The Brand Marketing Show

"If I could just crack Meta, I'd be able to scale." I hear a version of this almost every week – and it's almost always wrong. In this episode of The Brand Marketing Show, I make the case that growing a premium brand was never about pulling one lever. It's a whole system, and it fails quietly in several small places at once. I walk through the small silent leaks that hide behind healthy-looking numbers, the "wrong machine" problem (and why I'd have gone broke marketing my first business the way Huggies markets nappies), and the most expensive thing in your business – which isn't your ad spend. You'll leave with a better question than "what's the one thing," and a practical way to find the one constraint actually holding your brand back.  Find this episode and more at https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/episode-326/ ecommerce marketing, premium brand marketing, how to scale ecommerce, product based business, marketing podcast, conversion rate, customer research, small business Australia  

Your best customer runs a quiet background check on your brand before she'll pay full price – and if one thing comes back weak, she doesn't tell you. She just buys the cheaper option, or waits for your next sale. In this episode, Catherine Langman breaks down the four foundations that decide whether a premium brand scales or stalls – a point of difference that's hard to replicate, a point of view worth having, a genuine purpose, and a premium pricing strategy – plus the fifth element that holds them all together. Featuring what On and Hoka understood that Nike forgot, and a candid look at Catherine's own brand, Indagare. If your growth has plateaued, one of these foundations is likely the reason. Book a Brand Growth Strategy Session at productpreneurmarketing.com to find out which. Subscribe for weekly episodes on building premium eCommerce brands that don't compete on price. Show Notes: https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/episode-325/ TAGS premium brand strategy, ecommerce marketing, brand building, premium pricing, point of difference, brand positioning, considered buyer, Catherine Langman, The Brand Marketing Show  

  You don't get to decide if your brand is premium – your customer does. In this episode of The Brand Marketing Show, Catherine Langman unpacks how the premium verdict is actually reached: why "different and better" both have to be true, why heritage can beat innovation, why the same product can be premium to one buyer and overpriced to another, and the most expensive mistake founders make when they try to "become premium" by charging more. Plus: why the storytelling in your marketing is an asset worth investing in – not an expensive chore – and what actually attracts the considered buyer a premium brand is built for. For premium eCommerce founders who know they're different and better – but need the market to reach the verdict. Book a Brand Growth Strategy Session: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk Listen to The Brand Marketing Show:   https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/episode-324/ premium brand, what makes a brand premium, premium vs luxury, brand positioning, ecommerce marketing, brand strategy, customer perception, premium ecommerce

68% of the orders in a typical sale come from customers who would have paid full price anyway. That's one of the findings from a major new dataset by Klaviyo and ProfitPeak, and it's the starting point for this episode on why discounting as your whole strategy is structurally worse for premium, considered brands, and what generous, brand building alternatives actually work. Catherine covers why the heaviest discounters grow the least, why the "we have to discount" excuse doesn't hold up, how a constant sale quietly retrains your best customer to wait, and the one distinction that lets premium brands stay generous without devaluing: rewarding a behaviour versus discounting a product. She uses one of her own Indagare skincare sets as a worked example, and is honest about what it takes to pivot away from a discount habit.   www.productpreneurmarketing.com/episode-323 Book a Brand Growth Strategy Session: productpreneurmarketing.com  

Two founders. Opposite problems. The exact same fix. One spent five hours on a single Reel that disappeared by Thursday. The other pulled right back to 'sign of life' posts while she worked out a pivot. In this episode of The Brand Marketing Show, Catherine Langman unpacks why posting and hoping works when your brand is new and then plateaus, why effort stops being the lever (using the gym analogy of newbie gains), and the fix almost everyone mishears – building content that compounds instead of evaporating, with social rebuilt as searchable discovery. Plus the posture that keeps brands growing: a beginner's mind, and the willingness to struggle. Book a Brand Growth Strategy Session:  https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/episode-322 TAGS ecommerce marketing, premium brands, content strategy, brand building, search everywhere optimisation, content that compounds, ecommerce australia, marketing for product brands, founder led brands, instagram strategy, social media strategy, podcast  

