The Price Is Wrong: Does Price Really Matter to Customers?

Summary

Brain Driven Brands - Episode Summary

Title: The Price Is Wrong: Does Price Really Matter to Customers?
Host/Author: Sarah Levenger
Release Date: March 7, 2025
Description: Host Sarah Levenger breaks down the advanced neuromarketing secrets of 9-figure brands (like True Classic, Spotify, and Plants vs. Zombies) to show you psychology tactics any e-commerce brand can use today to cut costs, boost sales, and captivate the masses.

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Introduction

In the March 7, 2025 episode of Brain Driven Brands, host Sarah Levenger explores the intricate relationship between pricing strategies and consumer behavior. Joined by co-host Nate Legos and special guest Casey, the episode delves into whether price truly impacts customer decisions. The trio engages in a series of interactive games, revealing insights into premium pricing, subscription models, and viral product strategies.

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Round One: Premium Product Edition [00:46 - 26:19]

Concept:
Participants are presented with three high-priced products. Two are real, and one is fake. The challenge is to identify the illegitimate product.

Products:

1. $200 Titanium Water Bottle: Marketed as made from aerospace-grade titanium, this ultra-premium bottle sold out multiple times.
2. $2,500 Weighted Blanket: A direct-to-consumer (DTC) sleep brand launched this blanket infused with silver threads to enhance calming energy and improve deep sleep by 40%.
3. $400 Smart Toothbrush: Dubbed the "Peloton of oral care," this toothbrush syncs to an app, providing a brushing score after each use.

Discussion Highlights:

• Nate's Perspective ([04:08]): Nate suspects the $200 water bottle might have underperformed, questioning its market viability.
• Casey's Insight ([05:26]): Casey points out the high cost of titanium, doubting the feasibility of a fully titanium bottle at $200.
• Sarah's Analysis ([05:17]): Sarah aligns with the skepticism around the weighted blanket's exorbitant price, considering it unrealistic.

Reveal ([06:36]):

• Fake Product: The $2,500 weighted blanket.
• Real Products: Both the $200 titanium water bottle (Vargo's Thai Bottle) and the $400 smart toothbrush (Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige).

Key Insights:

• Prestige Pricing: The high price of the titanium water bottle leverages exclusivity and premium branding rather than functionality.
• Consumer Segmentation: Targeting affluent consumers can sustain higher pricing models.
• Value Communication: Effectively communicating the value and quality justifies premium pricing.

Notable Quotes:

• Sarah Levenger [03:51]: "Which one of these is fake?"
• Casey [05:26]: "Do you know how much titanium costs? A lot."

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Round Two: Subscription Pricing Edition [13:12 - 21:20]

Concept:
Exploring subscription models, participants guess which pricing strategy failed.

Products:

1. $99/month Coffee Membership: A DTC coffee company offered unlimited coffee at its cafes but struggled with profitability due to overconsumption.
2. $75/month Razor Blade Subscription: A luxury men's grooming brand's high-end razor subscription faced high cancellation rates because of its steep cost.
3. $200/year Unlimited Socks Plan: A sock brand introduced a membership allowing unlimited sock replacements anytime they wore out, marketed as a lifetime guarantee.

Discussion Highlights:

• Nate's Guess ([14:12]): Nate believes the $75/month razor subscription is the fake model.
• Casey's Confirmation ([18:44]): Casey correctly identifies the $75/month razor subscription as non-viable and real-world examples (like Bombas) supporting the validity of the sock subscription.

Reveal ([19:37]):

• Fake Product: The $75/month razor blade subscription.
• Real Products: Both the $99/month coffee membership and the $200/year unlimited socks plan.

Key Insights:

• Value Alignment: Subscriptions must match consumer expectations and perceived value to succeed.
• Category Sensitivity: Certain products, like razors, have inherent price ceilings; exceeding them leads to high churn rates.
• Renewal Cycles: Unlimited and lifetime guarantees can create natural renewal cycles, driving sustained customer loyalty.

Notable Quotes:

• Sarah Levenger [14:10]: "A $75/month razor subscription—didn't think it was viable."
• Casey [18:44]: "I think the sock thing is real. I think it's Bombas."

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Round Three: Viral Product Pricing Edition [22:08 - 27:00]

Concept:
Analyzing viral products, participants determine which pricing strategy is fabricated.

Products:

1. $39 Stanley Cup Alternative: A DTC brand attempted to offer a similar aesthetic to the viral Stanley tumbler at a lower price but failed due to perceived low quality.
2. $120 Bottle of Sleep Air: A wellness brand marketed bottled high-altitude sleep air from the Swiss Alps, claiming it could enhance sleep quality when inhaled before bed.
3. $180 Pet Rock 2.0: A startup relaunched the Pet Rock concept in 2023 as an NFT-linked collectible, successfully selling out.

Discussion Highlights:

• Casey's Guess ([25:22]): Casey suspects the $39 Stanley cup alternative is fake.
• Nate's Hypothesis ([24:12]): Nate believes the $120 bottle of sleep air is the fake product.

Reveal ([25:48]):

• Fake Product: The $120 bottle of sleep air.
• Real Products: Both the $39 Stanley cup alternative and the $180 Pet Rock 2.0.

Key Insights:

• Perceived Quality: Undercutting premium brands can lead to perceptions of inferior quality, negatively impacting sales.
• Innovation Integration: Combining physical products with digital elements (e.g., NFTs) can create unique value propositions.
• Viral Marketing: Leveraging trends and exclusivity can sustain high-demand despite premium pricing.

Notable Quotes:

• Nate Legos [23:37]: "I think that's real."
• Casey [25:22]: "I think the Stanley cup thing is fake."

