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
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In this episode, we explore how building genuine emotional connections drives brand growth and longevity in today's turbulent market. Data shows emotion-driven brands see 3x greater lift, double the profitability, and grow value 2.5x faster than competitors focused solely on product features.
Listen to hear more about what's shaping fast-growing brands:
- Since 2000, over half of Fortune 500 companies have disappeared, proving size and history aren't guarantees
- Emotionally connected customers have 3x higher lifetime value than just satisfied ones
- Research from industry leaders including Kanter, Ipsos, Interbrand, and WARC
- The LAVEC method provides a systematic framework for building brand resonance
- Lexicon (words), Audio (sounds), Visual (style), Experience (behaviors), Culture (empowerment)
- Case study: Coca-Cola vs Pepsi demonstrates how emotional assets create lasting advantage, unpacking their growth from 1985 through 2025
- Why ads with strong emotional pull are 4x more likely to build brand equity
Inspired by the Brand Builder Lab newsletter, this discussion on why the secret to standing out isn't just talking about your past accomplishments but clearly articulating the future you want to build.
Whether you’re building a startup or refreshing your brand, this is your blueprint for turning an audience into a tribe.
Subscribe to the weekly Brand Builder Lab newsletter.
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 the Brand Builder Lab.
Speaker 2:Great to be here.
Speaker 1:We're here to give you your daily dose of creative inspiration for building your brand, helping you cut through all that noise out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a lot of it and connect in a world that feels well pretty chaotic right now.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Today we're drawing inspiration for the Brand Builder Lab newsletter, which really tackles a huge issue.
Speaker 2:It does, it gets right into this massive problem-facing brands. You know scale and history, the things that used to protect you, yeah Well, they aren't enough anymore. The newsletter points out something pretty stark Since the digital boom like around 2000,. Over half of the original.
Speaker 1:Fortune 500 companies are just gone. Wait over half.
Speaker 2:Vantage Gone Dissolved, acquired bankrupt, you name it Wow.
Speaker 1:That really makes you rethink things, doesn't it? It shows that just being big or having been around forever it guarantees nothing now.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and the real disruption, it's often not the usual suspects, the old competitors Right. It's these community-first brands, maybe even creator driven ones, that pop up and build something fundamentally different.
Speaker 1:How so Different how.
Speaker 2:They connect emotionally in a way that, frankly, a lot of the legacy players just struggle with.
Speaker 1:Okay. So the core idea the newsletter really emphasizes is sustainable growth. Isn't about chasing short-term metrics or relying on your past reputation. It's built by focusing on feelings, like how do you actually make people feel?
Speaker 2:Precisely the brands that are winning and the ones set up to win in the future. They're cultivating real emotional connections.
Speaker 1:You're not just selling stuff.
Speaker 2:No, it's building loyalty, building community, resonating deeper. And there's, you know, solid data behind this. It's not just fluff.
Speaker 1:You see it, even with giants right, Like the newsletters. Example Coke versus Pepsi, classic rivalry.
Speaker 2:A perfect example. Back in 85, they were neck and neck in the US Market share around 20% each, even after Coke had been around for ages.
Speaker 1:And Coke has always been a masterclass in building those emotional cultural connections, for a way.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, their advertising their visuals. I mean, Coke is apparently the second most recognized English word after OK.
Speaker 1:Seriously, that's incredible.
Speaker 2:It says a lot about their power to differentiate through feeling, through association.
Speaker 1:It really does. But OK, even with Coke being this brand value titan, the newsletter mentioned that Pepsi's brand value has actually grown quite a bit over the last. What 25 years.
Speaker 2:They've definitely held their own. Yeah, but here's where it gets interesting. Tying back to that community thing, the newsletter highlighted recent 80 week research. It shows Sprite a Coke brand, remember is starting to leapfrog Pepsi, leapfrog Pepsi.
Speaker 1:Leapfrog Pepsi.