Catherine Langman spent two weeks shopping the end-of-financial-year sales as her own ideal customer – and clicked plenty of ads that never made the sale. This episode is a live case study of how premium buyers actually shop in 2026: clicking the ad, then validating across reviews, Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, friends and Google's AI. Inside: query fan-out and how AI search turns one question into nine or ten searches across every platform, why the brands that win aren't the ones with the best ads, why breaking your quality promise makes you a sub-query you fail, and the two moves premium brands need to survive – ask your customers the right questions, then publish the answers everywhere. Move one – the Customer Intelligence Survey playbook: https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/customer-intelligence-survey Move two – the Search Everywhere Optimisation playbook: https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/search-everywhere-optimisation      

Your revenue dips, your first instinct is to blame the ads – and for premium brands, that instinct is often wrong. When Meta and Google soften at the same time with clean changelogs, the problem usually isn't the platform. It's the market. In this episode, Catherine Langman explains how Australia's interest-rate and cost-of-living environment hits the premium, mortgage-belt buyer first and hardest, how to tell a macro demand wobble from a genuine ad problem, and why panic-fixing a system that was never broken turns a two-week dip into a two-month crisis. Book a Brand Growth Strategy Session: https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk  

Four conversations with four premium brand founders this week all traced back to the same advice from a big group coaching program: chase the angle with the most mass appeal. For a premium brand, that advice isn't a growth lever – it's a slow dismantling. In this episode, Catherine Langman unpacks why mass appeal attracts the wrong customer, trains the algorithm against you, and repels the buyer who'd happily pay full price – plus why the big programs keep giving the same advice, and the brand that runs zero sales ads on Meta on purpose and grows anyway. Book a Brand Growth Strategy Session: https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk Tags: premium brand marketing, ecommerce marketing, premium ecommerce, brand strategy, meta ads, facebook ads, premium positioning, considered purchase, ecommerce australia, the brand marketing show, customer acquisition, brand building

In one month, Catherine's skincare brand Indagare brought in 597 new customers – and it was one of the worst months the business had. In this episode of The Brand Marketing Show, Catherine opens her own books to explain why, and what it reveals about premium positioning for eCommerce brands. Premium isn't a price point. It's a posture. Catherine breaks down the most expensive misunderstanding in eCommerce – that going premium just means switching off the discounts – and walks through the actual figures from a near-controlled experiment: the same brand, same products and same year, run two completely different ways. You'll hear why average order value climbed almost 50 per cent, why month-one retention more than doubled, and the metric the marketing industry profits from you ignoring. Work with us  https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com The podcast  https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/podcast/  

Twenty-one years ago, heavily pregnant and launching her first business from her kitchen table, Catherine Langman's old boss told her she'd never be successful working from home. In this personal episode of The Brand Marketing Show, Catherine shares the sliding doors moment that followed, and the honest truth about what actually made her first business work – because it wasn't determination alone. It's a story about proof, expertise and mentorship, and about a quiet decision facing premium brand founders today.   Chapters 00:00 Cold open 01:30 The corporate job and the second pregnancy 05:00 Spotting the gap: how Cushie Tushies started 08:00 The comment that became my sliding doors moment 11:00 The honest truth about why it worked 15:00 What my old boss got wrong (and accidentally right) 17:30 Your sliding doors moment 19:30 Close   Free resources The Marketing Reset Kit for Premium Ecommerce Brands: https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/reset Book a Brand Growth Strategy Session: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk   About The Brand Marketing Show A weekly podcast for premium ecommerce founders who want to build brands that compound rather than chase platform updates. Hosted by Catherine Langman of Productpreneur Marketing. Website: productpreneurmarketing.com  

