Follow the Feeling: Brand Builder
Follow the Feeling is a brand-building podcast produced by Kai D. Wright, Columbia University lecturer and author of Follow the Feeling: Brand Building in a Noisy World. A companion to the award-winning book, the podcast offers expert guidance and proven methods to help individuals build emotionally resonant, community-powered brands. Each episode breaks down the five brand-building moments that matter most—Lexicon, Audio, Visuals, Experience, and Culture—while providing actionable strategies and inspiration to grow with clarity and purpose.
Learn more at FollowTheFeeling.com.
Follow the Feeling: Brand Builder
Daily Dose (Bonus) | Brand Strategy That Doesn't Suck | How-to Guide (Subscriber-only)
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Follow the Feeling: Brand Builder Premium
Exclusive access to bonus episodes and workbook audio lessons!In this episode, we tell you why being safe, boring, or bland as a brand is a common mistake, and how to avoid creating a brand strategy that lacks emotional connection.
We'll discuss the following:
- Brand strategy often hides behind checklists and design elements (logos, colors, fonts) instead of creating emotional connections
- True branding is about building communities of superfans who feel something for your brand, not just recognizing your visual assets
- Many powerful brands like Mr. Beast, Kai Cenat, Steven Bartlett or Liquid Death, Skims, ELF Beauty have forgettable logos and colors but unforgettable emotional resonance
- The LAVEC method for building dynamic, meaningful brands: Lexicon, Audio, Visual, Experience, and Cultural elements
- Traditional brand elements are just "vessels for meaning" – empty containers without the emotional substance inside
- Building a brand without emotional clarity is like "owning a gorgeous car but having nowhere to go"
Whether you’re building a startup or refreshing your brand, this is your blueprint for turning an audience into a tribe.
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Produced by Kai D. Wright. Follow Kai on LinkedIn.
Buy the companion book, "Follow the Feeling: Brand Building in a Noisy World" on Amazon.
Welcome back to Brand Builder Lab.
Speaker 2:Great to be here.
Speaker 1:This is your daily dose of creative inspiration, all designed to help you build a brand that you know really connects.
Speaker 2:That really resonates, yeah.
Speaker 1:So today we're digging into something. Well, it's a bit of a spicy. Take honestly.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:It landed in Kai D. Wright's newsletter this past week. You know Kai brand expert. Author teaches at Columbia. Advises startups. Quite the background, right. Author teaches at.
Speaker 2:Columbia advises startups. Quite the background. Right Definitely knows his stuff. So what's the hot take?
Speaker 1:He basically put forward this idea, this claim that most brand strategy. Well, it sucks.
Speaker 2:Whoa OK, Doesn't mince words Sucks how.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly. So the newsletter argues that too many brands are kind of hiding behind checklists.
Speaker 2:Checklists like branding 101 stuff.
Speaker 1:Pretty much obsessing over the logo, the perfect font pairings, nailing down exact Pantone colors, building these like massive brand guideline books.
Speaker 2:Okay, I see that a lot, the big binder on the shelf.
Speaker 1:Right and they present that as strategy. But Kai's point is, while that feels safe and looks professional, it's often just busy work, Just checking boxes. Exactly. It fails on the big things Creating real emotional connection, getting cultural relevance, building that tribe, that loyal community.
Speaker 2:Okay, it's like focusing on the paint color of the house instead of like the foundation and whether anyone actually wants to live there.
Speaker 1:That's a great way to put it. The newsletter is really clear. Clear a brand is fundamentally not just the visual asset right, it's not about slapping your logo everywhere no, even if that's you know popular sometimes repetition by itself doesn't create meaning. It doesn't build loyalty that actually lasts okay.
Speaker 2:So if it's not the logo, the colors, the repetition, what is a brand according to this perspective?
Speaker 1:It comes down to the emotional connection. The feeling, the feeling, yeah, that resonance, that relationship you have with a specific community. You're super fans.
Speaker 2:Ah, super fans, not just casual customers.
Speaker 1:No, these are the people who champion the brand, they defend it, they tell everyone about it, they feel something for it, and that feeling, that's what makes a brand powerful, unforgettable.
Speaker 2:Okay, that makes sense. People connect with feelings, not just fonts.
Speaker 1:And this is where it gets, I think, really fascinating. The newsletter hammers this point because the brand is that connection, that community. You don't actually need a logo, everyone recognizes instantly.
Speaker 2:Okay, Controversial maybe.
Speaker 1:A little, or you don't need the trendiest color palette or some super unique font. Those are just tools.