Speaker 2:Well, specifically activating youth communities. And here's the kicker.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They're apparently doing it with about half of Pepsi's ad spend.
Speaker 1:Half the spend, but jumping ahead. That's why.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sprite example. It's such a clear signal of the shift we're talking about. It's not just budget size or distribution anymore, it's about how effective that connection is. Exactly, sprite seems to be finding ways to like embed itself authentically within certain communities, speaking their language, showing up where they are, fostering that sense of shared identity.
Speaker 1:Right Resonance over just awareness. So this isn't just theory, these warm fuzzy feeling stuff, this focus on emotion, on community, it's a hard strategic advantage. It impacts the bottom line.
Speaker 2:Totally, and the numbers cited in the newsletter. They're pretty hard to ignore. Like Ipsos found, brands triggering strong emotions see a three times greater brand lift.
Speaker 1:Three times? Ok, let's unpack brand lift for a second. What does that actually mean? Is it just people knowing the name or, okay, let's unpack brand lift for a second?
Speaker 2:What does that actually mean? Is it just people knowing the name, or it's usually more than that? Yeah, awareness, but also things like message, recall how much people like the brand, whether they intend to buy it.
Speaker 1:Got it so strong feelings don't just make people remember you.
Speaker 2:No, they make them like you more and actually be more likely to choose you. That's a direct hit on the marketing funnel.
Speaker 1:Okay, that makes perfect sense.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Over double. Think about that. Just listing features might get you a sale, but focusing on how your brand makes people feel that can literally double your profit.
Speaker 1:Does it mean better margins or?
Speaker 2:Yeah, probably a mix Better margins, more repeat buys. People are less sensitive about price. You're building value beyond just the product itself.
Speaker 1:So it's not just about being efficient, it's fundamental to business value.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And the value grows. Numbers Kantar Research saying meaningful and different brands grow value 2.5 times faster.
Speaker 2:Yes and being meaningful, being different. Those are key results of strong emotional branding and community focus. When you stand for something, connect in a way that feels significant. You just become more valuable faster.
Speaker 1:And gives you more clout in the market too. Right? Distinctive brands grow twice as fast and emotive brands have 1.5 times the pricing power.
Speaker 2:That's also cantar that pricing power bid is huge. Anyone running a business knows that it means. Because of that emotional bond, people pay more exactly they're willing to pay a premium. You're not just fighting on price anymore, you're competing on connection, on perceived value. That's powerful.
Speaker 1:And it changes the whole customer relationship long term. I saw that Motista's stat in the newsletter emotionally connected customers have 306 percent higher lifetime value. 306 percent.
Speaker 2:It's almost hard to wrap your head around. Right, it's not a small bump. It transforms a customer from like a one-off buyer.
Speaker 1:Into an advocate.
Speaker 2:Totally. Someone who buys more stays longer is less likely to leave, and Harvard Business Review found something similar Emotionally connected customers are twice as valuable as just satisfied ones.
Speaker 1:So satisfaction isn't enough.
Speaker 2:It's important, sure, but that emotional layer that unlocks so much more value.
Speaker 1:Which means ignoring emotion isn't just less good, it's actively leaving money, huge potential on the table, even online.
Speaker 2:Especially online. Sometimes, Kantar and Effectiva found digital ads evoking strong emotions four times more likely to build brand equity.
Speaker 1:Four times.
Speaker 2:And Nielsen found ads with above-a average emotional scores generate 23% more sales volume. Even in performance marketing, emotion isn't noise, it's an amplifier.
Speaker 1:It feels like every single data point just reinforces it. Feelings drive real results. And that Motista number again 71% of customers recommend a brand based on emotional connection.
Speaker 2:That's the dream, isn't it? Word of mouth driven by real affinity.
Speaker 1:The ultimate marketing.