In early March 2026, Meta restructured its entire attribution model – and the change has disproportionately punished premium ecommerce brands because of the way considered buyers actually shop. In this episode of The Brand Marketing Show, Catherine Langman unpacks what actually happened, why premium brands got hit hardest, why working harder won't fix it, and the strategic foundation shift that lets premium brands stop chasing platform updates and start building on what doesn't change: their customer. Chapters 00:00 Cold open 02:00 What actually happened to Meta in March 06:30 Why premium brands got hit hardest 12:30 The treadmill – why platform change is the pattern 16:00 What doesn't fix this 19:30 What actually works for premium brands now 26:00 How Indagare Beauty is navigating the March change 29:00 Three things you can do this week 31:00 Close Free resources The Marketing Reset Kit for Premium Ecommerce Brands: https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/reset Book a Brand Growth Strategy Session: https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/book-a-brand-growth-strategy-session/ About The Brand Marketing Show A weekly podcast for premium ecommerce founders who want to build brands that compound rather than chase platform updates. Hosted by Catherine Langman of Productpreneur Marketing. Website: productpreneurmarketing.com

You started this business for two reasons. Meaningful work, and more freedom over your time. Somewhere in year two or three, that deal stopped working – you're working harder than you did at your old job, for less money, with less time on the parts of the business you actually love. This episode is about why this happens to almost every premium brand founder, and what actually fixes it. Not a tactical fix. A structural one – the kind that compounds over years to deliver both a better brand and the freedom you originally started for, without selling out everything that makes your brand premium. Amanda from Bell Art shares in her own words what changed for her business, including her biggest revenue month ever in April 2026 while many other premium brands are contracting. → Bell Art case study · https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/case-study-bell-art-from-artists-studio-to-lifestyle-business/  → Brand Growth Strategy Session · https://www.productpreneurmarketing.com/book-a-brand-growth-strategy-session/ Subscribe for weekly episodes on premium eCommerce marketing, brand-led growth strategy, and the structural realities of running a small brand in a year that won't sit still. Chapters 0:00 · The moment you realised the deal stopped working 1:30 · Welcome and framing 3:00 · The founder's deal (and why it stopped working) 7:00 · Why the obvious shortcuts can't deliver 11:00 · The real route to your original deal 16:00 · What the village actually means 20:00 · Amanda from Bell Art on her freedom outcome 24:00 · Wrapping up

Marketing is the hat that doesn't come off. If you're running a premium eCommerce brand and you've been quietly burning out – not from the hours but from the cognitive weight – this episode is for you. We explore three structural properties that make the marketing function qualitatively different from every other hat a founder wears, and why wearing it alone for years is doing measurable damage that no one warns you about. We talk about the Zeigarnik effect, the eternal Mad Hatter tea party, and the structural mismatch between what marketing actually requires and what one founder can sustainably do. The answer isn't a new tactic, a course, or a different ad format. It's structural. This is consumer-psychology-led marketing thinking for premium eCommerce founders who have been carrying the marketing alone for too long. What you'll learn Why the marketing hat is structurally different from every other hat a founder wears The Zeigarnik effect and what it explains about marketing exhaustion Why marketing decisions carry identity stakes that no other business decisions do The structural mismatch between what the marketing function actually requires and what one founder can sustainably do Why the answer isn't a new tactic or course – it's a structural shift How an embedded marketing strategist actually changes the cognitive experience of running a premium brand     Mentioned in this episode Hire a Strategist offer  ·  productpreneurmarketing.com/hire-an-ecommerce-marketing-strategist Brand Growth Diagnostic call  ·  https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk Bell Art case study  ·  productpreneurmarketing.com/case-study-bell-art  

Most premium eCommerce founders I speak to are saying the same thing. "I'm doing everything right – every best practice, every expert recommendation – and it's not working." If that's been the last few quarters in your business, this episode is for you. I'm walking you through three problems stacked on top of each other in premium eCommerce right now. Why Meta and Google's algorithms are structurally biased toward the wrong customer for premium brands. Why the expert advice you've been following is, in many cases, making it worse. And why the founder response – the silver bullet chase, or the more sophisticated trap of looking for an expert who can produce different outcomes without requiring a different approach – keeps you stuck inside the problem. And then we get into the answer: what it actually takes to scale a premium brand profitably on Meta. Custom audience architecture. Bidding logic engineered around lifetime value, not cheapest acquisition. Creative built from real customer intelligence. Organic trust infrastructure feeding the paid layer. Product pages that convert the considered buyer once she finally arrives. If you've recognised yourself anywhere in this episode, the conversation worth having is the one where we look at your specific system. Book a Growth Strategy Session at productpreneurmarketing.com.

