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Sarah and Nate break down how Schlitz Brewing went from struggling to become America's number-one best-selling beer brand by showing customers what made its product different. Copywriter Claude Hopkins visited the brewery, discovered the quality controls behind the beer, and turned those overlooked details into a compelling marketing story. They explore the psychology behind why this worked, from the curse of knowledge to the power of specific details, perceived effort, and being the first brand to explain a claim convincingly. They also get into why explaining why your product is better can build more trust than simply calling it the best, and why copy that converts might look very different from copy that sounds cool. 00:00 The story behind Schlitz Brewing 01:00 The difference between sounding good and selling 02:00 Why Sarah picked a history episode 03:00 How Schlitz started losing market share 04:00 What Claude Hopkins discovered at the brewery 06:00 Why experiencing a product matters 08:00 How understanding customer pain points builds trust 09:00 The curse of knowledge in marketing 10:00 Making product claims more believable 11:00 Why being first to prove a claim matters 12:00 How showing the work builds perceived value 13:00 Using specific details to justify a higher price 15:00 Why longer copy can convert better 18:00 Connecting product benefits to customer identity 21:00 The psychology of quality signals 23:00 Why product titles can influence buying decisions 👉 Join my community: 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

Sarah puts Nate through a brand-guessing game using four types of clues: behavioral, cultural, micro, and macro. The bigger lesson is how creative strategists can use the information they already notice in everyday life to understand brands, spot advantages, and find opportunities in the market. They break down three brands, including Grind, Starface, and Patagonia, and talk about why you don't need to stare at a spreadsheet every five minutes to understand what's happening in your category. Sometimes, you just need to pay attention. 00:00 The Libra sweatshirt mystery 01:00 The brand-guessing game 02:00 The 4 types of customer clues 04:00 The first brand: behavioral clues 05:00 Can Nate guess the brand? 06:00 Why a little data can go a long way 07:00 Brand #2: culture and pop culture 09:00 Why you can know a brand without knowing its name 10:00 Brand #3: the power of cultural clues 12:00 Why creative strategists need to hold information in their heads 13:00 How to find your brand's advantages 14:00 Avoiding brand blindness 👉 Join my community: 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

Sarah and Nate dig into the psychology behind showing two products, variants, or offers side by side, and why giving people a choice can make the purchase feel easier and even more premium. They get into decision fatigue, product comparisons, upsells, apparel, Black Friday offers, and the surprisingly useful lesson e-commerce can steal from a good car salesperson. Because apparently, our product pages have been making customers do way too much thinking. 00:00 Welcome back to Brain Driven Brands 01:00 The science quiz: 32% more conversions 03:00 Why two options can outperform one 05:00 Turning "Should I buy?" into "Which one?" 07:00 What a dual PDP could look like 09:00 Using behavior to understand customers 10:00 Why comparison can make buying feel premium 12:00 The Lucchese boots example 13:00 Could customers choose what to compare? 15:00 Dual PDPs for upsells 16:00 Basic vs. premium offers 17:00 What e-commerce can learn from one-on-one sales 👉 Join my community: 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

Rabah Rahil joins Sarah and Nate to unpack the psychology behind B2B SaaS buying, from "don't get fired" decision-making to buying committees, long consideration windows, and the role of trust and brand affinity. They also get into why marketing and sales serve different jobs, why a great product needs to come before a big marketing push, and why paid ads are only one way to distribute a message. 00:00 Meet Rabah Rahil 01:00 The psychology of B2B SaaS buying 03:00 Why SaaS buyers are managing risk 05:00 How SaaS buying committees change marketing 07:00 Why B2B SaaS needs omnipresence 09:00 The story behind a consumer purchase 11:00 What B2B SaaS can learn from brand marketing 13:00 The three stages inside consideration 15:00 Why you can't control the buying timeline 17:00 Marketing, sales, and brand affinity 20:00 Why more salespeople won't fix weak pipeline 23:00 Build the product before the marketing machine 👉 Join my community: 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 Guest: Rabah Rahil LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabahrahil/ Twitter: https://x.com/rabahrahil

