# Episode 243: I'm With The Brand (we, the customers), part five

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/clotheshorse-with-amanda-lee-mccarty-154275/episode-243-i-m-with-the-brand-we-the-customers-part-five
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/clotheshorse-with-amanda-lee-mccarty-154275/episode-243-i-m-with-the-brand-we-the-customers-part-five.md
Podcast: [Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty](https://stenobird.com/podcast/clotheshorse-with-amanda-lee-mccarty-154275)
Published: 2025-09-18T21:49:54+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/a22a5298
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/pdst.fm/e/media.transistor.fm/a22a5298/011457c2.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/clotheshorse-with-amanda-lee-mccarty-154275/episodes/episode-243-i-m-with-the-brand-we-the-customers-part-five
Duration seconds: 7941

## Resource

This episode is part five in an ongoing series about brands and how they influence our identities and drive consumerism. In this episode, we will unpack how brands use customer information to create that emotional connection: A nostalgic trip back to the 00s: the rise and fall of Urban Outfitters’ “coolness", and what it revealed about aspirational vs. actual customers. Why brands claim to be “obsessed with the customer,” yet often misunderstand who’s really shopping with them. The shift from emotional branding to data-driven surveillance marketing and how companies now know us better than we know ourselves. Very special guest Kim Christenson (aka Amanda's cohost of The Department) joins us to explain how digital marketing, social media, and algorithms shape what we buy. A deep dive into “surveillance pricing” and how brands adjust prices just for you (and no, that's not a good thing). And so much more!! Additional reading: "Hotel booking sites show higher prices to travelers from Bay Area," Keith A. Spencer, SFGate. FTC Surveillance Pricing Study Indicates Wide Range of Personal Data Used to Set Individualized Consumer Prices "On Orbitz, Mac Users Steered to Pricier Hotels," Dana Mattioli, Wall Street Journal. "Businesses can use your online data to overcharge you. What can customers do?" Adrian Ma, NPR. ALSO: get your tickets for Clotheshorse LIVE! 10/23 Seattle, WA @ Here-After 10/26 Portland, OR @ Holocene Get your Clotheshorse merch here: https://clotheshorsepodcast.com/shop/ If you want to share your opinion/additional thoughts on the subjects we cover in each episode, feel free to email, whether it’s a typed out message or an audio recording: amanda@clotheshorse.world Did you enjoy this episode? Consider "buying me a coffee" via Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/clotheshorse Clo…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/clotheshorse-with-amanda-lee-mccarty-154275/episodes/episode-243-i-m-with-the-brand-we-the-customers-part-five/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/clotheshorse-with-amanda-lee-mccarty-154275/episode-243-i-m-with-the-brand-we-the-customers-part-five.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.