Speaker 2:It really is and this is where those community first brands just shine. They get this, they leverage it inherently.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the newsletter lists some great ones Liquid Death, elf Beauty, Glossier, Duolingo, Oatly, Poppi, Ritual, Crocs, the NBA, Lego, Peloton, YouTube, even.
Speaker 2:It's a diverse list, but they share something. They aren't just running ads, they're cultivating movements.
Speaker 1:That's a good way to put it. They're selling belonging, not just water or makeup or language apps.
Speaker 2:Exactly, they often have these really distinct voices, sometimes kind of provocative. They attract passionate followers, almost cult-like. Sometimes they create rituals, symbols. People feel part of something. The newsletter calls them brands with emotional engines.
Speaker 1:Emotional engines. Okay, that sounds intentional, not accidental. How do they actually build and like fuel those engines?
Speaker 2:Right. So this is where the newsletter introduces the LAVEC method. It's pronounced LAVEC, lavec, lavec. It's a system that came out of studying like over 1,500 of these fast-growing disruptive brands, you know, the ones on the fast company most innovative lists, inc. 5,000.
Speaker 1:So it's based on what's actually working for these successful disruptors, what makes it a system.
Speaker 2:It's a systems thinking approach. It looks at all the connected pieces that create that emotional resonance. It's meant to be a holistic kind of objective way to see where your brand is emotionally and figure out how to evolve it.
Speaker 1:So it helps assess your assets, audience intent, behavioral impact.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all of that Bringing some structure to something that can feel really fuzzy.
Speaker 1:Definitely it sounds like applying intelligence to creativity.
Speaker 2:That's a good way to think about it, applying creativity strategically and the newsletter stresses you don't need like a formal design degree or deep strategy background necessarily.
Speaker 1:Just creativity, applied thoughtfully.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Fundamentally, lavsc is about earning trust, sparking that lasting loyalty and really embedding your brand into the emotional world of your communities.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what are the five elements: L-A-V-E-C.
Speaker 2:Right. So first is lexicon triggers.
Speaker 1:Lexicon Like words.
Speaker 2:Exactly the specific words, phrases, slang, the whole language your brand uses. Is it formal, playful, edgy? Does it sound real to the community you want to reach?
Speaker 1:Okay, L is lexicon. What's A?
Speaker 2:Audio cues Think sounds, jingles, theme music, voiceover style.
Speaker 1:Like the Intel bong sound maybe.
Speaker 2:Perfect example those iconic sounds. They create instant recognition, evoke feelings.
Speaker 1:Got it L-A-V.
Speaker 2:Visual stimuli, everything you see Logos, colors, fonts, photos, video, style packaging, the whole visual personality.
Speaker 1:Where it says.
Speaker 2:E Experience driver. This is crucial. It's the feeling people get when they interact with your brand at any point.
Speaker 1:Any point.
Speaker 2:Website visit using the product calling customer service going to an event. What's the emotional texture of that whole interaction? Is it smooth, Frustrating, Fun, Inspiring?
Speaker 1:Oh, ok, that's broad L-A-V-E-C.
Speaker 2:And cultural connections. How does your brand connect with or tap into or even shape cultural trends, values, causes, subcultures? How does it become part of someone's identity or lifestyle?
Speaker 1:Lexicon Audio Visual Experience Cultural Connections L-A-V-E-C. Ok, that really breaks it down. Can we apply it quickly? Yeah, maybe to one of those brands like Liquid Death.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Perfect example Liquid Death, their lexicon, super aggressive counterculture, murder your thirst. Death to plastic Right.
Speaker 1:Very distinct.
Speaker 2:Their audio, often heavy music screaming in ads. Their visuals that tall boy can. The skull logo, the crazy imagery totally unique.
Speaker 1:Definitely visual.
Speaker 2:The experience they project is all about rebellion, irreference and their cultural connections Deep in skateboarding, punk rock, that whole vibe.
Speaker 1:So they align all those LAVEC elements.
