The Tattoo Test: Can Nate Build a Brand Worth Bleeding For?
Release Date: 04/03/2025
How To Hack Into Your Customer’s Mind (The Easy Way)
Brain Driven Brands
After being in business for 12+ years, Original Grain finally made a massive breakthrough that will help them blow past their $30M mark this year. Nate and Sarah walk through one of the most impactful strategies Original Grain has implemented in 2025…one that’s so simple, it gets completely overlooked by 99% of brands. Have a listen, take some notes. This one is GOLD. JOIN The TETHER Community- CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter: LinkedIn: Tactical and Practical Podcast: Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/ Twitter: Linkedin: Instagram: Watch me on YouTube: ...
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$7 Smoothies vs. $7 Deodorant: Pricing Psychology
Brain Driven Brands
Your customer isn’t doing math. They’re doing emotional accounting to justify every decision they make! In this episode, we break down the weird, emotional, and totally irrational world of pricing psychology: why $50 for shipping feels outrageous, but $50 for same-day delivery feels like a luxury…and why a $7 deodorant gets pushback, but a $7 smoothie gets the go-ahead every time. In this episode you’ll learn: Why customers say “too expensive” (even when it’s not) How to reframe price based on identity, not logic Real-world tactics to make your pricing feel like a deal ...
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Get People to Pay More For Your Products…Using Psychology
Brain Driven Brands
We dive in this week with another science quiz! Sarah stumps Nate this week with a scientific study that even she didn’t see coming. We break down how this study affects brands (from start ups to 9-fig) and why every marketer should be using this tactic TODAY to increase their customer’s willingness to pay by 18.3%! Study source: https://app.sciencesays.com/p/color-saturation-perceived-size JOIN The TETHER Community- CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter: LinkedIn: Tactical and Practical Podcast: Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/ Twitter: Linkedin: Instagram: ...
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The 3 Messaging Tweaks Behind $1M in Sales
Brain Driven Brands
Do you love Brain Driven Brands but only have 20 minutes to spare today? We’ve got some great news for you - in this episode, Sarah and Nate break down the top 3 simple messaging tweaks Original Grain has put in place this year that has made them well over $1M…and they’re all psychology-based. Studies referenced: (Hassan & Barber, 2021 – Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications) (Dai, Milkman, Riis – 2014, Management Science) (Hsee & Zhang, 2004 – Journal of Behavioral Decision Making) CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter: LinkedIn: Tactical and Practical Podcast: ...
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What Really Matters When Building a Creative Team (Feat. Joanna Wallace)
Brain Driven Brands
In this episode of Brain Driven Brands, Sarah sits down with an expert to talk about creative strategy, why most people are bad at using humor in ads, and why the “volume” conversation might be doing more harm than good. Joanna Wallace from Hexclad joins us for an epic conversation…get ready to take notes. Guest: Joanna Wallace LinkedIn: CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter: LinkedIn: Tactical and Practical Podcast: Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/ Twitter: Linkedin: Instagram: Watch me on YouTube: JOIN The TETHER Community-...
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Sarah Makes Nate Cry (And Yet Another Super Secret Prompt)
Brain Driven Brands
In this episode of Brain Driven Brands, Sarah makes Nate cry with ad copy she created from a super secret prompt. We dive deep into how the prompt works, and why it might just be the best creative strategy tool of 2025! CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter: LinkedIn: Tactical and Practical Podcast: Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/ Twitter: Linkedin: Instagram: Watch me on YouTube: JOIN The TETHER Community- https://www.skool.com/tether-lab/about Thanks to Cytrus for the theme song, “Sky High” You can follow and find them on Spotify:
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Amazon’s 25% Upsell Secret (That You Can Totally Steal)
Brain Driven Brands
What if your product layout was costing you conversions…and you didn’t even know it? In this episode, we unpack the psychology behind horizontal vs. vertical product displays, and how Amazon quietly uses this principle to push higher-quality, higher-priced items—boosting premium conversions by up to 25.7%. You’ll learn: Why horizontal layouts make people focus on quality, not price How vertical layouts shift attention to secondary features The subtle design choice that could instantly raise your AOV CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter: LinkedIn: Tactical and Practical Podcast: ...
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Riffing…On Things We Hate About Twitter
Brain Driven Brands
The title says it all. Listen to this one if you’re just kinda done with being told the sky is falling, cost caps will save you, and everyone’s doing better than you…because it’s wrong. CoHost: Nate Lagos Twitter: LinkedIn: Tactical and Practical Podcast: Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/ Twitter: Linkedin: Instagram: Watch me on YouTube: JOIN The TETHER Community- https://www.skool.com/tether-lab/about Thanks to Cytrus for the theme song, “Sky High” You can follow and find them on Spotify:
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The Tweet Test: What Really Drives Influencer Engagement
Brain Driven Brands
In this episode, Sarah quizzes nate on a fascinating study co-authored by Jason Pallant that analyzed nearly 21,000 tweets from celebrity chefs, fashion bloggers, and personal trainers. The surprising insight? The most retweeted posts aren’t hot takes or personal facts—they’re something much simpler… We dig into: Which tweet styles boost reach (and which kill it) Why storytelling beats facts—even in 140 characters How influencer tone and topic affect virality What brands and marketers can actually do with this If you're running influencer campaigns or posting as a...
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Persuade Without Getting Sued: The Psychology of Compliance in DTC
Brain Driven Brands
Marketers are masters of persuasion…but where’s the line between influence and illegality? In this episode, advertising lawyer Robert Freund joins us to unpack how psychological tactics like loss aversion, authority bias, and default choices can backfire fast if you're not careful. We cover the legal side of ad claims, UGC licensing, dark patterns, and why “clever” marketing often needs a legal audit. Guest: Robert Freund Twitter:https://x.com/RobertFreundLaw Website:https://robertfreundlaw.com/about/ Learn more at: https://www.tetherinsights.io/ Twitter: Linkedin: ...
info_outlineIn this episode, we’re putting cohost Nate on trial—brand trial, that is. Sarah, Nate, and Tether Insight’s new AI research intern, DEX play The Tattoo Test, a brutal brand-building game show where each level challenges Nate to prove his brand is worthy of obsession, devotion... and maybe even a little ink.
Guided by Sarah and judged (mercilessly) by Dex—our British, sarcasm-laced AI intern—Nate must face:
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Level 1: Pick a fight (a real one)
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Level 2: Design a ritual, not a funnel
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Level 3: Write a tattoo-worthy tagline
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Level 4: Turn product into identity
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Level 5: Face the final boss: Would anyone actually tattoo this brand?
It’s fast. It’s fun. It’s uncomfortably honest. And it just might help you build the kind of brand that commands cult-leader status.
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
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
Thanks to Cytrus for the theme song, “Sky High” You can follow and find them on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/track/1oKGDsxjRdQlf2xHLZsiSJ?si=8fbd275dbbb54cbf