Your Visuals Aren’t Broken, Your Strategy Is

Brand and Butter

Chapters
0:00
Setting The Stage: Vibe Tax
1:15
Strategy Before Design, Always
3:40
Lost Trust When Brands Look Empty
7:50
Systems Over Aesthetics
12:20
Rebrands, Risk And Long Games
18:10
Design-First Branding Is Broken
23:45
Authenticity, AI And Sameness
28:50
Enterprise Vs Solo: Different Plays
33:40
The Trust Economy Arrives
Brand and Butter
Your Visuals Aren’t Broken, Your Strategy Is
Feb 08, 2026 Episode 92
Tara Ladd

Attention is cheap BUT trust is expensive. In this episode I'm breaking open the “vibe tax”, which is the hidden cost brands pay when they look great but say nothing. We'll tap into how strategy, positioning and proof now beat a glossy feed every day of the week. I specifically mentioning the danger of design-first branding to the mechanics of systems thinking, by laying out how to build an identity that communicates a clear position and holds up under research.

If your visuals aren’t landing, chances are it's likely the strategy beneath them. 

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Episode Artwork Your Visuals Aren’t Broken, Your Strategy Is 39:06 Episode Artwork Be The Default Choice In A Trust Economy 38:04 Episode Artwork How Brands Earn Trust When The World Feels Unsafe 22:30 Episode Artwork Why Feeling Stuck Might Mean The Map Changed 41:54 Episode Artwork Beyond Algorithms: Understanding the New Consumer Mindset 37:40 Episode Artwork From Silence to Story: Sherele Moody on Femicide, Media Failure, and Real Accountability 1:07:31 Episode Artwork Visibility To Memorability: What 2025 Taught Us 46:26 Episode Artwork How Manufactured Urgency Rewired Our Buying Habits 22:21 Episode Artwork Is Brand Loyalty Dead or Evolving? 34:52 Episode Artwork Rethinking brand through neurodiversity and design psychology 36:26 Episode Artwork You’re not failing, you’re repositioning (and the answer is in your brand strategy) 39:30 Episode Artwork Navigating the New Age of Content Creation with Kim James 1:21:13 Episode Artwork People don’t buy products; they buy mirrors of themselves 44:43 Episode Artwork The Implementation Gap: Why Brand Strategies Fail 38:28 Episode Artwork What We Can Learn From Ben & Jerry's 40-Year Activism Strategy 58:06 Episode Artwork Cultural Intelligence with Dr. Anastasia K. Gabriel: Beyond Inclusive Marketing 55:54 Episode Artwork Memory Psychology: Why Some Brands Stick and Others Don't 34:13 Episode Artwork Unmasking False Inclusivity in Brands 30:33 Episode Artwork Why Being Different in Business Costs More (And Why It's Worth It) 40:21 Episode Artwork How Strategic Colour Choices Live Rent-Free in Your Customers' Minds 19:51 Episode Artwork The Memory Matrix: Why Customers Forget Your Brand 20:37 Episode Artwork Straps Off, Personality On: The Hackerlily Story with Laura Campbell 1:00:08 Episode Artwork AI Won't Steal Your Creative Job, But People Who Use It Might 26:36 Episode Artwork When Gillette Called Out Toxic Behaviour, Society Wasn't Ready 25:30 Episode Artwork Brand Memory: Why People Remember (Or Forget) Your Business 31:55