Speaker 2:Exactly. They're all pointing in the same direction, building this really strong emotional identity and pulling in that specific, passionate community.
Speaker 1:That makes the framework much clearer. It's about ensuring all those signals work together to create a specific feeling, a specific connection, and the newsletter mentioned this approach has roots in systems thinking, behavioral science Kahneman, thaler, donella, meadows.
Speaker 2:Yeah, drawing from those big thinkers, it adds that layer of rigor. It suggests this isn't just, you know, marketing guesswork. It's grounded in how complex systems actually work and how we humans make decisions.
Speaker 1:The emotion isn't irrational, it's just another system driver.
Speaker 2:Precisely, which loops us back to Coke versus Pepsi. Looking at it through that light, lav AES analysis.
Speaker 1:the newsletter mentioned Right, we said Coke historically mastered the emotional assets.
Speaker 2:For decades. Yeah, Especially visuals, audio, those classic jingles and deep cultural connections worldwide. Pepsi built strong assets too, for sure, but the future. The newsletter argues the future isn't just about who has the strongest history. It's about who can keep calibrating their LAVEC elements, lexicon, audio, visual, experience, culture, to stay relevant and resonant with their core communities now and going forward.
Speaker 1:And that's where Sprite comes in today. Maybe leapfrogging Pepsi with younger groups.
Speaker 2:It suggests Sprite might be doing a better job calibrating its LAVEC specifically for that audience right now.
Speaker 1:Maybe their lexicon feels more current. Their audio choices, the experience on the platforms youth use, feels more authentic. Their cultural connections feel more plugged into specific subcultures today.
Speaker 2:Could be all of the above. It's dynamic. The world shifts, communities change, brands have to constantly tune those emotional engines to stay relevant, investing systemically in that connection. It's not just survival anymore. It's about leading, connecting deeply in a world that really craves that authenticity and belonging.
Speaker 1:So it's about using creativity intentionally, systemically focusing on the human side first to get those strategic results.
Speaker 2:Ultimately yeah,
Speaker 1:And, like the newsletter says, brands like Duolingo, elf, Liquid Death, Crocs, NBC, Lego, Peloton, YouTube, poppi they prove it, that deep emotional connection, that community vibe, it can absolutely beat massive ad budgets that just run attention.
Speaker 2:Because they're building owned attention, owned affinity and the real threat moving forward. It might not be the big legacy player down the street.
Speaker 1:Who then?
Speaker 2:It could be that nimble community first startup or, increasingly, maybe a brand built by a creator with a huge, super engaged audience already baked in Think you know, a Mr Beast or a Kardashian, or even a really successful crowdfunded founder.
Speaker 1:That's, yeah, that's a powerful thought for anyone. Building a brand Is your biggest competitor someone using their direct emotional link with an audience you haven't even thought about.
Speaker 2:It definitely makes you reassess the landscape, where the real leverage is today.
Speaker 1:Well, if you want to explore these ideas more, understand the secrets of these fast-growing brands and really focus on emotion in your own work, I definitely recommend checking out Kai D Wright's book. It's called Follow the Feeling Brand Building in a Noisy World.
Speaker 2:It really dives deep into this stuff and for ongoing insights like the ones we discussed, definitely subscribe to the Brand Builder Lab newsletter on LinkedIn. That's where today's inspiration came from.
Speaker 1:Oh, and speaking of the newsletter, you can actually download a free PDF guide related to the content we talked about today. It's great to save, share with your team, use for brainstorming or just send to someone you know building a brand.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a handy resource.
Speaker 1:Just visit the Brand Builder Lab newsletter page on LinkedIn. You can grab that PDF guide for free right there.
Speaker 2:Gives you a good summary, some prompts to get you thinking based on these ideas.
Speaker 1:Definitely food for thought as you work on building those connections that are more than just transactions real relationships. Thanks for tuning in. See you next time in the Brand Builder Lab. Let's get to work.