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Bonus Round: Price Increases That Worked or Flopped [27:04 - 36:41]

Concept:
Evaluating real brands that raised prices, determining whether the increase boosted sales or backfired.

Products:

1. Patagonia's Nanopuff Jacket Price Hike: Increased from $199 to $229.
2. Instant Ramen Goes Premium: Raised from $9 to $15 per pack with gourmet branding.
3. Tesla's Model Y Price Surge: Increased by $6,000 overnight due to high demand.

Discussion Highlights:

• Patagonia ([29:11]): Nate guesses sales might have declined; Chat reveals sales actually increased due to strong brand loyalty.
• Instant Ramen ([29:20]): Casey anticipates decreased sales, which is confirmed as consumers found the price unacceptable.
• Tesla Model Y ([29:35]): Both Nate and Casey are impressed by the $6,000 increase leading to higher sales, driven by scarcity and brand prestige.

Reveal ([31:36]):

• Patagonia: Price hike led to increased sales, underscoring brand loyalty and perceived quality.
• Instant Ramen: Premium pricing caused a drop in sales, highlighting category price sensitivity.
• Tesla Model Y: Price surge boosted sales, leveraging scarcity and exclusivity.

Key Insights:

• Brand Loyalty: Established brands like Patagonia can successfully implement price hikes without alienating customers.
• Category Pricing Limits: Everyday consumables have strict price ceilings; exceeding them diminishes demand.
• Scarcity Effect: Limited availability and high demand can justify significant price increases, enhancing desirability.

Notable Quotes:

• Sarah Levenger [29:11]: "Did sales go up or down after this?"
• Nate Legos [31:36]: "If those marketers listening to this go talk to your customers..."

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Conclusion [32:04 - 36:41]

The episode concludes with reflections on the importance of understanding consumer behavior and aligning pricing strategies with perceived value. Sarah emphasizes that while premium pricing can be effective, it must be justified through quality, exclusivity, and strong brand narratives. The interactive games with Nate and Casey underscore the necessity for marketers to engage with and understand their consumers deeply.

Final Takeaways:

• Understand Your Audience: Tailor pricing strategies to match consumer segments and their perceived value.
• Effective Communication: Clearly convey the value proposition to justify premium prices.
• Consumer Insights: Leverage consumer feedback and behavior analysis to inform pricing decisions.

Notable Quotes:

• Sarah Levenger [32:33]: "Recognize that some of the things that we think consumers care about or some of the things that like we're going to just test this in a pricing war..."

Call to Action: Listeners are encouraged to follow Sarah Levenger, Nate Legos, and Consumer Casey on their respective platforms for more insights into neuromarketing and consumer psychology. Additionally, Sarah invites DTC brands to send products for review, fostering a community-driven approach to understanding pricing dynamics.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Sarah Levenger [07:32]: "Key takeaway here. ... communicate the value well enough."
• Casey [05:26]: "Do you know how much titanium costs? A lot."
• Nate Legos [23:37]: "I think that's real."
• Casey [18:44]: "I think that's really..."
• Sarah Levenger [33:36]: "...some of the things that we think consumers care about..."

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Final Thoughts:

This episode of Brain Driven Brands effectively illustrates the complexities of pricing strategies in today's diverse and dynamic market landscape. Through engaging discussions and interactive games, Sarah Levenger, Nate Legos, and Consumer Casey provide valuable insights into how premium pricing, subscription models, and viral marketing can influence consumer behavior and brand success. Marketers are reminded of the paramount importance of aligning pricing strategies with genuine consumer value and perceptions to drive sustained growth and profitability.

Transcript

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay. Okay. So since that. Since Scotty really loved that last episode that we did that was $100 million challenge, market challenge. We're gonna do another game with AI today. We're gonna do another chat led game because it was so much fun. And I haven't even done the intro. Hold, Scotty. I'm gonna get to it. But we're doing a chat game. Welcome back to the show. This is beret driven brand. I'm Sarah Levenger. I am joined by all kinds of interesting, really talented, amazing people today. Nate, Legos, welcome back to the show. First of all, because you're technically the co host. Guest host. Co hostie. You're also muted. Oh, party foul.

[Nate Legos]

Rookie mistake. I've been podcasting for how many years?

[Sarah Levenger]

That's.

[Nate Legos]

That's bad. But anyway, right now I. Yeah. If you want to demonet me from co host for this episode because of that mistake, I understand.

[Sarah Levenger]

I'll give you.

[Nate Legos]

I'll resume my duties next week.

[Sarah Levenger]

Give you one type pass. That's hilarious. I'm also joined today by lovely husband of mine. Also, you're becoming, like, a big deal. I've had. I've actually had people ask me, when is consumer Casey coming back on the show?

[Casey]

Yeah.

[Sarah Levenger]

Casey. Hello.

[Casey]

Hey. How's it going, everybody?

[Sarah Levenger]

Hi. Hug Casey. He has a full Instagram with one post on it. We're getting there. Today we're gonna do something super fun. The last episode that Nate and I did with Chat was. I don't know, people really liked that one for some reason. I got a lot of comments on it. It was also one of the most watched. What do you call it, like, videos on YouTube. People, like, really gravitated toward it really quickly. I'm waiting for it to blow up and we could become, like, the next Mr. Beast. Like, Mr. Beast for marketing is what I'm gonna try because my son would love it. Let's be real. Max would lose his mind because he's obsessed piece. But today we are going to do a game with consumer Casey, marketer Nate and Sarah. I don't have a cool name like you guys do, so we're just gonna start. We're gonna see where this goes. I don't know if it's gonna be fun or not, but we're gonna do a game on pricing today. A pricing game. So Chat calls this one the Price is Wrong Two Truths and a Lie edition. You guys ready for this?

