Nerd Alert: When to Admit Your Brand's Mistakes

Nerd Alert: When to Admit Your Brand's Mistakes

September 10, 2026 · 10 min · Episode 124

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of admitting brand mistakes and how they can enhance product appeal.

Welcome to Nerd Alert, a series of special episodes bridging the gap between marketing academia and practitioners. We’re breaking down highly involved, complex research into plain language and takeaways any marketer can use. In this episode, Elena and Rob look at why burying a mistake isn't always the right call. They learn how an honest flaw in a product's story can make it feel rare, one of a kind and worth paying more for. Plus, the two limits every marketer should know before trying it. Topics covered: [02:05] "Made by Mistake: When Mistakes Increase Product Preference" [03:15] The chocolate that people picked over cash [04:05] Why a flaw made a drawing sell for more [04:20] Intentionality bias and the appeal of the improbable [04:45] Mistakes only pay off when you're already skilled [06:00] Fun products versus function, and the $6 eBay premium To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Reich, T., Kupor, D. M., & Smith, R. K. (2018). Made by mistake: When mistakes increase product preference. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(5), 1085–1103. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx089 Get more…

People in this episode

Hosts: Elena, Rob

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Journal of Consumer Research

Books & works: Made by Mistake: When Mistakes Increase Product Preference

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