Brain Driven Brands

Sarah Levinger
  • 5.0 (12)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Host Sarah Levinger breaks down the advanced neuromarketing secrets of 9-figure brands (like True Classic, Spotify, and Plants vs. Zombies) to show you psychology tactics any e-commerce brand can use today to cut costs, boost sales, and captivate the masses.

  1. 41 Things Every (Senior) Creative Strategist Learns Too Late

    1D AGO

    41 Things Every (Senior) Creative Strategist Learns Too Late

    In this episode of Brain Driven Brands, Sarah and Nate play a rapid-fire game of Smash or Pass with some of the most overused, misunderstood, and quietly dangerous ideas in modern marketing. We tear into things most teams can't say out loud… and the ones they're afraid to admit: – Why you can't optimize an emotion that was never there – Why most "testing" is really just for the founder's ego – How beautiful creative can hide a serious idea drought – Why iteration can be growth (but usually isn't) – And how creative fatigue is often just leadership fatigue in disguise This isn't a how-to episode. It's a how-are-you-thinking episode. We talk about idea tracking vs. concept hoarding, empathy vs. data, AI vs. taste, speed vs. depth—and why most ads fail because they're answering questions no customer ever asked. If you're running paid media, managing a creative team, or quietly wondering why "doing more" keeps working less… this one will feel uncomfortably familiar in a good way. (Listen for the moments where we disagree. That's where the real insight lives.) Original tweet:https://x.com/SarahLevinger/status/1994428068220273056?s=20 👉 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

    22 min
  2. Our 2026 Predictions: Here's What You Should Bet Money On

    12/23/2025

    Our 2026 Predictions: Here's What You Should Bet Money On

    What's going to happen to DTC in 2026 once the AI noise dies down, tariffs stabilize, and brands stop pretending vibes are a strategy? In this holiday episode of Brain Driven Brands, Sarah and Nate don their ugly sweaters, roast underperforming AI tools, and make real predictions they'd actually put money on. They break down why 2026: Could be a breakout year for disciplined brands Why community is shifting off rented platforms and onto brand-owned ecosystems And why the biggest risk next year isn't effort…it's distraction. You'll hear takes on: • Why brands who "hang out" with customers will win • The rise of on-site social and owned community ecosystems • How AI should actually be used (hint: not for final copy) • Why messaging and copywriting are about to matter more than ever • Dynamic pricing, premium buyers, and letting your best customers spend more • Micro-movies, PDP under-optimization, and where content is heading • Why UGC is evolving into character-driven storytelling • And a hopeful prediction about marketers finally sharing real signal instead of shilling If 2025 felt like learning to ride with training wheels again, this is the conversation about what happens when brands finally stop wobbling, and start moving with intent. 👉 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

    22 min
  3. 16 Prompts to Rule Them All

    12/22/2025

    16 Prompts to Rule Them All

    In this episode of Brain Driven Brands, Sarah and Nate pull back the curtain on the exact AI prompts they actually use to generate high-performing ad ideas—the ones that don't sound robotic, generic, or like every other brand on the internet. After revisiting one of the show's most-downloaded episodes, Sarah shares why most AI-written copy fails, how she rebuilt her prompts from first principles, and what happens when you tell AI which psychological mechanisms to use before it writes anything at all. Together, they live-test these internal prompts on a real brand ad (cowboy boots), exploring how different psychological levers change the creative direction entirely—including: First-principles thinking paired with loss aversion Quiet status signaling and open loops Curiosity-driven hooks and reverse psychology Instead of asking AI to write headlines or scripts, Sarah shows how to use it to generate raw ad concepts—and why the last 10% (the human part) is where all the money is made. This episode is part live teardown, part psychology lesson, and part behind-the-scenes look at how six-figure ads are actually born—not from clever wording, but from properly framed ideas. If you care about better creative, higher prices, and ads that don't feel like ads…this one's for you. Sarah Makes Nate Cry With a Prompt Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2cVZ3nIE8YUMAlO6Qm0NFN?si=UWSUywsJTmqoz5bkRVgADw 👉 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

    24 min
  4. Stop Chasing the "Why": Here's How Real People Actually Buy

    12/18/2025

    Stop Chasing the "Why": Here's How Real People Actually Buy

    For years, marketers have been told to "find the why"...which drives Sarah absolutely nuts. 😅 In this episode of Brain Driven Brands, Sarah argues with Nate that this idea of the "one true why" is what broke modern marketing. People don't buy for one reason. They buy for many reasons—depending on mood, timing, environment, identity, stress level, and context. The real driver isn't why someone buys. It's when. Using real-world examples (from whiskey splurges to Starbucks rituals to Rolex buyers at different life stages) this conversation breaks down why over-optimizing for a single "why" leads to brittle brands, shallow segmentation, and wasted creative effort. Instead, Sarah and Nate explore how brands should think in terms of emotional "whens," behavioral states, and consistency over persuasion. If you've ever felt stuck hunting for the perfect insight, this episode reframes the problem entirely…and gives you a more realistic way to build brands, messaging, and creative that actually scale 👉 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