[Nate Legos]

Yeah.

[Chat]

All right. Welcome to the Price is Wrong Two Truths and a Lie edition. I'm your AI game master. And today, Sarah and Nate, the expert marketers, will battle it out to prove they understand real consumer pricing behavior. Meanwhile, Casey, our everyday consumer, will keep them honest and call out their marketer delusions. Round one premium product edition. One of these luxury items was a massive hit. Another flopped, and one is completely fake. Can you guess the lie? A $200 water bottle. Marketed as made from aerospace grade titanium, this ultra premium bottle was priced at $200 and sold out multiple times. A $2,500 weighted blanket. A DTC Sleep brand launched an ultra premium weighted blanket infused with silver threads for calming energy. It claimed to improve deep sleep by 40%. A $400 smart toothbrush. Marketed as the peloton of oral care, this toothbrush syncs to an app and gives you a brushing score after every use. Sarah, Nate, and Casey, which one do you think is the fake? Debate your answers.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, so. All right, so what this is is we're trying to figure out which one of these is a lie. They all sound ridiculous to me, but Chat brought back a 200 water bottle made from aerospace grade titanium. A $2,500 weighted blanket that apparently has silver threads in there for calming Energy, and a $400 smart toothbrush that syncs to an app and gives you a brushing score. Which one of these is fake?

[Casey]

Do I go first?

[Sarah Levenger]

I don't know. It says Sarah and they debate and then Casey reacts of like whether he thinks this is real. You get to react.

[Nate Legos]

All right, so then I guess it's me. I think. I think the 200 water bottle probably crushed, to be honest.

[Sarah Levenger]

You think that's a real thing? A $200 water bottle?

[Nate Legos]

I know three guys that would do that, that have spent money on really ridiculous things. I could see if it's branded, right? I could see people doing a $200 water bottle. The $2,500 weighted blanket I think is real, but I think did not do well.

[Sarah Levenger]

There's no way that's real. I think $2,500 weighted blanket truck. Okay. All right. All right.

[Nate Legos]

And I would bet the smart toothbrush that hooks up to an app is f. Not. I'm going to find that founder and give him a good beating. Such a dumb idea.

[Sarah Levenger]

It's going to. Oh, my God. I could. The sad part, I could totally see my husband buying that. Okay, all right. I think the $200 water bottle, that.

[Nate Legos]

Sounded like an insult. Casey, I don't know if you heard that.

[Sarah Levenger]

I. Okay. He's really into like tracking stuff I could see. Okay, wait. We'll get your reaction a second. So I think the $200 water bottle is real. I think this 2500 dollar weighted blanket is absolute bullshit. I don't think that's a real thing at all. I think this $400 smart toothbrush is real. So I think the weighted blanket is fake. And Nate thinks. Which one did you think was fake?

[Nate Legos]

The toothbrush is.

[Sarah Levenger]

Not the toothbrushes. All right, Casey, consumer. Casey, tell us which ones you think is fake and which one you would buy.

[Casey]

Oh, which one would I buy? Okay, so I'd buy the water bottle, but only because you would buy a $200 water bottle. I think that's the fake one.

[Sarah Levenger]

Oh, and here's why.

[Casey]

Here's why. Here's why. Do you know how much titanium costs? A lot. It's a lot.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah.

[Casey]

And there's zero chance you're getting a full water bottle out of $200 worth of titanium.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay.

[Casey]

I'm just saying, like I could see it being titanium plated.

[Nate Legos]

Titanium plated is probably like water was.

[Casey]

See, I could see all of that. But if it's a full. Like if it's a water bottle this size made out of completely titanium, it's a 600 water bottle, easy.

[Sarah Levenger]

You know way too much about like Casey's elements on the planet.

[Nate Legos]

I think it's real. And I would bet. Did. Did chat say it was solid titanium? Because I would bet it's titanium.

[Sarah Levenger]

It didn't say. It just said it cost $14 to make titanium.

[Casey]

That being said, I. That's like my initial thought was that that was the fake one, but I think the blanket's fake. I don't think you're. I. And the reason why. I just don't think you're getting anybody to pay $2,500 for a blanket.

[Sarah Levenger]

I don't either.

[Nate Legos]

I think you're getting some.

[Sarah Levenger]

All right. Okay. All right.

[Chat]

So.

[Casey]

Okay, so I. I think that if it's a solid titanium water bottle, that's the fake one. If it's not solid titanium, then it's.

[Chat]

The blanket bottle made from aerospace grade titanium is real. It's called the Thai bottle. Vargo.

[Sarah Levenger]

That's real.

[Chat]

It's an ultra premium water bottle designed for extreme durability, corrosion resistance, and of course, the luxury of drinking water from titanium. It's sold out multiple times because of its status symbol appeal, not just its functionality. People love the elite aesthetic, even though it does literally the same job as a ten dollar bottle. Pricing lesson. This is a classic example of prestige pricing. Higher price equals higher perceived value. The audience buying this isn't paying for function. They're paying for exclusivity and premium branding.

[Sarah Levenger]

Agreed on that.

[Chat]

That means either the $2,500 weighted blanket or the $400 smart toothbrush is the fake. Sarah, Nate, and Casey, what's your final guess? Which one is the lie?

[Casey]

Oh.

[Sarah Levenger]

This is the reason why it always drives me crazy when people are like, everybody's so price sensitive these days. Nobody is price sensitive. That doesn't exist anymore. I saw bottles for $200.