Seb Valiente, founder of Growth Pod, joins Sarah and Nate to break down how his team turns messaging into static ads that actually make people stop and feel something. They get into the difference between clarity and scroll-stopping visuals, why most teams struggle with the idea itself rather than the prompt, how to hire for creative thinking, and why static ads can still be some of the most dependable creative in an account. Seb also shares a practical framework for building a visual from scratch, including how to use references without simply copying what already exists. Timestamps 00:00 Meet Seb and Growth Pod 03:00 Why Seb's static ads stand out 04:00 The "after-work wind down" ad 06:00 Clarity vs. scroll-stopping creative 08:00 Why messaging comes before visuals 09:00 AI is only as good as the person using it 11:00 Why creative instinct matters 13:00 Can you predict which ads will work? 15:00 How Growth Pod matches headlines to visuals 17:00 Why marketers should pick one thing to communicate 19:00 Where static ads fit next to video 24:00 How to build a static ad from scratch 👉 Join my community: 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 Guest: Seb Valiente Twitter: https://x.com/Sebastian_DTC Website: https://growthpod.ca/

DTC brands have spent years building around Meta. But what happens when you stop treating Meta as your only growth lever? In this episode, Sarah and Nate break down how brands can reach customers through YouTube creators, IRL events, organic content, mascots, and other ideas that don't depend on another Meta campaign. They also share examples from their own work, including a YouTube strategy that generated an average 6x return, a client that cut CAC from $110 to $35, and why sometimes the smartest move is simply giving your team a week where they're forbidden from thinking about Meta. 00:00 Why Nate's having a rough week 02:00 How susceptible are we really to ads? 04:00 The people who actively avoid advertising 06:00 What happens if Meta disappears? 08:00 Cutting CAC from $110 to $35 10:00 The $2M celebrity marketing decision 12:00 Finding customers outside the Meta ecosystem 14:00 Nate's three off-Meta tactics 16:00 The YouTube creator strategy 18:00 Why IRL events can create brand evangelists 20:00 Sarah's mascot strategy 22:00 Building multiple organic content channels 24:00 Bringing physical marketing back 👉 Join my community: 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

Pop-ups can do a lot more than collect an email. In this episode, Sean from Alia breaks down how smarter timing, personalization, and offers can help brands get more leads without simply giving away bigger discounts. We get into why Alia became so focused on one thing, how a simple positioning change helped the company take off, and what happens when you treat every pop-up like a one-to-one experience. Then we get tactical: smart triggers, repeated exposure, A/B testing, mystery discounts, and other ways to give people a reason to opt in. Timestamps 00:00 Sean's $60M exit and what changed 02:00 How Alia got started 04:00 Finding a business inside a college project 06:00 The entrepreneurship class that gave him a C- 07:00 Why owning the work changed everything 09:00 A year with almost zero traction 10:00 The positioning pivot to "pop-ups" 12:00 Building one-to-one pop-up experiences 14:00 How positioning created clarity 15:00 What changed after the acquisition 17:00 The future of smarter pop-ups 23:00 The mystery discount tactic 👉 Join my community: skool.com/tether-lab CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter LinkedIn Tactical and Practical Podcast CoHost: Sarah Levinger Learn more at: Tether Insights Twitter Linkedin Instagram Watch me on YouTube Guest: Shaan Arora Twitter LinkedIn Website: aliapopups.com

