At this year’s IFA in Berlin, the smartest upgrade was not hardware. It was longevity. Samsung led with products like its Bespoke AI Dishwasher, promising years of software updates and smarter maintenance. Not shinier buttons or wilder new colors. That’s the real innovation: durability as reassurance. According to Tom’s Guide, WIRED, and NielsenIQ, buyers now rank ongoing support higher than next-gen specs. We’re sick of obsolescence. We want to know our investment won’t vanish when the next...
1 day ago • 1 min read
Too many choices can quietly kill your conversion rate. I’ve written plenty about how Costco increases sales by reducing choices. A new wave of research from UCLA Anderson Review and lseee.net shows that even three options in online retail can overwhelm shoppers. Two works best. Specifically: an anchor and an upgrade. When the brain hits choice overload, it defaults to inaction. But with two clear tiers, buyers can say, “I’m THIS kind of customer.” That’s why small brands launching four, six,...
3 days ago • 1 min read
The fastest way to build trust might be telling buyers what your product won’t do. New 2025 research on brand transparency shows something neat: When brands clearly state their limits, purchase intent goes up. Consumers read honesty about trade-offs as a sign of integrity: “they’re telling me the whole story.” For product makers, it can be a massive opportunity. Instead of adding another paragraph of hype to your landing page, try a short block that says: “Not for you if…” Or “Best for…”...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Turning Grand Central Station into a pine forest might be the best sensory play of the season. Bath & Body Works is running a campaign that makes parts of New York City (yes, even its subways) smell like Fresh Balsam. Image courtesy Bath & Body Works The brand’s realistic evergreen tree scent greets commuters in Grand Central and Chicago’s Clark & Lake station, diffusing holiday memories into the air where most people expect … something else entirely. It’s genius sensory reframing. By...
5 days ago • 1 min read
The most polarizing products sometimes become the most profitable. A super-creepy doll.A blanket with sleeves.A pen “for women.” All ridiculous … until you see the sales numbers. None of them were great in a universal sense. But they truly stood out to someone specific. THAT is the trick most founders miss. You don’t need a product everyone on earth agrees is amazing. You DO need one a specific group can’t shut up about. Great doesn’t mean perfect. It means resonant. It means a clear hook, a...
6 days ago • 1 min read
In life and in marketing, silence is one of the most poignant signals there is. Every year on November 11, I stop what I’m doing at 11:00 am. That two minutes of silence is powerful not because of what it says … but exactly … the opposite. In Canada, we take two minutes for Remembrance Day. Americans pause for the same duration on Veteran’s Day at 2:11 pm eastern time. It always brings thoughts and feelings I wouldn’t otherwise have. In product and brand communication, the same principle...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Your product’s sound shapes trust faster than your logo ever could. The best brands know: sound is feel, presented as audio. The soft, sure “thunk” when a car door closes.The whispery click of a premium skincare lid.The dull, confident taps of a well-built keyboard. Each tells the user something before a word is said. Research on sensory congruence shows that low, damped sounds signal strength and durability; higher-pitched clicks communicate precision but can feel fragile. When those signals...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Don’t stop at solving problems. Evoke wonder! Recent research shows that awe is more than a feeling. It’s a cognitive reset. It widens perception, opens people to novelty, and deepens emotional attachment. For product makers, that means your job doesn’t end at making something work. You’ve got to make it dazzle. Think of the first time you unboxed an iPhone and the screen seemed to “come to life” to greet you in a variety of languages. Or the shimmer of a color-shifting finish that makes you...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Before a buyer reads the label, they’ve already judged your product by touch. A new design study confirms what great makers have always felt intuitively: the visual–tactile properties of materials significantly shape product appeal. Even when two objects look identical, one that feels slightly more substantial or textured is consistently rated higher in quality and value. That’s because the brain treats touch as a shortcut for trust. Smooth becomes “refined.”Weight becomes “worth.”Softness...
10 days ago • 1 min read
