Your source for knowledge, reports, thought leadership, and other tomfoolery. No fluff. No folklore. Just sticky, science-backed brand truth.
The Most ABSurd Blog
Is anyone actually loyal to their alma mater?
Turns out 4 out of 5 college grads switch schools for their next degree — so if your customers "love" you, don't assume that means they're loyal, because loyalty and love aren't the same thing.
Cover Brand: The Expertise Curve
Ethan Decker sits down with Brad Flowers of Bullhorn Creative to talk about what happens when your expertise outgrows your brand — and why professional services firms can't just coast on reputation.
How Much Are Markets Really Stratified By Income?
Turns out rich & poor buy the same shampoo. Marketing "common sense" weeps.
Cover Brand: Old Brand, New Tricks
Ethan Decker sits down with Lee-Sean Huang, Chief Community Officer of AIGA, to dig into what happens when a 100-year-old institution has to fight for relevance in a world where nobody joins anything anymore.
What happens when a 104-year-old brand icon dies on live TV?
Planters killed off their 104-year-old mascot. But why?]
Cover Brand: In The Messy Middle
Ethan Decker sits down with Bob Jordan, founder of InterimExecs, to untangle a question every growing company eventually trips over: when do you build one brand, and when do you build ten?
Is Your Brand’s Pareto Ratio 80/20?
What does data from hundreds of companies actually show about the 80/20 rule?
Cover Brand: Liberating Ideas
Cat How, founder and Executive Creative Director of How Studio, joins Ethan on Cover Brand to talk about three recent brand launches and chat about some of the science behind the decisions.
What's Your Brand Story Even For?
We obsess over crafting the perfect brand story — but 99.9% of buyers are mental misers who couldn't tell you their favorite product's backstory.
Cover Brand: The Curse of Too Much Knowledge
The smarter you get at your job, the worse you get at explaining it. This week Richard Byrd (Bluebyrd) joins Cover Brand to talk about the curse of knowledge, why your best engineers make your worst salespeople, and what a BMW has to do with any of it.
Are Haters Really Your Biggest Brand Problem?
A survey of over 27,000 shoppers proves that obsessing over your vocal brand haters is a massive waste of energy. So if haters aren’t your biggest problem, who actually is?
Cover Brand: Carve Out a Smaller Pond
Promo products guy Swire Ho joins Ethan with a simple flex: no cups, no party. And they get into why the most boring industries in LA might be sitting on the best untapped merch budget around.
Why Can't Anyone Agree on What Your Brand Is Worth?
Brand valuation agencies mostly agree on the world's biggest players — but their dollar figures? Wildly apart. Turns out pricing human memory and market reputation isn't a spreadsheet problem.
Cover Brand: The Name That Opens Doors
You've got a new company and a proven one. Connect them or keep them apart? Rachel Lederman joins Ethan and they figure it out on air.
The 6-Month Honeymoon (And What Comes After)
Nielsen analyzed CPG data and found what early distribution growth really means for your new brand.
Cover Brand: Cover Brand Covers Cover Brand
Producer, consigliary, and the person who published Cover Brand before Ethan knew it was live, Aicila turns the mic around and asks the questions she's been sitting on for 68 episodes. Turns out the laws keep showing up whether you believe in them or not.
When does an iconic ad campaign wear out?
The rise of cheap lab-grown diamonds forced De Beers to test a new ad campaign, but the 75-year reign of 'A Diamond Is Forever' proves you should pause before pulling your campaigns.
Cover Brand: The Truth About Brand Evangelists
Mackenzie Sehlke, executive director of the Boulder County Farmers Markets, joins Ethan to work through a problem many brands quietly struggle with: when almost everyone who shows up is a light buyer, what can you do about it?
Which of the 4 P's matters most for new brands?
McKinsey analyzed major purchases and found out that your primary marketing job may not be proving you’re the best. Maybe it’s just getting remembered before shoppers stop thinking entirely.
Cover Brand: The Brand Category Paradox
Sayre Blake, joins Ethan to work through the brand category paradox — how do you look trustworthy enough for the suits buying the software while staying genuinely weird enough for the workforce actually using it?
