Why brand transparency isn’t enough anymore, with David Cousino, Insight Expert

Why brand transparency isn’t enough anymore, with David Cousino, Insight Expert

From The Persuasion Game by Forge

May 5, 2026 · 26 min · Season 1 · Episode 38

About this episode

David Cousino discusses the importance of hyper-transparency in brand marketing as Gen Z becomes the dominant economic power.

“Transparency builds credibility. Hyper-transparency builds trust.” As Gen Z continue their inevitable march towards being the dominant economic power, the way brands market themselves is going to have to shift dramatically. As David Cousino puts it, for them “ transparency directly influences where they're going to spend. If companies don't get their head around this cohort, they're going to be in for a really rough couple of decades.” In this episode, David explains what is meant by hyper-transparency, why honesty increasingly beats perfection, and the crucial role insights teams have to play as we move into this new era. David is Global Head of Business Intelligence and Insight at James Hardie, and has previously held senior roles at AB InBev and Unilever. This topic isn’t one that can be kicked into the long grass any longer, it’s forecast Gen Z will surpass millennials in terms of spending power in less than a decade. Follow us on LinkedIn for updates. Subscribe to The Persuasion Game Newsletter on LinkedIn. Want to know more about us? Visit our website here This is an 18Sixty production for The Forge. CHAPTERS: (00:00) Introduction (03:23) Tech and Gen Z Shift (06:37) New…

People in this episode

Guest: David Cousino

Topics covered

  • brand transparency
  • hyper-transparency
  • Gen Z marketing
  • trust in brands
  • insights teams
  • economic power

Keywords

  • transparency
  • credibility
  • trust
  • marketing
  • insights
  • Gen Z
  • spending power
  • business intelligence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: James Hardie, AB InBev, Unilever, The Forge, The Persuasion Game

Places: Gen Z, millennials, forgemsq.com

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