[Nate Legos]

I saw a chart the other day that like, half of all consumer spending right now is the top 15% of earners. And it's like, just market to those people.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yes, I saw that stat too.

[Nate Legos]

Those people are willing to spend money on $200 water bottles. I bet there are people that bought the 2,500. Do.

[Casey]

What's it called?

[Sarah Levenger]

Can you find it? Okay, wait, let me. It says Vargo. Vargo and Snow Peak have both sold high end titanium water bottles at 200 prices. The. It's the Thai bottle, though. Ti is made from 100% titanium, but these people apparently are charging 200 a bottle. So key takeaway here. You could do premium for literally any product you want, as long as you communicate the value well enough. Now, again, they're value is in ingredient. Titanium is expensive to get, but it's aerospace grade titanium, so they're framing this incredibly well. And this. This is interesting because, Nate, you and I talk about this all the time. Like, the way that you frame things and how you explain what your product actually provides psychologically can put you in a completely different. Yeah, Completely different market, pricing wise. Okay, are we ready to see which one's next toothbrush is fake? The Fargo one. Okay, we'll go through, and I'm gonna put it in the show notes, all of the links to the products that Chat is referencing, because again, we're going to check Chat's work and make sure it's actually pulling the correct stuff from the Internet. But let's go and see which one of the next ones. Is it the weighted blanket or is it the toothbrush? I think it's the weighted blanket, but.

[Casey]

All right, I think it's weighted blanket.

[Sarah Levenger]

Here we go.

[Nate Legos]

I think it's a toothbrush. Okay, it's me versus the Levengers.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, Chat, I think Sarah thinks that the weighted blanket is fake and the smart toothbrush is real. Which one is it?

[Chat]

Drumroll. Sarah, you are absolutely right. The $2,500 weighted blanket is fake. The $400 smart toothbrush is real. The truth behind the smart toothbrush. The $400 toothbrush is the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige. Marketed as the peloton of oral care. It syncs to an app, gives you a brushing score, and even adjusts intensity based on how hard you press. Sounds great for Apple Watch guys because it uses AI coaching to improve brushing technique. It plays into the tech driven wellness obsession. High price equals premium positioning in the oral care space. Why the weighted blanket was the lie. Weighted blankets are big in the sleep industry, but even luxury brands max out around $500. A $2,500 blanket would be nearly impossible to justify, even for high end consumers.

[Sarah Levenger]

You don't think so?

[Chat]

Keep pricing.

[Nate Legos]

Awesome. I might start that brand. That might be the brand I started.

[Sarah Levenger]

Nate does not agree with chad.

[Nate Legos]

It's like $3,000 weighted.

[Sarah Levenger]

$3,000 weight.

[Casey]

Do you know what's funny? I was literally about to say the reason I thought the toothbrush was real was because I know for a fact that the Philips, the top end Phillips Sonicare is 350 bucks. So I was just off on price.

[Sarah Levenger]

Have you looked into the high price toothbrush?

[Casey]

Because I had to buy our kids toothbrushes, like, what, three weeks ago.

[Sarah Levenger]

Oh, okay. So this is interesting. Casey has a price anchor because he just went through a trigger event where he had to buy our kids some toothbrushes. So consumer Casey knows the anchor of a high price toothbrush. That's.

[Casey]

I also knew the weight. The weighted blanket market was 500 bucks. So.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, how did you know that we have. We don't.

[Casey]

Because we looked for a weighted blank. But, like, I was gonna buy that on Black Friday, remember?

[Sarah Levenger]

Oh, that's right. Okay, so consumer Casey, why were you waiting till Black Friday to buy a weighted blanket?

[Casey]

Because I figured it was gonna be cheaper, which it was, but then I just didn't.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay. Proof of Sarah's point. The only time that I would say consumers are price sensitive is during the time period that marketers make them price sensitive, which is black price.

[Casey]

But. But now my hydro flask water bottle feels cheap.

[Nate Legos]

Feels inferior.

[Sarah Levenger]

Oh, no.

[Nate Legos]

There is a nice Vargo One for 160 bucks.

[Casey]

Yeah, yeah, that's the one that I saw. That was like titanium.

[Nate Legos]

Buy that one, Casey.

[Sarah Levenger]

That's so expensive. Okay, so Vargo is the brand that was selling it for a freakishly high amount. I don't know. All right, so that one was premium product edition.

[Nate Legos]

I'm not even mad that I lost that round. But if you think you need AI coaching for your teeth Brushing.

[Sarah Levenger]

Why not?

[Nate Legos]

I mean, maybe just have counting for user error screen involved.

[Casey]

I think, I think for kids it's great.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah.

[Casey]

Like our kids.

[Sarah Levenger]

For our kids it works really well.

[Nate Legos]

We'll see. I'll let you know when I get there.

[Sarah Levenger]

I will say this product, I think on the like toothbrush side for like AI coaching, it's got to be going towards those guys on Tik Tok right now that are showing videos of them like ironing their bed sheets on. Have you seen these? They iron their bed sheets on the bed. They're very sick. The best. They're very single and they have red lights everywhere in their house so they don't hurt their eyes at night. These type of people, I, I more power to you if you have the time to do it. I'm, I'm solidly a supporter of this. But who is doing that? These are the type of people that would probably, that would probably.

[Nate Legos]

Your algorithm is very different from mine.

[Sarah Levenger]

All right, so that was round one, which is premium product edition. Round two is going into subscription pricing edition. So we're gonna go through some subscription prices and see if you think you know the one that is real or fake. So here we go. Get back to it.