Q-Tips have a weird history. They started as a clever solution for cleaning babies, then became something millions of people use inside their ears, even after doctors warned them not to. This episode gets into how that happened, why earwax became a "problem" people wanted to solve, and what Q-Tips can teach us about consumer behavior. We also get into "desire lines," category psychology, changing consumer habits, and why marketers need to pay attention to how people actually use products. 00:00 Why creative strategy is attracting younger talent 02:00 Why pretending to be a veteran can hurt your career 03:00 The 16-brand test behind a creative strategy 04:00 The strange origin of Q-Tips 05:00 How the original Q-tip was invented 06:00 How advertising turned hygiene into anxiety 07:00 Why earwax became the villain 08:00 When doctors started warning people 10:00 The 92% Q-tip behavior problem 11:00 What "desire lines" reveal about consumers 12:00 How changing lifestyles create new markets 14:00 What working from home means for hygiene brands 15:00 The next enemy marketers might have to solve 16:00 What marketers can learn from natural behavior 👉 Join my community: 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

div]:bg-bg-000/50 [&_pre>div]:border-0.5 [&_pre>div]:border-border-400 [&_.ignore-pre-bg>div]:bg-transparent [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8"> _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 [&_>_*:last-child]:mb-0 print:block print:[&_>_*_+_*]:mt-3 standard-markdown"> Most eCom marketers are optimizing for the wrong number, and a real CFO explains exactly how to fix that! Our good friend Abir Syed has a rare take on how to scale brands: he's run an eCommerce brand, built a performance marketing agency, and now runs a fractional CFO firm specializing in eCom. In this episode, he breaks down why MER is basically useless, what cohort profit actually tells you, and the three-pillar finance framework that gives marketers and CFOs a shared language for growth. Nate also gets uncomfortably personal about his own brand's cash flow situation. You'll walk away understanding how to set real scaling targets, why over-revving your marketing engine costs you money, how to predict LTV decay as you shift from organic to paid customers, and what questions to actually ask your finance team. 00:00 Why selling out early isn't the flex you think it is 01:45 Introducing Abir Syed — the CFO who hates accounting 03:30 Why 80% of your business story lives in the finances 05:30 The #1 thing to get right before anything else: inventory costing 07:00 Why MER is a useless metric (hot take, but hear him out) 08:30 How dropping MER led to 130% growth in one year 09:15 Cohort profit: Abir's favorite metric explained 13:00 Over-revving the engine — the hidden way brands lose money scaling 16:30 Incrementality testing vs. the scaling target table 18:00 LTV decay: what happens when you go from organic to paid acquisition 20:00 Paid customers get stolen by ads — a concept that breaks your brain 23:00 The 3 things a CFO and CMO should never fight about 24:30 Pillar 2: Investing in the marketing engine (creative, tools, talent) 26:00 Pillar 3: Cash flow strategy and payback periods 33:30 Expense leverage — making sure every dollar has a job 37:00 Nate's regret: not taking big shots during a 2.5-year hot streak 38:30 The $100K YouTube deal that looked like a disaster until Q4 39:30 The one thing to do this week if you're looking at your numbers 👉 Join my community: skool.com/tether-lab Guest: Abir Syed _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 [&_>_*:last-child]:mb-0 print:block print:[&_>_*_+_*]:mt-3 standard-markdown"> Twitter: https://x.com/Abir_CFO _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 [&_>_*:last-child]:mb-0 print:block print:[&_>_*_+_*]:mt-3 standard-markdown"> Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abir-syed/ _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 [&_>_*:last-child]:mb-0 print:block print:[&_>_*_+_*]:mt-3 standard-markdown"> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abir.cfo/ _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 [&_>_*:last-child]:mb-0 print:block print:[&_>_*_+_*]:mt-3 standard-markdown"> Website: https://www.upcounting.com/ _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 [&_>_*:last-child]:mb-0 print:block print:[&_>_*_+_*]:mt-3 standard-markdown"> 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