Speaker 2:Tools in the toolbox. Useful maybe, but not the whole project.
Speaker 1:Exactly. They aren't the essence of the brand itself.
Speaker 2:So give us some examples. The newsletter mentioned who embodies this?
Speaker 1:OK, so think about names like Kai Cenat, Joe Rogan, Steven Bartlett, Mr Beast, huge personal brands.
Speaker 2:Right massive reach, Very distinct presences.
Speaker 1:Or product brands like Liquid Death, Skims, Savage x Fenty, Gymshark, ELF Beauty, right. Even like OpenAI's ChatGPT. These are all super potent brands right now.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, definitely recognizable names, and well vibes, right vibes. Definitely recognizable names, and well vibes.
Speaker 1:Right vibes. Now here's the challenge the newsletter throws out. Try right now, just for a second, sketching the logos for all of them from memory.
Speaker 2:Uh-oh, okay, let me think, mr Beast. I know the energy the colors may be, but the precise logo?
Speaker 1:Hmm.
Speaker 2:With the death. Yeah, the can Skims. Not sure I could draw the logo perfectly.
Speaker 1:Exactly, or could you name their specific Pantone colors, their main typeface?
Speaker 2:Probably not for most of them, no, and I follow this stuff.
Speaker 1:And see that difficulty isn't a failure of the brand. It's the whole point the newsletter's making.
Speaker 2:Ah, okay, so what can I do?
Speaker 1:You can probably tell me how they make you feel, or what they seem to stand for, or what kind of community follows them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, Mr Beast. Is generosity and spectacle... Generosity and spectacle? Liquid death is rebellious, anti-corporate. Maybe. Skims is about inclusivity, comfort.
Speaker 1:Right that understanding the emotional, the cultural, the community part, that's way stronger in your mind than recalling the exact shape of their logo.
Speaker 2:So the visual identity stuff, the design consistency, it's secondary.
Speaker 1:According to this view. Yeah, In today's world, especially online, that rigid design consistency is more of a tactic. It helps you look buttoned up, professional maybe.
Speaker 2:But it's not the strategy itself.
Speaker 1:No, the real strategy, the core engine is building that emotional connection, that community vibe. The newsletter contrasts this with. You know, big companies stuck in endless meetings about creative effectiveness.
Speaker 2:Tweaking pixels while the world moves on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, while creators and newer brands are out there building real connections, like at the speed of culture, they're dynamic.
Speaker 2:Okay, so this demands a pretty big shift in thinking for anyone building a brand.
Speaker 1:Totally. If you want to win today, you've got to stop asking only the safe questions about design specs.
Speaker 2:Like should we use blue or green?
Speaker 1:Right. That's not where the leverage is. The better questions. The essential ones are who is my absolute core community, my people?
Speaker 2:Who are we really serving?
Speaker 1:Exactly what do they truly want, what are their dreams, their struggles and this is key how do we make them feel seen, heard, empowered?
Speaker 2:Empowerment that feels important.
Speaker 1:That's where the newsletter says the exponential value lives. It's in serving those deeper needs, not just selling a nicely designed product.
Speaker 2:Okay. So how do you actually do that? Is there a method?
Speaker 1:Well, this is where Kai introduces his framework. It's called the LAVEC method LAVEC.
Speaker 2:LAVEC Okay.
Speaker 1:It's designed to kind of reset the conversation, move away from static assets, focus on the dynamic stuff that helps brands grow fast. Each letter stands for something.
Speaker 2:Break it down for us L.
Speaker 1:L is for lexicon triggers. Think unique phrases, words, maybe inside jokes that instantly signal your brand or community.
Speaker 2:Like a secret handshake, but with words.
Speaker 1:Kind of. It's more than a tagline. It's the language of belonging. Think how certain streamers have catchphrases their fans use constantly.
Speaker 2:Ah yeah, creates that in-group feel Okay A.
Speaker 1:A is audio cues. What does your brand sound like? Consistently.
Speaker 2:Not just a jingle.
Speaker 1:Could be a jingle, but it's broader Soundscapes, a specific voice, energy, the type of music used, things you hear and immediately think of the brand.
Speaker 2:Like the Netflix Tatum sound maybe.
Speaker 1:Or, yeah, rogan's theme, mr Beast's editing sound Okay, it makes sense. V. V is visual stimuli. Now, visuals are still in here, obviously, but it's not just the logo, it's the overall visual style, the aesthetic DNA.
Speaker 2:So you recognize it even without the logo slapped on it.