[Chat]

Round two, subscription pricing edition. One of these subscription models worked, one failed and one is completely fake. Can you guess the lie? A $99 month coffee membership. A DTC Coffee company offered unlimited coffee for $99 a month at its cafes. The model struggled to be profitable because customers drank way more coffee than expected. A $75 month razor blade subscription, a luxury men's grooming brand launched a high end Razor subscription for $75 per month. Customers expected premium quality, but many cancelled due to the high cost. A $200 a year unlimited socks plan, A sock brand introduced a membership where subscribers could get get unlimited sock replacements anytime their socks wore out. They marketed it as a lifetime sock guarantee. Sarah, Nate and Casey, which one do you think is the fake? Debate your answers.

[Sarah Levenger]

Oh, okay. This one's so much harder. So much harder. Okay, so here's the option.

[Nate Legos]

I'm not calling that one easy, but.

[Sarah Levenger]

This is so funny too because as soon as it said socks, I was like, oh, Casey, you would love unlimited socks. My husband is a sock guy. Anyways, so 99amonth coffee membership, which apparently was a subscription for unlimited coffee but struggled to be profitable because people drink too much coffee.

[Casey]

That one's weird because they is. They said it's a DTC company, but it sounded like it was a physical coffee shop. So I'M confused on that one.

[Sarah Levenger]

I don't know about that one. A $75 a month razor blade subscription. That was premium expensive. Yeah. But customers complained, so it shut down, because apparently they didn't get the elite razor experience they wanted. And then a $200 unlimited socks plan where customers can get unlimited soccer places, whatever they wore out. Which ones is the truth? Which one's the lie?

[Nate Legos]

I could see a marketer thinking the socks thing is a good idea.

[Sarah Levenger]

You think that's right. Some marketer was like, this is gonna be so good.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah. I could see something like, it's gonna crush.

[Sarah Levenger]

I can see that. Okay, which one do you think is alive?

[Nate Legos]

And I think the razor one's fake. Because even if you go premium razors. Do you know Henson shaving?

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah.

[Casey]

The razor that's in my bathroom.

[Nate Legos]

Yep. There you go. So I know Daniel found her there. Casey, you paid, what, 130 bucks for that?

[Casey]

No, it was, like, 90. No, it was 75.

[Sarah Levenger]

75 for that razor.

[Casey]

Hang on. The titanium one's 150. I didn't do the titanium one.

[Sarah Levenger]

That's supposed to make me feel better?

[Casey]

No. Okay, hang on, hang on. You know how much a blade is for that razor?

[Sarah Levenger]

Is it $50? It better be. $50?

[Nate Legos]

Yeah.

[Casey]

Versus a cartridge for a regular razor, which is $3 a piece.

[Sarah Levenger]

But you paid $75 up front.

[Nate Legos]

Okay, okay, okay. No marriage price on the podcast.

[Sarah Levenger]

That's amazing. I'm happy for your premium.

[Chat]

Like.

[Sarah Levenger]

I have not. I feel like I have more skin to shave than you guys do, though. First, Nate, you don't shave.

[Chat]

Second.

[Sarah Levenger]

All right. Onward and forward.

[Nate Legos]

Okay, anyway, here's why I think that one is fake. Is because I know the most premium razors out there.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah.

[Nate Legos]

Are, like, you maybe spend a hundred bucks on the handle, basically, and then the blades are super cheap, even the good ones. So that's why I think 75amonth is, like, out of this world.

[Casey]

I agree with you. I think that's really.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah, I disagree with both of you. I think the sock plan is ridiculous. Who's gonna pay 200 a year for unlimited?

[Casey]

I legitimately think that's bombas.

[Sarah Levenger]

You think that.

[Chat]

Oh, well, that's my guess.

[Casey]

I'm guessing that that is this industry.

[Sarah Levenger]

Too, because you've said.

[Nate Legos]

Well, let me. Casey, I hate to get this personal. You, like, wear socks until there's holes in them.

[Casey]

No.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yes, you do. Yes, you do.

[Casey]

Depends on the sock. Depends on the socks. Okay, so, like, I always buy. As far as, like, socks go, I always buy Premium socks. Like, I buy, like, bollegas or wigwams or whatever. Like, I never don't wear a nice sock.

[Nate Legos]

Okay. I've never heard of those brands, so maybe I need to upgrade my socks.

[Casey]

They're running. They're running brands.

[Nate Legos]

Don't say that like you can tell I don't run by looking at me. I don't like the way you said that.

[Casey]

I'm just telling you which, like, sector you need to go look at for real, for really, really comfortable, everyday socks. Wear socks that are.

[Nate Legos]

Wear running socks.

[Sarah Levenger]

Everybody's got their thing like socks. Nate does boots and hats because I.

[Nate Legos]

Wear socks until they're Swiss cheese. And I. And. And that's based on the holes, not the smell. But, like, I, like, finally bought some new socks, like, for Christmas because my wife was like, hey, you make way too much money to not have socks without holding.

[Sarah Levenger]

Have you been in these socks? Interesting call out, though, behaviorally. You think holy socks are Swiss cheesy. We throw. I mean, in our house, we throw away a sock when it has one hole in it. Then we're done. No difference of opinion.

[Casey]

Okay. And so here's the other thing. You're gonna. You're gonna laugh at this part. I bought every sock that I have is like, there's no two socks that are the same.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah.

[Casey]

I want them to wear the exact same rate.

[Sarah Levenger]

I told you he's a sock.

[Casey]

Because I. I hate putting on two socks that don't feel the same. It drives you.

[Sarah Levenger]

I find that interesting. Your feet are that sensitive. I put on whatever sock I could find. It's a sock. Who cares? There's a sock. All right. Onward and forward with this.

[Casey]

All right, so I think the sock thing is real. I think it's bombless. I think the razor thing is faker.

