Surprise! Cover Brand kicks off a side-series where Laura Dodds and Ethan break down Jimmy Fallon’s new brand reality show—Dunkin’ pitches, cringe moments, and why smart still beats loud.

Like, when a new category pops the world, does it follow brand laws, or is it wonky?

On this episode of Cover Brand, Ethan sits down with my friend and AI consultant Carl Roose to explore how brands can stay authentic in an age when AI makes ‘authenticity’ slippery.

The NBD-Dirichlet nails how markets work—except when it comes to small brands, where the ‘laws’ start to wobble.

Ethan sits down with Billy Otteman of Scythe Robotics to dig into the branding challenges of disruptive tech—and how to turn robot lawn mowers into a story people actually buy.

The NBD-Dirichlet may be math-y and full of wild assumptions, but it’s the model that explains how shoppers and brands actually behave.

Ethan sits down with my friend Guillermo Saenz to unpack brand science for small business owners—cutting through jargon with real stories and practical strategies you can use from the kitchen table up.

In a classic study of 835 women with headaches, researchers found that even placebos work better when they’re branded.

Arissa Kirkland of Bishop Fox joins me to unpack the real lessons of rebranding—when to refresh, how to stay authentic, and how not to pull a Tropicana.

Pointer Media tracked 32 million shoppers and found a paradox: brands churn through their most ‘loyal’ customers every year—yet market share barely budges.

How do you keep your brand fresh enough to surprise without veering into chaos—and what can Oreo, KFC, and Sephora teach us about walking that tightrope?

Can a brand really lose its ‘loyalists’ without losing everyone else? Turns out 32 million shoppers and 658 brands say nope.

Drew Bonder joins Ethan to show how brands stick—through story, emotion, and creativity that turns precision into magnetic connection.

With 525,600 marketing metrics out there, here’s the simple way to spot which ones matter—and which are a waste.

Aug 5:-24: Head over to panelpicker.sxsw.com/votefor my talk.

This week on Cover Brand, Ethan talks with novelist Melanie Jennings about going from unknown writer to building a personal brand readers—and publishers—can’t ignore.

If you call a fish ‘slimehead,’ no one buys it—but rename it and suddenly it’s dinner.

Aug 5:-24: Head over topanelpicker.sxsw.com/votefor my talk.Ethan Decker sits down with Chris Barge, Executive Director of the Boulder Library Foundation, to explore how nonprofits can stand out with story, sizzle, and integrity intact.

Aug 5-24: Head over topanelpicker.sxsw.com/votefor my talk.
In this Shop Talk episode of Cover Brand, host Ethan Decker sits down with Priscilla McKinney, founder of Little Bird Marketing to unpack how branding and behavioral science shape B2B decisions—and why even the most ‘rational’ buyers aren’t.

This week brought to you by Tracksuit: we ask: do luxury brands play by the same laws as shampoo and noodles, or are they bricks floating in space?

I sit down with Lindsay Sutula of Top Fox Marketing to tackle how service leaders can grow beyond their personal brand—and build a business that thrives without them.