Speaker 1:Exactly, think Skims again, that consistent style in their photography minimalist, body, positive, you know it's skims. Or Mr Beast's thumbnail style bright, high energy. It's the style, the visual language.
Speaker 2:Got it, not just the logo file, okay, e.
Speaker 1:E is for experienced drivers. What behaviors or rituals are tied to your brand? How does engaging with you feel? What actions does it inspire in the community?
Speaker 2:So like the experience of doing a challenge from Gymshark or the buzz around a new Mr Beast video drop.
Speaker 1:Precisely, or even just choosing liquid death at the store as a statement. The experience itself is part of the brand.
Speaker 2:Okay, interesting, and last one C.
Speaker 1:C is cultural connections. How does your brand empower people or communities? How does it tap into, reflect or maybe even shape culture?
Speaker 2:Ah, the bigger picture stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, building belonging, shared purpose. Think Savage x Fenty, using their shows to champion diversity, pushing culture forward.
Speaker 2:Right, challenging norms. Skims does that too, focusing on inclusion. They're not just selling underwear, they're part of a conversation.
Speaker 1:Exactly, they connect on a cultural level.
Speaker 2:So L-E-V-E-C Lexicon. Audio visual experience cultural.
Speaker 1:That's it, and the newsletter argues these five things are the real drivers of brand power. Now, not the 100-page guideline doc.
Speaker 2:Not the internal brand book nobody reads.
Speaker 1:Nope, not the perfectly crafted value props or the endless creative rules from corporate.
Speaker 2:So what are those traditional things then? Useless.
Speaker 1:Not useless, but the newsletter calls them vessels for meaning. They're containers, Okay, but if there's no real meaning inside, no feeling, no community, no empowerment, then the container is just empty. Pretty maybe, but empty.
Speaker 2:I get it. You can have the fanciest bottle, but if there's nothing good inside, who cares?
Speaker 1:exactly which leads to this analogy they use, which I thought was brilliant lay it on me trying to build a brand just focusing on the static stuff, the visuals, the rules, without that emotional clarity, without knowing your community's destination. It's like owning a gorgeous car but having absolutely nowhere to go huh, just sitting there polishing it. Right, Polishing the crown, checking the tire pressure, but you're parked Wasting gas, metaphorically Hoping. Someone walks by and says nice car, while they're actually heading somewhere meaningful.
Speaker 2:Well, the other brands, the ones built on feeling and community.
Speaker 1:They have a destination, usually something about empowerment, belonging, a shared attitude. They've got their community, the passengers, excited for the journey because it means something to them.
Speaker 2:And the ride itself. The experience is so good, people don't want it to end. It's about the shared adventure.
Speaker 1:Exactly, not just the vehicle.
Speaker 2:Wow, that definitely forces you to rethink things.
Speaker 1:Right. So the big takeaway here for you listening, whether you're building a startup, marketing a big company, crafting your personal brand.
Speaker 2:What's the bottom line?
Speaker 1:It's shifting your focus dramatically. Stop obsessing only over the static assets the logo, police, the font, debates, the guideline, enforcement.
Speaker 2:And start focusing where.
Speaker 1:Start putting your real energy into building dynamic emotional connections, empowering your community using those LAVC principles lexicon, audio visuals, experience, culture as your guide.
Speaker 2:So ask yourself are you spending all your time just polishing the car, perfecting the visuals?
Speaker 1:Or are you genuinely mapping out the emotional journey, understanding who wants to come along and using all the tools, the sounds, the words, the style, the experiences, the cultural hooks to make that journey amazing?
Speaker 2:It's a different set of questions.
Speaker 1:Totally, which leads to this final thought, something to chew on. If your brand strategy isn't really grounded in feelings, in community, in empowerment, are you actually building a brand or are you just collecting design assets, organizing files?
Speaker 2:That's a sharp question, hits home.
Speaker 1:Definitely something to think about Now if you want more insights like this, more practical stuff to help build brands people feel.
Speaker 2:You should definitely subscribe to the Brand Builder Lab weekly newsletter on LinkedIn. It's fantastic for brand builders, creators, business leaders, anyone in this space.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And to really go deep on this whole approach, how fast growing brands use emotion? Check out Kai D Wright's book Follow the Feeling: Brand Building in a Noisy World.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really breaks down how to focus on what matters, the feelings. Super practical whether you're just starting out or running a huge brand.
Speaker 1:Couldn't agree more.
Speaker 2:Well, thanks for tuning in to Brand Builder Lab.
Speaker 1:Now go out there and build something. People can't help but feel something for.