[Sarah Levenger]

Is fake.

[Casey]

And I think the other one, the coffee thing, okay, they probably lost a bunch of money, but I think that's real.

[Sarah Levenger]

All right. And Nate agrees with you. I think this sock thing is 100 ridiculous. But I'm not a sock person, so here we go. Okay.

[Chat]

The $99 a month coffee membership is real. It was first launched as Panera's unlimited limited sip club at $8.99 and evolved into a $99 year plan. It offered unlimited coffee, tea, and soda refills, but struggled with profitability because, well, people drank too much coffee.

[Casey]

Why?

[Chat]

It was a challenge.

[Casey]

Customers said D2C.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah, I mean, technically, it did say D2C. So, yeah, technically, that one's disqualified because.

[Casey]

I mean, it's not disqualified. But we all got that one right. Next one. Go to the next one.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay. Okay. Chat. Give us the answers for round two.

[Chat]

Final answer for round two. The fake subscription is the $75 month razor blade subscription. The $200 a year unlimited sock membership is real. The truth behind the sock subscription. The unlimited sock replacement plan was launched by Bombas and other high end sock brands. The idea, wear through your socks, fresh pair whenever you need. Why did it work? Socks were out quickly. This created a built in renewal cycle. Loyal customers like the lifetime guarantee angle. Most people don't actually request too many replacements, keeping costs low. The fake $75 razor blade subscription. No luxury men's grooming brand ever attempted a $75 month Razor subscription. Why? Too expensive for too little perceived value. Why? This would fail if it were real. Dollar Shave Club proved people don't want to overpay for razors. $75 a month is way above what customers expect to spend. People don't go through that many razors per month. Low usage means churn pricing. Takeaway subscriptions work best when customers feel like they're getting an ongoing benefit but not wasting money. Consumable products like socks work, but only if the cost feels justified. Luxury pricing on low margin items like razors is extremely hard to pull off. Scoreboard after round two. Two points. Nate, one point. Casey, one point. Ready for round three. Let's see if you can keep the streak alive.

[Casey]

It's I have two and you both have one.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, Casey, because two more. Casey's crushing us right now.

[Casey]

Like the fact that I called that. That was bomba.

[Sarah Levenger]

I know that it was bomb.

[Nate Legos]

I'm impressed. You are just consumer, huh?

[Sarah Levenger]

This is why I love consumer Casey.

[Nate Legos]

Just true consumer Casey.

[Sarah Levenger]

This is amazing. This is the reason why we got to have consumer Casey back out. Because not only are consumers very clearly very savvy, but the brands that they know a lot about, the ones that they're very loyal to, they know a lot about. Like, they track stuff that I'm like, how did you know?

[Casey]

Which is funny because like, I wouldn't say like, I'm a sock guy. I'm not a bombas guy.

[Sarah Levenger]

The coffee membership was interesting though.

[Nate Legos]

So.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay. All right. So that was round two. Casey, two points. Nate, one point. Sarah, one point. We are, I don't know if we're gonna like after this. We might have to quit our jobs. Casey's better than we are at guessing stuff. So round three. The viral product pricing game. This is the last round that we are gonna do we're gonna see if we can guess to see which one of these were real pricing strategies made by real brands and which one is absolutely fake.

[Chat]

So round three, the viral product pricing game. One of these viral products was priced this way and worked. One struggled and one is completely fake. Can you guess the lie? A $39 Stanley cup alternative. A DTC brand tried to undercut the viral Stanley Tumblr craze by offering a similar aesthetic for only $39. But customers perceived it as low quality and sales flopped. $120 bottle of sleep Air, a wellness brand marketed bottled high altitude sleep air from the Swiss Alps, claiming it could improve sleep quality when inhaled before bed. It went viral on TikTok. A $180 Pet Rock 2.0. A startup relaunched the Pet Rock concept in 2023, but as an NFT linked collectible. People could buy a physical rock with a digital twin and it actually sold out. Sarah, Nate and Casey, which one do you think is the fake? Debate your answers.

[Sarah Levenger]

Oh, my God. Why? This is harder than I thought it was gonna be. Okay, so the options for which one of these is this is the lie. Which one of them is true? A $39 Stanley cup alternative they were trying to undercut on price, but it failed because people assumed it was low quality. $120 bottle of sleep Air marketed as from the Alps. That will help you sleep better or $180 pet rock, a startup launched in 2023 as an F. NFT linked collectible. Geez, I can't even say that I.

[Nate Legos]

Do think I heard about the pet Rock nft.

[Sarah Levenger]

You did? That can't be a real thing though.

[Casey]

That one totally is real. Okay, like, I don't know, but that listen exactly like real.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah. Sarah, I don't know how much you talk to crypto guys, but boy, were they pulling out all the stops to scam people the last couple years.

[Sarah Levenger]

I do not talk to a lot of crypto guys.

[Chat]

Yeah.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah. So I think that's real.

[Sarah Levenger]

All right.

[Nate Legos]

What was the first one again? Sleep error.

[Sarah Levenger]

39 Stanley cup. 120. 120 bottle of sleep Air and a pet rock.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah, I guess Sleep Air is fake. I think Sleep Bear is fake.

[Sarah Levenger]

I think that's real.

[Nate Legos]

I could see a reason why people.

[Sarah Levenger]

I think it's real specifically because I live in Colorado and we have these strange high altitude compressed air cans that you can buy in every. That's what I'm saying. You stick them over your face and you breathe in the air and then it helps with.

[Casey]

Right.

[Sarah Levenger]

But it's like six bucks. I think this is real.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah, I think the price, like, I think that could be a product. I think the price to value doesn't.

