The Marketing Architects

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. Once upon a time, Elena and Rob decided to explore the meaning of “brand love” and the use of powerful storytelling. They discovered that brands with a strong story create mea...

Can marketers tap into psychology to improve the effectiveness of their work? Well, there’s a reason why Dr. Robert Cialdini’s psychology book Influence is a marketing and sales bestseller. Whether you realize it or not, psychological principles are applied in marketing all the time. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are reviewing the six psychological lessons found in Dr. Cialdini’s classic book....

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 explore why some brand names are better than others. Like how the rhythmic and repetitive sounds of names like Coca-Cola, Kit Kat, and Lululemon...

How much has marketing really changed in the last decade? It might not be as much as you think. This week, Elena and Rob are covering what’s next in marketing, from how younger generations are making new demands of businesses to why it's so hard to keep up with the latest AI developments. But they’re also talking about what doesn’t change. And how marketing for the future is sometimes about focusi...

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 are going back in time... sort of. They’re covering nostalgia, what it is, and why it’s become a common and highly effective tool in advertising...

At any time, only 5% of a B2B company’s potential customers are in-market. That’s a small group. Which means marketing to the other 95% might be pretty important... In this episode, Elena and Angela are joined by Peter Weinberg, former Global Head of Development at The B2B Institute from LinkedIn. They’re talking about the contrarian ideas Peter researched and popularized during his time at Linked...

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 are talking all things TV advertising. There have been plenty of marketers announcing “TV is dead” over the last decade, but what does research...

Is primetime really the “prime” time for TV advertisers? What does research say about subliminal advertising? And is personalization actually worth the effort? In this episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob look at some of the biggest myths and misconceptions in the marketing industry and tackle what research says about each. A word of caution... listening to this episode could challenge deep-rooted beli...

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 discuss a study reviewing behavioral advertising’s impact on consumer welfare, with some surprising results. Hint: behavioral advertising’s not...

The rise of video-driven social platforms. Evolving privacy regulations limiting advertisers’ access to targeting and reporting data. Meta’s dominance finally facing challengers... Social media is changing for good. In this episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob unpack the evolution of social media marketing, influenced heavily by Facebook's introduction of dynamic, algorithm-driven experiences. The conv...

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 our inaugural Nerd Alert episode, Elena and Rob get meta by reviewing research on marketing research. They’re looking at the current state of marketing research and why res...

The old 80/20 rule is simply wrong. The top 20% of buyers actually account for only 50% of sales. So is brand loyalty still the secret to efficient growth or is the smart move to pursue new customers? In this episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob discuss the ongoing debate about whether it’s better to focus on building brand loyalty or driving new customer acquisition. The team reviews studies highlight...

Programmatic advertising is bigger than ever. AI’s transforming media buying. Ad fraud continues to grow. And now, MFA (made for advertising) sites have emerged as top contenders for ad dollars. Clearly, there are a few reasons to be concerned about media quality. In today's episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob are addressing the impact of AI on digital advertising, the rise of made-for-advertising (MF...

Kim Kardashian and Skims. Snoop Dogg’s 'smokeless’ stunt for Solo Brands. And of course, celebrity-packed Super Bowl commercials. What’s the true power of star power in advertising? This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are discussing the benefits (and risks) of using a celebrity to promote your brand. Because while celebrities can drive strong attention to your ad, they typically come with high price...

As a marketer, going all-in on digital can seem like a safe choice. After all, 72% of marketers say digital campaigns are easier to measure than traditional channels. But is digital alone actually what’s most effective? This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by SVP Partnerships Jordan Mauer to discuss the ideal balance for online and offline channels. Jordan’s marketing experience includes w...

It’s hard enough to agree on definitions for “reach” and “frequency.” Consensus on the ideal balance between the two is just about impossible. The internet is undeniably divided over this topic, but Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined this week by VP of Analytics Matt Hultgren to finally settle the debate. Which drives better business results—broadening your audience reach or increasing the number o...

The US might be behind in marketing effectiveness—at least according to Mark Ritson. But why? What does the state of marketing effectiveness and research really look like? This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Dr. Mitch Olsen, marketing professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame, to answer that very question. With rich experience in both the corporate...

The biggest ad platforms are leaning into media mix modeling, even when that means giving other ad channels more credit than their own. Why? Well, MMM might just be making a comeback. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by VP Strategy Dan Cleveland and Director of Analytics Jordan Rossler to talk about all things MMM. They’re digging into the pros and cons of the model, how new tools have...

B2B marketing is behind. Research by BrandFinance shows the top 100 B2B brands have $1 trillion in untapped brand potential... It might just be time for a B2B marketing revolution. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Colin Fleming, EVP Global Marketing at Salesforce. Colin leads a team of more than 600 marketers building Salesforce’s brand and customer base. In this episode, he shares...

Only 15% of brand assets are truly distinctive. And just 19% of logos achieve “gold” status in recognizability according to a study by Ipsos and JKR. So where are things going wrong? This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob talk about what makes assets truly distinctive, the most effective formats for memorability, and whether consistency or creativity plays a larger role in an asset’s success. Plus, qui...

This week, we’re resharing one of our top episodes from the archive. Enjoy, and we’ll be back with new content next week! Brand is far more measurable today than it was even five years ago. So why are we still questioning brand’s value? Maybe because it’s tough to know exactly how to grow brand. Or how to defend its importance to the business. In this episode, Elena, Angela and Rob tackle brand mi...

Last year, CTV ad spend reached a record high of $25 billion, and it’s only continuing to grow. A survey by the IAB found marketers plan to increase CTV spending by 14.5% in 2024—more than any other channel. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by VP Media Catherine Walstad to review everything marketers should know about the potential and pitfalls of Connected TV in the upcoming year. Tog...

Two trends are colliding. First, advertisers are tracking their investments more carefully. Second, traditional marketing metrics are under attack as privacy regulations evolve. One possible solution? Attention. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob discuss the rise and relevance of attention metrics in advertising. From how attention goes beyond visibility to the many ways attention is measured, our...

This week we’re taking time off to spend the holidays with our families so we’re republishing one of our top episodes from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll be back with new content next week. There are more than 130 marketing metrics. But how many really determine marketing effectiveness? Especially for brand-building channels like TV, radio, and print advertising? In this episode, VP of...

It’s a podcast takeover! In a special bonus episode, we’re sharing Elena’s conversation with Marc Binkley and Vassilis Douros of “The Sleeping Barber” and Conor Byrne of “That’s What I Call Marketing.” Together, they review their favorite marketing trends and campaigns of the year, plus what they’re looking forward to for marketers in 2024. The conversation explores Apple’s distinctive brand asset...