Tips and tools: Costco’s Kirkland play, CIA elicitation tricks, and what it’s like to be someone else

Published: October 2025

Here are some great resources we have recently shared with one another

(We don’t profit from recommending things. We just love sharing things we think you’ll appreciate. You can see our other Tips and Tools articles here.)

Costco’s Kirkland play (and what it teaches about brand trust)

Kirkland, Costco’s private label, has quietly grown into one of the world’s biggest consumer brands—bigger than Coca-Cola and Nike. But it wasn’t always this way.

This short video on Why Costco went all in on Kirkland—and how it paid off explains the bold strategy behind Kirkland’s growth. Two of the most important decisions weren’t made in a boardroom—they came from leaders walking the floor of their stores and listening closely to customers, Genchi Genbutsu style.

It’s a reminder that customers reward companies that take long-term bets on value and consistency. If you work in product, pricing, or brand strategy, this one’s a masterclass.

The CIA’s subtle art of elicitation

Think about a topic you know well. Now imagine someone at a party makes a statement that’s completely wrong about it. Your instinct might be to correct them, and that’s exactly the reaction elicitation relies on.

This video on elicitation explains how the CIA uses subtle conversation techniques to get people talking without them realizing. It’s not about manipulation, it’s about asking the right open-ended questions and letting human nature do the rest.

Marketers, researchers, and sales teams can learn a lot from this. It’s a fascinating study in the psychology of disclosure.

What it’s like to be… someone else entirely

Red and white name tag graphic on a teal background reading: What It’s Like To Be… with Dan Heath.

For your next podcast walk: What It’s Like To Be… takes you inside unusual professions. Hosted by Dan Heath, you’ll get to meet everyone from prison wardens to aircraft carrier captains, barmen in Dublin to Christmas tree farmers.

It’s a fun listen, but also a gentle reminder for copywriters and marketers: every audience has its own insider language, hopes, and fears. Understanding that context is the key to persuasion.

If you’re new to the podcast, start with the Dublin barman episode, where you’ll discover why the word Craic (pronounced “crack”) is so untranslatable to outsiders.

From the archive: How Apple brilliantly uses a 100‑year‑old persuasion technique

Apple iPhone Air… looking very thin indeed.

Apple’s recent iPhone event reminded us about our article on its marketing… and how effectively it uses a 100-year-old technique to show the quality of its products.**

Read the article: How Apple brilliantly used a 100‑year‑old persuasion strategy.

Is your blue… my blue?

A colour spectrum from blue to green. Includes the words, ‘Your boundary is at hue 175, bluer than 65% of the population. For you, turquoise D is green.’

Ismy.blue is a neat little test that shows you where your boundary is between the colors of green and blue… and what you perceive as each.

Have you come across something worth sharing? If so, let us know. We could include it in a future article.

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