This year, the theme of International Women's Day is 'Cracking the code: innovation for a gender equal future'.  Growing up, I was taught to believe that girls and women had an equal right to education and opportunities in the work place. However soon after university and at the start of my career I realised that the reality was not even close to women having equal opportunities. Let's look at the stats for 2022: We still have an over 13% gender pay gap. Meaning, for every $1 a bloke earns, women earn just 87c. Women comprise 51% of the Australian workforce, but represent only: 34.5% of key management positions 32.5% of directors 19.4% of CEOs, only 7% of which are in publicly listed companies 18% of board chairs Two thirds of businesses were started by women over the last 10 years, but men are 3.5x more likely to reach the million dollars a year revenue mark. Not exactly equal right? Today's interview isn't just about tech and code or even about e-commerce. But it is about highlighting the injustices that are still in our everyday lives, as women, even in 2023. And to inspire all of us to remember that as entrepreneurs we can make a difference. And the importance of women supporting women and ensuring we have strong female role models. Today's guest not only talks the talk but she walks the walk. Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk, founder of start up HerTech Path, joins me on the podcast today to talk about the challenges faced within the tech industry and women in general and how her start-up, HerTech is turning that around. Celebrate International Women's Day with us and be inspired by the future with Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-164/ Discover Eva and HerTechPath at: Website www.hertechpath.org Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/hertechpath/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hertechpath/  

This year, the theme of International Women's Day is 'Cracking the code: innovation for a gender equal future'.  Growing up, I was taught to believe that girls and women had an equal right to education and opportunities in the work place. However soon after university and at the start of my career I realised that the reality was not even close to women having equal opportunities. Let's look at the stats for 2022: We still have an over 13% gender pay gap. Meaning, for every $1 a bloke earns, women earn just 87c. Women comprise 51% of the Australian workforce, but represent only: 34.5% of key management positions 32.5% of directors 19.4% of CEOs, only 7% of which are in publicly listed companies 18% of board chairs Two thirds of businesses were started by women over the last 10 years, but men are 3.5x more likely to reach the million dollars a year revenue mark. Not exactly equal right? Today's interview isn't just about tech and code or even about e-commerce. But it is about highlighting the injustices that are still in our everyday lives, as women, even in 2023. And to inspire all of us to remember that as entrepreneurs we can make a difference. And the importance of women supporting women and ensuring we have strong female role models. Today's guest not only talks the talk but she walks the walk. Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk, founder of start up HerTech Path, joins me on the podcast today to talk about the challenges faced within the tech industry and women in general and how her start-up, HerTech is turning that around. Celebrate International Women's Day with us and be inspired by the future with Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-164/ Discover Eva and HerTechPath at: Website www.hertechpath.org Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/hertechpath/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hertechpath/  

I see you Productpreneur.  I see you limping towards the end of 2022, with a tired mind and a tired body.  You know you desperately need a break but you also feel that you need to put in that big last burst of effort and see out 2022 with a bang. But with little left in the tank it's impossible to figure out what to do, let alone how to do it. Having been there and done that for many Decembers and guiding our clients and students through the same exhaustion, I've come up with a strategy for you to consider. To have a much needed break for yourself and your loved ones AND to round out 2022 with a profitable campaign. Today I'm going to share with you: The importance of taking a break over the holiday period  How your creativity can and will return  Why you should consider a Boxing Day campaign And how to make that happen while you're on that all important break! 2023 is going to need us to be refreshed, creative and energetic. So find out how to take that much needed break and be ready for the year ahead. Listen today to discover the strategy that will allow you to see 2022 out with a bang AND take a holiday! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-151/