[Sarah Levenger]

Match because, like, how much maybe.

[Nate Legos]

How long are you inhaling it before you go to sleep? I don't know what happened to good old fashioned, just huff and glue, you know?

[Casey]

Jesus.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, I want to say that I'm gonna take a chance to say this.

[Nate Legos]

Totally.

[Casey]

See? I could totally see it blowing up on Tick Tock.

[Sarah Levenger]

Exactly.

[Nate Legos]

You guys don't think anyone tried to knock off The Stanley with a 40 mug?

[Casey]

No, I think a pun. A bunch of people did, but, like, I think that those. I think all the Stanley competitors are like $20, not $40.

[Sarah Levenger]

$40? Yeah, because it was a 39 Stanley cup alternative.

[Casey]

Because the actual Stanley cup is only 50. 55, if I remember correctly. So, like, why.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah, I think it's more expensive now. It's like $80, but yeah. All right. Okay, so what are your final answers here? Because I think. I think. I think this pet rock is not fake. Not real.

[Casey]

I think the Stanley cup thing is fake.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay. All right, so we got answers across the board. I'm going to be wrong. I already know I'm going to be wrong because Nate was. Nate's already seen this. But here we go. Okay, let's find out which one of us is right. Casey's going to win because he's already got two points. Here we go.

[Chat]

Final answer for round three. The fake viral product is the $120 sleep air from the Swiss Alps. The $39 Stanley cup alternative is real. It flopped because people perceived the cheaper version as low quality, proving that undercutting a premium brand doesn't always work. The $180 Pet Rock 2.0 is real. A startup actually relaunched the pet rock concept as a physical rock with an NFT linked digital twin. And unbelievably, it sold out. The truth behind $39 Stanley cup alternative.

[Nate Legos]

Then went to zero brand attempted to.

[Chat]

Cash in on the Stanley cup craze by making a cheaper $39 alternative. Customers weren't interested because the Stanley brand itself is part of the appeal, not just the tumbler.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, so, yeah, apparently $120 bottle sleeper. This is the interesting part. I'm like, 200 for unlimited socks. That can't be real. But that's a real thing. 120 bottle of sleep air. That can't be a real thing. Dang. Okay, well, I did. I lost all of those Rounds. Did I win the last one? I think I won the hundred million dollar competition that challenge.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah, you did.

[Sarah Levenger]

But you. I think you and Casey tied. Is that right?

[Nate Legos]

Let's go, Casey. Yeah, take that, Sarah.

[Sarah Levenger]

Wow. We do have a bonus round if you guys want to do the bonus round.

[Casey]

I mean, Nate.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah. Just. Just bonus round.

[Chat]

Who nailed it? Price increases that worked or flopped Rules. I'll present three real brands that raise their prices. Nate and Casey must guess. Did the price increase help sales or did it backfire? I'll reveal the real outcome and the psychology behind why it worked. Or failed. Product number one, Patagonia's price hike on jackets. Patagonia raised the price of its bestselling nanopuff jacket from $199. $229. The company justified it by saying production costs increased and they were also doubling down on sustainability. Did sales go up or down after the price increase? Your guess. Product number two, instant ramen goes premium. A DTC ramen brand raised its instant noodle price from $9 per pack. $15 per pack. They rebranded as gourmet chef inspired Ramen using influencer marketing and premium packaging. Did sales go up or down after the price increase? Product number three, Tesla's price surge on Model Y. Tesla increased the price of its Model Y SUV by $6,000 overnight. Elon Musk said demand was too high, so they needed to adjust accordingly. Did sales go up or down after the price increase? Your guess?

[Nate Legos]

All three are real. Real if sales went up or down.

[Sarah Levenger]

If sales went up or down. So product number one was Patagonia's price price hike on jackets. It increased from 199 to 229. And they justified it with production cost. Product number two was Instant Ramen. They went from $9 to $15. The justification was they are a gourmet chef inspired ramen. And product number three was Tesla. That increased by $6,000 overnight due to too high of a demand. Oh, so sad. Demand is too high. We gotta raise price. Do toots be like you guys are.

[Nate Legos]

In a Tesla family then, huh?

[Sarah Levenger]

We are not. We are not currently. Currently. I mean, we could, I guess, in the future. All right, so product number one, Patagonia. What do you guys think? They increased from 199 to 229. Did sales go up or down after this?

[Nate Legos]

I think down.

[Casey]

I think up, Up.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, good. Product number two, instant ramen, from $9 to 15.

[Chat]

Sales.

[Sarah Levenger]

Up or down?

[Casey]

Down.

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, I'm bad.

[Nate Legos]

We're guys in opposites.

[Sarah Levenger]

Number three. Tesla's price surge sales go up or down? Oh, okay. All right.

[Casey]

We are literally exactly opposite.

[Nate Legos]

Let's find out.

[Sarah Levenger]

Let's see what they said. I don't, I don't remember anything you guys said, so I have mine written down. Okay, good.

[Nate Legos]

I went down. Up, up.

