How Brands Earn Trust When The World Feels Unsafe

Brand and Butter

Brand and Butter
How Brands Earn Trust When The World Feels Unsafe
Jan 25, 2026 Episode 90
Tara Ladd

The mood has changed, and so has the way people buy. In this episode I'm discussing why bold claims and glossy certainty are falling flat, and how clarity, proof, and psychological safety now drive trust in a noisy feed and a fragile news cycle. We dig into tone and timing, the cost of silence, and how values and presence signal care without slipping into performative noise. And, I refer back to brand strategy and consumer psychology, to show how audiences carry wider distrust from institutions into every purchase decision, and why “trust us” energy fails when the world feels volatile. 

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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 Episode Artwork Psychological Blind Spots are Killing Your Business Revenue 25:05 Episode Artwork What makes a Brand DNA YOU-nique 46:16