels. We’ll #dobetter next time ;)

For more from Austin Franke, visit brandingbullshit.com & woopunch.com. For more from Stef Hamerlink, visit letstalkbranding.com.