This headline formula works for every customer...confident or not! This week, Nate breaks down a single copywriting structure he's tested across every brand he's worked with: "Our [product] is [adjective] and [adjective], just like the [customers] who use it." Sounds simple. The psychology behind it pretty complex though! We dig into why this format hits differently, how it flatters the buyer who already sees themselves that way, and motivates the one who wants to. Plus: how to pick the adjectives that actually do the heavy lifting, why customer reviews are the starting point (not the finish line), and how the winning words from a headline test should be dictating your next photo shoot. Timestamps 00:00 Intro — Q4 is closer than you think 01:00 The headline format Nate's used with every brand 02:00 Sara's first reaction to Nate's watch copy 03:00 The full formula breakdown with examples 04:00 Why it works for both confident and insecure buyers 05:00 Picking adjectives that aren't "good," "great," or "best" 06:00 Using Claude + a thesaurus to find rich descriptors 07:30 Flattery as a copy strategy (done right) 08:30 Rugged vs. polished — how headline tests changed their photo shoots 10:00 How winning adjectives should inform your entire funnel 11:00 Homework: write your own versions and test them 👉 Join Sarah's Creative Strategy Community: 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

Get ready for a good show today...we're going through 7 pricing psychology tricks that work even on savvy consumers! Backed by real studies, from why discounts can make a painkiller feel less effective to a 1-cent pricing hack that made 25% more money on eBay. In this episode, we break down the research behind charm pricing, price anchoring, credit card spending, partitioned pricing, and more — plus real test results from their own brands, including a $777 bundle that outsold a $699 control and a free-shipping test that flipped conversion rates. 00:00 Cold open: we've been sleeping on this topic 00:02 The most impactful lever most brands never test 00:03 The Price Placebo Effect: the energy drink study that messed with their heads 00:06 Why running sales year-round can quietly kill your product's perceived quality 00:07 The Nine-Ending Paradox: why $39 outsold $34 by 24% 00:08 Real case study: the $777 Jack Daniels bundle that beat the control price 00:09 The Phonetic Length Effect: why $999 feels bigger than $1,000 00:11 Personal price anchors and the IKEA "4 cups of coffee" pricing trick 00:12 The Credit Card Premium: cash bidders vs. card bidders in a real auction 00:15 Partitioned Pricing: the penny-plus-shipping trick that made 25% more 00:19 The Endowed Progress Effect: the car wash loyalty card study 00:20 Getting "got": a real-time example of a surprise upgrade offer 👉 Join my community: 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

We asked 28 marketers what single change in their ad account made the biggest difference — and nobody put creative at the top. What came back instead was account structure, cost caps, better data, and one answer that stopped us cold: doing nothing at all. This episode breaks down the nine cognitive biases quietly running the average media buyer's decisions, from action bias to the expert's curse. We get into why excluding past purchasers dropped one brand's new customer CPA by 40% overnight, why "data-driven" has become a red flag on a resume, and why the last 20% of Meta optimization is worth less than the first 20% of your landing page. If you manage ad accounts, hire people who do, or spend your Sundays reorganizing campaigns you shouldn't be touching, this one's for you. ⚡ IN THIS EPISODE → Why excluding past purchasers dropped NCPA by 40% instantly → The two years an account crushed because nobody touched it → Why 85% optimized and understandable beats 100% optimized and muddy → "Data aware, human obsessed" — the hiring filter that should replace "data-driven" → Why measuring by product collection, not by ad, makes diagnosis ten times faster → The case for ignoring your weaknesses entirely and doubling down on strengths ⏱ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The no-phone morning walk that fixed our brains 01:20 The Twitter question that broke everyone's assumptions 02:30 A 40% drop in new customer CPA from one mechanical exclusion 03:45 What 28 marketers actually said — and why creative never made the list 05:50 Action bias: why you can't stop touching the account 06:45 "I haven't touched it in three weeks. Why would I?" 08:45 Illusion of control, and whether we should just let Meta cook 11:15 Complexity bias: one CBO campaign, one ad set, two record years 14:30 Metric fixation and the streetlight effect 18:20 Why "data-driven marketer" is a red flag on a resume 21:20 Managing by collection instead of by ad 23:00 The ad account is now a glorified folder system 24:30 Expert's curse: why 70 failed video ads should have been a signal 28:35 There's 100% more to gain outside the ad account than inside it 30:50 The self-serving spotlight — nobody wins an account alone 33:20 "Greed will kill your business faster than anything" 👉 Join Sarah's Creative Strategy Community: skool.com/tether-lab ─────────────────────────────────── 🎙 CO-HOSTS ─────────────────────────────────── Sarah Levinger 🌐 tetherinsights.io 🐦 x.com/SarahLevinger 💼 linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger 📸 instagram.com/sarah.levinger ▶️ youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg Nate Lagos 🐦 x.com/natelagos 💼 linkedin.com/in/natelagos 🎧 Tactical & Practical Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534

