What do you do when your client wants a viral digital series—but actually just wants expensive commercials? This week, Ethan and Laura break down On Brand Episode 7, where KitchenAid challenges contestants to create a digital campaign for their new KitchenAid Go cordless appliances. The duo explores the brand science behind product positioning, the power (and peril) of iconic products, and why understanding your audience and occasion matters more than any brief.

They dive into how brand storytelling can go wrong when clients confuse entertainment with advertising, how pressure stifles creativity, and what KitchenAid’s “No Cords Attached” challenge teaches marketers about staying grounded in audience truth.

Main Topics Covered:

• The double-edged sword of iconic products like the KitchenAid stand mixer
• Why “cordless” isn’t always the benefit you think it is
• The difference between occasions and demographics when defining a market
• How to handle clients who ask for what they don’t actually want
• The danger of confusing brand storytelling with product placement
• Why psychological safety beats panic for creative performance
• The art of winning over clients (without “pushing back”)
• When good ideas die because the client or culture isn’t ready
• What Jennifer Garner taught us about brand fluency and the value of a good spokesperson
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Premium Stickiness Award: “Unplugged and Unleashed.”

It wasn’t the perfect pitch, but it nailed the insight: freedom is the fantasy. Even when your product’s power source changes, your story still has to plug into something human.

Tune in for a lesson in brand briefs, client psychology, and the fine line between “digital series” and “expensive ads.” Subscribe to Cover Brand wherever you get your podcasts, and follow this special On Brand mini-series as Ethan and Laura decode the weird, wild world of reality TV marketing.

Descript used to create drafts and then edited with human eyes, ears and hands. Produced by BiCurean.com

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