Season 5 Rewind: Zero-Sum Thinking in Risk and Luxury Branding| Behavioral Economics in Marketing Podcast | Season 10 - In Review

This special teaser episode of Behavioral Economics in Marketing revisits the powerful and deeply personal Season 5: Lessons from the Fire — a series born from the devastating Colorado wildfire that changed my life and inspired new ways to see decision-making, risk, and resilience through the lens of behavioral economics.

We highlight two of the most compelling episodes from that season:

• Zero Sum Games and Insurance — where we unpack why insurance, while rooted in zero-sum logic, plays such a vital role in managing risk and restoring peace of mind.

• Social Status and Zero-Sum Branding: Why Luxury Thrives on Exclusion — a fresh companion episode exploring how brands like Hermès and Supreme tap into scarcity and status to drive aspirational behavior and exclusivity.

This teaser sets up a deep dive into how zero-sum thinking influences both consumer behavior and marketing strategy — whether it’s about protecting your future or elevating your image.

🎧 Tune in for an emotional and analytical look at how we assign value, manage risk, and compete for status — and how marketers can ethically and effectively tap into these core drivers of human behavior.

Behavioral Economics in Marketing Podcast | Understanding how we as humans make decisions is an important part of marketing. Behavioral economics is the study of decision-making and can give keen insight into buyer behavior and help to shape your marketing mix. Marketers can tap into Behavioral Economics to create environments that nudge people towards their products and services, to conduct better market research and analyze their marketing mix.

Sandra Thomas-Comenole | Host | Marketing professional with over 15 years of experience leading marketing and sales teams and a rigorously quantitative Master’s degree in economics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.