Fewer ingredients. More sales. It sounds backwards — until you see the data. A study across 19 food-and-beverage experiments found people were 21.6% more likely to choose an identical product when it simply listed fewer ingredients. This week we break down why "less is more" is quietly one of the most reliable levers in DTC advertising. We get into how this plays out in real ad accounts — why single-ingredient, single-benefit ads consistently outperform "kitchen sink" messaging, why competing claims cancel each other out in the buyer's brain, and where the rule breaks (spoiler: it doesn't apply to candy). We also map the white space for "clean" CPG, the psychology of un-dyed products, and how to apply ingredient minimalism to supplements, consumables, and honestly whatever you sell. ⚡ IN THIS EPISODE → The study: why 19 experiments point to fewer listed ingredients = higher conversion → Why simplicity wins at the front of the funnel — and where to hide your other benefits → The one product category where "more ingredients" actually works → The untapped white space in "clean candy" (and why the big brands won't touch it) → How to rewrite a multi-ingredient product into a single-benefit ad that crushes ⏱ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Why one specific benefit beats a full ingredient list 01:40 The setup: a tactic that makes people 21.6% more likely to buy 03:30 The quiz — guessing what actually moves the needle 06:00 The answer nobody guesses: fewer ingredients 06:40 The click-rate data (up to 44.2% higher) and why it holds 07:00 "Ingredients you can't pronounce" — how the angle evolved 08:00 The exception: why this rule breaks for candy and treats 08:40 The clean-candy white space no big brand has claimed 10:00 "Simply Skittles" — who's really buying, the kid or the parent? 11:00 Applying it to supplements: why competing claims fight in the brain 12:30 Front-of-funnel simplicity and the acute vs. chronic framing 13:00 The watch ad that sold with just two words 👉 Join Sarah's Creative Strategy Community: skool.com/tether-lab ─────────────────────────────────── 🎙 CO-HOSTS ─────────────────────────────────── Sarah Levinger 🌐 tetherinsights.io 🐦 x.com/SarahLevinger 💼 linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger 📸 instagram.com/sarah.levinger ▶️ youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg Nate Lagos 🐦 x.com/natelagos 💼 linkedin.com/in/natelagos 🎧 Tactical & Practical Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534