[Chat]

Final answers. Who nailed it? Product number one. Patagonia's price hike on jacket sales went up when Patagonia raised its nano puff jacket price from 199, $229. Demand remains strong because brand loyalty is high. Patagonia customers value sustainability and quality over price. Higher price equals higher perceived value. Some customers saw the price increase as proof of better craftsmanship. Price sensitive shoppers weren't Patagonia's target anyway. Lesson. Premium brands can raise prices if they justify it with quality values or scarcity. If customers believe in the mission, they'll. They'll pay more. Who got this right? Nate or Casey? Product number two, Instant Ramen goes. Premium sales went down when the DTC Ramen brand raised its price from $9, $15 per pack. Per pack. Demand dropped because consumers have a price ceiling for everyday foods. People couldn't justify paying $15 for something they mentally anchor to cheap food. The brand failed to create enough prestige to support the increase. Some categories have a hard pricing cap. Instant Ramen has a budget friendly identity. If you're raising prices, you have to redefine the category, not just slap on a premium price. Who guessed right? Nader, Casey. Product 3. Tesla's price surge on Model Y sales went up. Tesla raised Model y prices by $6,000 overnight and demand actually increased. Scarcity mindset kicked in. People rushed to buy before the price went even higher. Tesla buyers see the brand as a status symbol. Musk's high demand messaging made buyers feel like they were getting an exclusive product. If a brand is already seen as exclusive, a price hike can increase desire. Scarcity drives urgency. People don't want to miss out. Who got this one right? Nader, Casey, final score. Who nailed it? Who won the bonus round?

[Sarah Levenger]

Okay, calm down, Chad. He's really excited to see who won. Okay, I have not calculated any of our scores.

[Casey]

So Casey won, Casey won Patagonia and thing, right?

[Nate Legos]

If that's not a reason for the marketers listening to this to go talk to your customers. Clearly the marketers here have no clue what's going on. Talk to consumers.

[Sarah Levenger]

Talk to the consumers. 100%. I think this is a great place to end the show. But this goes to show you, for very savvy consumers, I would consider Casey a Very savvy consumer because he does a lot of research and he's just interested in these companies. Like, I don't know how Chat did this, but he chose a lot of brands that Kasey already follows. So this is just interesting to see the differences between what we think as marketers and what the consumers know as consumers.

[Nate Legos]

Yeah, well, and just like how we all just have our very unique experiences with it. Like. Casey, are you a Patagonia guy?

[Casey]

My ski jacket and pants are Patagonia, but I don't have like a bunch of Patagonia stuff.

[Nate Legos]

See, like I, I sit down on that one because I feel like I never see their stuff anymore. But I think eight years ago they were everywhere.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yeah, like big, big, big brand that Patagonia and North Face I think are.

[Casey]

Both brands that more competition in that space now.

[Sarah Levenger]

So. Okay, final takeaway for all of this price stuff. Very, very important, I think to recognize that like some of the things that we think consumers care about or some of the things that like we're going to just test this in a pricing war basically doesn't really matter in the least bit. The other thing that I noticed is all of these brands have high prices. This was like a ton of really expensive stuff. Premium products that worked like a friggin. What was the first one that we did? The water bottle. That was like $200. I thought, no way. There's no way consumers are going to purchase that. They do.

[Nate Legos]

They do. So we have tested prices so much in the last couple of years and like depending on the watch, depending on the content we have for it, depending on the copy we have for it. Like there are watches that have gone up from 200 to 300 bucks in price, which is a 50% increase. There are watches that have come down from 300 to 200. They're watches that have landed somewhere in the middle. But like every time we test a new image or a new piece of copy on our website that increases our aov, we that like we trigger a price test on that. So like that new content that we just launched, that's 100 year concept that communicates like the value and the time that went into building this watch. By the way, Casey, the watch we sent you has 100 years of history. Don't know if you know that oak tree now, you know, and then turned into a whiskey barrel. So it's actually pretty cool. So take off the Omega. But it's like that copy increased our conversion rate and our aov. I will now go and test the prices of those watches again, because it's like, yeah, we got to find price market fit. But also if we just find a better way of communicating the value and then throw a higher price on it, conversion rate might hold.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yes. And we never question for you, are you going to match the price to this century hundred year anchor? Meaning are you going to bump it to a thousand dollars?

[Nate Legos]

No, we can't go that far. We could build a watch into that.

[Sarah Levenger]

Yes. Build one watch that's like a thousand plus because then your, your century like mechanism will become the anchor. A hundred. Like 100 of anything.

[Nate Legos]

A thousand. Yeah.

[Sarah Levenger]

Where can people find you Consumer Casey if they want to follow all the.

[Casey]

Stuff at Consumer Casey on Instagram and. But I have. I do I have one post or no posts? I can't.

[Sarah Levenger]

I think. I think you have one.

[Casey]

I have one post.

[Sarah Levenger]

If anybody at DTC wants to send product to consumer Casey to see what he thinks of it, we'll review it on this show. So just different products. Nate, marketer Nate, while he's turning those on, where can people find you if they want to follow what you're doing.

[Nate Legos]

At nade Legos on Twitter? Or you can listen to the Tactical and practical podcast wherever, wherever you get your podcast. Sarah, you're on both episodes this week.

[Sarah Levenger]

I was. It was so lovely. It was great too because I feel like we nailed some messaging and I, I think everybody should go over there and listen to that episode because, like, it works. Yeah.

[Nate Legos]

Turns out when it's based on real research and not our dumb ideas, then, then it works out.

[Sarah Levenger]

Turns out it actually works. Follow me at Sarah Lenger Everywhere you get your podcasts and anywhere you consume content these days. Also check out at tetherinsights IO. I just told Nate about a whole research panel that we just ran for a DSP brand that found some absolutely insane stats. I can't tell you the crazy stuff we're doing over there. Figuring out all kinds of weird ways that consumers are interacting with brands. What they want emotionally, what they're wanting from a psychological standpoint so that you can boost your sales and cut costs across the board. Because that's what we're focused on in 2025. Otherwise. Thanks for joining today, people. This was fun.

[Chat]

Brain Driven Brands is part of the Learn and Laugh series on the Quickfire Podcast Network and is presented by Tether Insights. For more information, go to tetherinsights IO.