Even the biggest brands can forget to state the obvious. A few weeks ago, Lay’s announced what it called the largest brand redesign in its nearly 100-year history. The radical new changes? Warmer colors. A “sunnier” logo. A line that says: “Made with real potatoes.” (Courtesy Lay’s) What surprised me in this rebrand wasn’t the new design (aside from how it looks almost identical to the old one). It was Lay’s admission that 42% of its customers don’t know the chips are made from real,...
2 days ago • 1 min read
When we buy into a product brand, we buy membership in a story. One of the strongest emotional glues in human behavior is belonging. We invest in brands that connect us: to others, to identity, to a shared sense of care. That’s why a simple visual insignia, a recurring ritual, or even a quietly repeated phrase can hold more power than a loyalty program. Subtle cues suggesting “others like you also use this” trigger micro-belonging: a small but potent reminder that the customer is part of...
3 days ago • 1 min read
There are 60 days left in 2025. Most founders will use them to plan. The leaders will ship. As the calendar tightens, something strange happens in our brains. Deadlines stop feeling like pressure and start feeling like focus. Psychologists call it the goal gradient effect: we push harder as the finish line approaches. Time scarcity sharpens decisions, kills overthinking, and forces us to act. That’s why the end of the year is a perfect window to launch, not pause. Prospects feel the same...
4 days ago • 1 min read
The day after Halloween is always the same: too much sugar, too little clarity. Everything’s sticky, dirty costumes are on the floor, and no one completely agrees which houses gave the best candy. That’s how a big product launch can feel too. The buzz fades, normalcy returns — and suddenly, you’re left wondering, OK, what now? It’s tempting to chase the next high, but this is the moment for something better: a recalibration. Measure what actually worked. (There are ALWAYS surprises, which I...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Halloween is one night when strangers still open doors for each other. My wife and I still take our girls trick-or-treating. We know these years are numbered: soon they’ll be too old, too cool, or too busy. So tonight, we might linger a little longer at each door. There’s something deeply human about the whole exchange: knock, wait, smile, offer, thank. A tiny ritual of trust repeated a hundred times in one night. That’s what great products do, too. They build small, repeatable moments of...
6 days ago • 1 min read
In 2026, your product may talk — not via voice, but via persuasion cues. Conversational AI uses framing and nudges to steer choices. Increasingly, physical products are borrowing those same tactics. Pharma blister packs that will only release one pill a day, nudging correct usage. Fitness wearables that vibrate right as you slow down, urging an extra push. Premium snack packs that open from the “bigger size” side first. These are not fun design quirks. They are persuasive affordances: subtle...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Reader Veronica from San Francisco asked: does “premium” wording work for software too? It does, with a few extra levers. The same psychology I wrote about a couple days ago applies: words like Premium, Pro, and Studio signal higher competence, capability, and care. They set an expectation of quality before any feature list gets seen. But software has one massive difference: it’s intangible. You can’t feel its weight or texture. You can’t smell, taste or squeeze it. So language has to do a...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Simply asking “Hey, how likely are you to buy this?” raises the odds someone actually WILL. In behavioral psychology, the mere-measurement effect describes how measuring a person’s intention influences their subsequent behavior. When people are asked about their purchase intentions, they tend to then act more in line with those intentions. In a classic field study, consumers were asked “How likely are you to purchase a new car?” Later, those who answered the question (whether yes or no) were...
10 days ago • 1 min read
The words you use can change how your product feels. And how it sells. A blind-test study found that when two identical orange juices were labeled differently (one “Regular,” the other “Premium Reserve”) the “Premium Reserve” version scored higher on taste, satisfaction, AND even packaging appeal. In effect, the wording made the SAME product look and taste better. What the Fruit-juice, right? This happens because price and message prime sensory experience. They do more than signal status;...
11 days ago • 1 min read