This week we break down what might be the oldest example of influencer/offer marketing ever! We get into why a thing you find on the ground beats a thing you're handed, how a tiny wearable pickle pin turned one million people 🤯 into walking billboards, and the bigger lesson hiding inside the story: most marketers think marketing is fishing when it's actually hunting.  If you feel stuck on Meta, TikTok, or any platform you can't leave, this one's for you. ⚡ IN THIS EPISODE → Why a free thing you find on the ground converts better than one you're handed → The "free + shipping lead gen offer" — invented at a fair in 1893 → How to manufacture social proof so good people stop strangers to ask about it → Why "small, lightweight, and odd" beats expensive swag every single time → Marketing is hunting, not fishing — and why that one reframe changes everything ⏱ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Building an office inside an RV (and why your habits slide without one) 01:00 The Q-tip shower thought we couldn't let go of 02:00 The oldest influencer marketing story ever — and the Heinz pickles vs. ketchup debate 03:00 27 million people, the first Ferris wheel, and the single best booth on Earth 04:00 How Henry Heinz got stuck in the attic of the smelliest building at the fair 05:00 "If you can't move as a marketer, what do you do?" — the part that hits if you're trapped on Meta 06:00 The cards on the ground: a free-souvenir lead gen offer run by kid micro-influencers 07:00 The reveal — a tiny green rubber pickle pin 08:00 The Red Bull trash-can trick and the psychology of "everyone's doing this" 09:00 Why a golden ticket you find feels better than a pamphlet you're handed 10:00 The hook that turned a pin into a billboard — and the crowd so big police were called 11:00 Free PR, Super Bowl-level reach, and a souvenir that keeps selling for years 12:00 Free consulting: what to give away at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival 13:00 Why "small, lightweight, and odd" wins (whiskey-themed fortune cookies) 14:00 The big one: marketing is hunting, not fishing 16:00 Selling vs. marketing — the difference nobody draws clearly 17:00 The strip-mall sign-twirler analogy that'll change how you build 18:00 Humans are simple — stop optimizing for a passive sales ecosystem 👉 Join Sarah's Creative Strategy Community: skool.com/tether-lab ─────────────────────────────────── 🎙 CO-HOSTS ─────────────────────────────────── Sarah Levinger 🌐 tetherinsights.io 🐦 x.com/SarahLevinger 💼 linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger 📸 instagram.com/sarah.levinger ▶️ youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg Nate Lagos 🐦 x.com/natelagos 💼 linkedin.com/in/natelagos 🎧 Tactical & Practical Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534

You can launch 100 ads... Meta's still only going to let 2 or 3 of them win. In this episode, we went down a deep rabbit hole on Meta's new Andromeda update to try and figure out why the mechanism keeps starving 97% of your creative. We also dive into what this actually means for media buyers and creative strategists. We get into why dumping more ad volume doesn't create more winners, why the algo is basically playing blackjack and doubling down after seeing a single card, and why "make organic content that works as an ad" just went from a nice-to-have to the entire game. Plus a real-time (slightly too honest) consulting session on whether to cut ad spend and go all-in on organic. ⚡ IN THIS EPISODE → Why only 2-3 ads ever carry your entire account — and the poll data that proves it → The 90-minute window quietly deciding which creative lives or dies → Why launching 100 ads at once is the worst thing you can do right now → The "drip feed vs. bulk post" debate — and why we both landed on the same answer → How a streetwear brand blew up with organic videos that secretly end in an ad ⏱ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The 2-3 ads carrying your entire account 01:00 We polled 100+ marketers on how many ads actually win 03:00 The bell-curve math that should work... but doesn't 05:00 Inside Meta's Andromeda update: thousands of robots become five 06:00 The 90-minute gate and the "Lattice Zipper" nobody's talking about 07:00 Meta's playing blackjack — and doubling down blind on every hand 08:00 Why launching 100 ads gets 90 of them killed 10:00 Drip feed or bulk post? The answer that changes how you test 13:00 The streetwear brand whose "organic" videos secretly sell 17:00 A free, slightly-too-honest consult on going all-in on organic 22:00 The last chapter of Meta is closing — what the new era means 👉 Join Sarah's Creative Strategy Community: skool.com/tether-lab ─────────────────────────────────── 🎙 CO-HOSTS ─────────────────────────────────── Sarah Levinger 🌐 tetherinsights.io 🐦 x.com/SarahLevinger 💼 linkedin.com/in/sarahlevinger 📸 instagram.com/sarah.levinger ▶️ youtube.com/channel/UCKwfjt_7PU5N_2fTfHemXXg Nate Lagos 🐦 x.com/natelagos 💼 linkedin.com/in/natelagos 🎧 Tactical & Practical Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tactical-practical/id1752915534