    20 min
  5. This 2013 Discovery Explains Why Your Ads Won't Convert

    12/16/2025

    This 2013 Discovery Explains Why Your Ads Won't Convert

    We unpack a wild 2013 study by economist M. Keith Chen: proof that the language you speak completely rewires how you save, spend, exercise, plan, and even respond to marketing. Germans retire with more wealth, smoke less, and make healthier choices… not because they're more disciplined, but because their grammar collapses the future into the present. English pushes actions into "later." German makes the future feel like right now. On this episode of Brain Driven Brands, we break down how your phrasing might be creating psychological distance without you realizing it ("you will feel better tomorrow") and how a simple tense shift ("your future self thanks you") can snap people into action instantly. We riff on examples, rewrite real campaigns in real time, and even end with a mini-rant about why AI struggles with time itself. If you sell anything to English speakers, this is a masterclass in linguistic persuasion. Tune in. Your future self… thanks you. 👉 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

    12 min
  6. The TikTok FYP Rewired the Brain…Now Your Ads Have to Adapt

    12/11/2025

    The TikTok FYP Rewired the Brain…Now Your Ads Have to Adapt

    This episode was supposed to be about something else entirely…but TikTok's algorithm had other plans. Sarah and Nate fall headfirst into a conversation about why our For You Pages are changing how people perceive content, other people, products, and the world…and what that means for the ads we create in 2026. From cave-death phobias to zoo-bear attack headlines, we unpack why humans are magnetized to bizarre, emotionally charged micro-stories, and why traditional "polished" ads have no chance against that dopamine roulette. They break down: → How the TikTok algorithm broke the entire marketing industry → What it really takes to stop a scrolling brain trained on chaos → Why identity-based ads are exploding (and why the platforms are rewarding them) → The truth about personas: how more of them, narrower, and built for one emotional moment at a time is the only way to win → The surprising shift from "better" ads to accurate ads…ads that lock onto a universal story the brain can't ignore The episode ends with a simple question that might reshape your 2026 creative strategy: What's the repeatable story your customers will always stop for, no matter the platform? This one is a wonderfully unplanned, unnervingly honest look at where attention is going and how brands can evolve with it. 👉 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

    17 min
  7. The Weird Psychology Tactic That's Boosting Conversions by 149%

    12/09/2025

    The Weird Psychology Tactic That's Boosting Conversions by 149%

    Today's episode cracks open one of the most unintuitive persuasion effects hiding in plain sight: customers are 149% more likely to say yes to an offer… when it's presented as something that wasn't meant for them. Sarah and Nate break down the original Journal of Marketing Research study (2013), walk through real examples from DTC, SaaS, and Nate's own infamous bar-tab email campaign, and show how brands accidentally stumble into this effect all the time. We explore: • why "this isn't usually for you, but…" is irresistible to new customers • how pro-level products trigger aspiration psychology • the difference between unintentional offers vs. unlock offers • how TetherOS and Adapt could test this framing immediately • why this fits under the broader umbrella of "pre-purchase surprise & delight" If you've ever run a "we weren't supposed to do this but…" promo (or fallen for one) this episode makes the science obvious…and profitable. 👉 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

    14 min
  8. The 3 Forces Behind Every High-Performing Campaign in 2026

    12/02/2025

    The 3 Forces Behind Every High-Performing Campaign in 2026

    Marketers love to argue about tactics: structures, caps, creatives, bids, funnels. But the data from this year paints a different picture: every winning campaign in 2026 will be powered by the same three forces… and almost nobody is preparing for them. In this episode, we pull together the most revealing moments from the show; the ones where emotions spike, buying behavior becomes predictable, and the old rules of persuasion fall apart. You'll hear how valence and intensity shape conversions, why WHEN someone sees an ad matters more than WHO they are, and how abstract language can increase willingness-to-pay by 35% without changing the product. If you want your 2026 campaigns to scale instead of stall, these are the forces you need to master emotion, timing, and framing. Everything else is noise. Sarah Makes Nate Cry Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2cVZ3nIE8YUMAlO6Qm0NFN?si=8_gGsWQbR4i7cDvMBfID6A Get People to Pay 35% More Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5iBY6204hJvT69ejFS3MeI?si=HHKyRErhTkuvPU11fCuQhQ Marketers...Think About WHEN Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5yTuYTNUDsGS3obpsiCOr2?si=EY9qh43JRNa3q6BjQ6Kx7g 👉 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

    21 min
See All (128)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Host Sarah Levinger breaks down the advanced neuromarketing secrets of 9-figure brands (like True Classic, Spotify, and Plants vs. Zombies) to show you psychology tactics any e-commerce brand can use today to cut costs, boost sales, and captivate the masses.

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah Levinger
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    128
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Brain Driven Brands

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