How do you build awareness for a movement around an issue people often avoid discussing?

In this episode of Cover Brand, Ethan Decker talks with filmmaker and founder Karen Moore about her mission to address colorism through film, workshops, and community conversations.

Karen’s company, The Color of Beautiful Media & Entertainment Group, works to redefine beauty standards for dark-skinned Black women and create spaces where women can talk openly about the emotional and social impact of colorism.

But even powerful missions face a practical challenge: awareness.

Ethan shares brand science principles for building traction, emphasizing the value of starting locally rather than trying to reach everyone at once. Drawing examples from Oprah, Facebook, and Twitter, the conversation explores how many influential brands first gained momentum within small communities before expanding outward.

For entrepreneurs, creators, and mission-driven leaders, this episode offers practical insight into how focused communities can become the foundation for broader cultural impact.

• Understanding colorism and its impact within communities of color
• Using film and media as tools for social conversation and healing
• The challenge of building awareness for mission-driven organizations
• Why uncomfortable issues can be harder to market
• Identifying a clear target audience (dark-skinned Black women)
• The power of local community traction in brand building
• Examples of local-first growth: Oprah, Facebook, and Twitter
• Turning conversations into community engagement

• Cynthia Erivo & Jennifer Hudson – Purple Rain tribute performance (mentioned in the episode)
• Nina Simone – Four Women (referenced in the discussion of Karen’s workshop)
• The Color of Beautiful Media & Entertainment Group – Karen Moore’s organization
• Dove “Real Beauty” campaign and global beauty standards (referenced in conversation)

Produced by BiCurean.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you focus a brand when your expertise could help almost anyone?

In this episode of Cover Brand, Ethan Decker talks with Chelsea Burns, founder of The Marketing Psychologist, about the early-stage challenge of narrowing a brand’s target audience and defining its core offering.

Chelsea’s business blends psychology with ethical branding and marketing, helping organizations build trust-based relationships with customers. But after a promising first year in business, she faces a familiar founder problem: too many potential audiences and too many possible services.

Ethan shares practical brand science principles for finding focus, including why entrepreneurs underestimate their current market opportunity, why choosing a target often feels arbitrary at first, and why clarity usually comes from talking to customers rather than theorizing internally.

Listeners will also hear the origin stories of MailChimp and Nike as examples of how brands often discover their true direction through real market activity rather than perfect upfront strategy.

If you’re building a consulting business, launching a new brand, or refining your positioning, this episode offers grounded advice for moving from broad capability to clear focus.

• Ethical branding and the idea of marketing without manipulation
• The early-stage challenge of focus for new consulting businesses
• Why trying to serve too many audiences complicates brand positioning
• The “inside the bottle” problem founders face with their own brands
• Underestimating opportunity within your current market
• The importance of talking directly to customers for brand clarity
• MailChimp’s origin story and accidental product success
• Nike’s evolution from Blue Ribbon Sports to a global brand
• Aligning target audience, offering, and messaging

• Sick Puppies – Say My Name (cover of Destiny’s Child)
• Cover Brand Spotify Playlist – featuring songs mentioned on the podcast
• The Marketing Psychologist – https://www.the-marketing-psychologist.com/
• MailChimp – example brand origin story discussed in the episode
• Nike / Blue Ribbon Sports history referenced in the conversation

Produced by BiCurean.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you compete with big-city agencies when you’re based in a town of 50,000 people?

In this episode of Cover Brand, Ethan Decker talks with Nic Hinwood, founder of Keo, a branding and marketing agency based in Tamworth, Australia. Together they unpack the perception challenge facing regional agencies—and why buyers often rely on subtle cues when judging expertise and credibility.

Ethan introduces several practical brand science ideas, including the concept of car door sounds—the tiny signals that shape how people judge quality. They also explore how companies like Apple and Shinola turned geographic quirks into brand advantages through clever positioning.

Listeners will learn why researching how prospects actually choose agencies is critical, how to identify the unconscious signals buyers rely on, and why turning perceived weaknesses into distinctive strengths can unlock powerful positioning.

If you run a service business, build brands, or compete against bigger players with louder reputations, this episode offers practical ways to rethink perception—and turn underdog status into strategic advantage.

• The “underdog perception” problem for regional agencies
• Why marketers should stop imagining what prospects think and go ask them
• The “car door sound” principle—how buyers use small cues to judge quality
• Turning weaknesses into positioning advantages
• Apple’s “Designed in Cupertino” strategy
• Shinola watches and the power of “Made in Detroit”
• Why community accountability can be a powerful brand signal
• The importance of identifying unconscious cues in professional services
• Lessons from building a medieval castle about sharpening your tools before doing the work

• The cover song discussed in the episode: Austin (AC Music 7) covering “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie
• Cover Brand Spotify Playlist – featuring songs mentioned on the podcast
• Shinola Watches – Detroit-based watchmaker referenced in the episode
• Apple product packaging (“Designed in Cupertino”) positioning example
• Guédelon Castle Project – experimental medieval castle construction referenced in the conversation

If you’re building a brand—or trying to reposition how people see your business—this episode is a reminder that perception often hinges on small signals. Find the right ones, amplify them, and suddenly the underdog becomes the hidden gem.

Curious about how brand science can transform your business?

Visit appliedbrandscience.com for deeper dives and resources.

Subscribe to Cover Brand for more conversations about how brands actually work in the real world.

Produced by BiCurean.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.