Today, on my 150th episode of The Productpreneur Success Podcast, I'm going to be talking about one of the most important key behaviour traits for success:  What it is,  How to develop it (because it is something that you can learn and become good at and it won't cost you a dime), and  Why so many people suck at it. Do you remember a time in your life, perhaps as a kid or a teenager, when you learned a big new skill? Something like mastering a musical instrument, or learning a sport like swimming or tennis or whatever you might have played, or learning how to drive.  Or if you're a parent, do you remember watching your kids learn big new skills like walking or talking or reading or writing or learning how to count numbers?  There is one common element to all of those things. One behavioural trait that is the most important ingredient to the successful attainment of all of those very different skills.  And yet, it's the hardest skill for Entrepreneurs to actually develop and is the reason so many business owners get stuck. What to find out what the most important key behaviour trait for success is? Discover the number one important key trait that you need to develop for your success! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-150/  

Today's interview is with friend and client, Malou founder of Baby Loves Sleep. And like myself and so many of you, Malou was inspired to create her first product, a baby sleeping bag, because of a problem she experienced in her own life.   Her son was kinda the opposite of Malou's brand name, because that baby did not like to sleep!    But rather than continue to exist like a sleepless zombie, Malou decided to do something about it and created a sleep suit that was like a miracle cure.   And whilst giving parents and babies the gift of a good night's sleep does sound like the kind of miracle cure that would become an instant hit, and whilst she has gone on to create a thriving business both here in Australia and internationally, it's not like it was all smooth sailing along the way!   So today I welcome her to the show and we're going to talk about the successes she's enjoyed as well as some of the incredibly difficult hurdles she's had to overcome on her journey. Listen to the podcast as Malou shares her incredible journey from sleepless nights to building an international online business.  She's grown from a sleepless mumma to a brand sold around the world and I know you'll be as inspired as I was. Check out the full show notes and links at catherinelangman.com/episode-143

When was the last time you reviewed your product pages? Like many business owners you most likely set up your theme and formatted the product page template, loaded up your products and voila! All your product pages were set up and ready to go and waiting for customers to add to cart. You now spend most of your time creating and implementing strategies to get people to visit your website but are not noticing if people are actually buying from your product pages. And sales are literally slipping through your fingertips! The product page is the most important page on your website and yes, you may have one product page or thousands, but each and every page is your number one salesperson and they need to be ready to actually convert your customers into sales! In today's episode I'm going to talk you through the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page, and show you examples as we go.  So grab your pen and paper and let's get you ready for a successful holiday season with product pages that sell. Listen today and discover the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page to get more sales! Check out the full show notes including the translation and screenshots at catherinelangman.com/episode-142

When was the last time you reviewed your product pages? Like many business owners you most likely set up your theme and formatted the product page template, loaded up your products and voila! All your product pages were set up and ready to go and waiting for customers to add to cart. You now spend most of your time creating and implementing strategies to get people to visit your website but are not noticing if people are actually buying from your product pages. And sales are literally slipping through your fingertips! The product page is the most important page on your website and yes, you may have one product page or thousands, but each and every page is your number one salesperson and they need to be ready to actually convert your customers into sales! In today's episode I'm going to talk you through the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page, and show you examples as we go.  So grab your pen and paper and let's get you ready for a successful holiday season with product pages that sell. Listen today and discover the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page to get more sales! Check out the full show notes including the translation and screenshots at catherinelangman.com/episode-142

Hands up if you've ever heard the phrase "Content is King" when it comes to marketing your brand?  Now, obviously having great content is what makes or breaks your brand's marketing and advertising. But if you're anything like me and many of my clients - you're probably feeling like content creation has become like the beast that needs constant feeding.  We are all operating a content machine these days - and it can be super tempting to just whack up some images and captions 'because you have to' but without putting a whole lot of thought or planning into what you're sharing. So today on the show I'm going to help make this a little bit easier for you. I'm joined by a guest Lauren Schwartz whose entire business is about creating content for ecommerce brands that is engaging and persuasive and helps to sell your products, but without necessarily being super salesy or pushy.  She'll also be talking through the latest trends and how to think differently when creating for TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.  Listen today as Lauren shares her tips on how to stay on top of the ever hungry Content Machine! View the video and full show notes over at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-138