The Marketing Architects

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...

Forrester predicts “experience with generative AI” will be written into 20% of new CMO job descriptions next year. They also say brand purpose is out of style and highly practical, results-driven campaigns will soon be in vogue. In this wrap-up episode for the year, Elena, Angela, and Rob are sharing their own predictions for the biggest marketing trends in 2024. From a focus on effectiveness to t...

QR codes achieved mainstream status in 2020. But they're more than just a pandemic fad. In 2022, 83 million US smartphone users scanned the codes. And 3 in 4 consumers say they plan to scan the codes in the future. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Associate Director of Product Optimization Tilly DeNardo to talk about the future of QR codes in TV advertising. The team dives into Mark...

82% of ANA members say their company has an in-house agency. And now generative AI threatens specialized digital agencies. What does the future of ad agencies look like? Do they have a future at all? This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by SVP Client Growth Dhiren Khemlani to discuss the pros and cons of in-housing, the impact of AI on agencies, and the importance of remaining agile and ad...

Only 22% of CMOs feel they have a collaborative relationship with their CFO. And only 39% of financial directors have confidence their marketing team will make smart commercial decisions. The numbers, well, aren’t great. To uncover the reason for this disconnect, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by CFO Brent Longval. Together, they explore why marketing and finance can end up at opposite ends of...

This summer, consumers dug into their wallets to attend concerts, watch movies in theaters, and enjoy sporting events in person. But as economic concerns grow, can the summer’s spending keep up for retailers’ crucial holiday sales season? This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Strategy Director Kyle Lewis to discuss the trends retailers can expect during the holiday shopping season and ho...

Do digital ads have your attention, really? What about your audience’s attention? Marketers have shifted from traditional channels to digital ones—but the long-term returns of TV, radio, and print have been difficult to replicate. According to Data2Decisions and DDB, digital attribution techniques overestimate the business effects of search by a factor of two and underestimate the impact of TV by...

In 2023, Google will rake in $57 billion from search. Their dominance in the market has left marketers heavily dependent on Google’s platform even as prices rise, making it both necessary for success online... and a massive headache. This week, Elena and Rob are joined by Director of Analytics Jordan Rossler to discuss how marketers can improve the effectiveness of their SEM investment—while reduc...

Despite a surplus of data and advanced targeting capabilities, marketers aren't targeting as well as we think we are. And it’s hurting performance. IJRM recently found many targeted campaigns have to double their click-through rate to outperform untargeted ones. Another study from Truthset discovered nearly half of data used for ad targeting is incorrect. So is targeting really what marketers have...

Despite a heightened focus on growth, businesses frequently sideline creativity. Even though unconventional thinking is exactly what’s needed to reach new levels of success. Demand for chief creative officers has declined by 4% since 2018. And marketing roles increasingly prioritize analytical skills over creative talent. This week, Rob and Elena are joined by Chief Creative Officer Steve Babcock...

How do you defend marketing’s value through economic changes, a narrowing focus on ROI, and changing ideas about how to build a memorable brand? This week, Elena and Angela are joined by Mary Kyriakidi, Global Thought Leader at Kantar. Mary is the author of Kantar’s evidence-based report “Modern Marketing Dilemmas” which explores some of the most contentious and widely debated topics in marketing...

Connected TV. Podcasts. TikTok. Even virtual reality. They all offer advertisers new opportunities to reach potential customers. But emerging channels are inherently risky. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob dig into eMarketer’s report on the mismatch between the channels consumers spend time with and those marketers invest in most. They also explain why that mismatch can sometimes be the right dec...

The term "marketing effectiveness" has gained attention lately, but what does it really mean? And what’s stopping marketers from developing truly effective work? The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) recently investigated this exact question with a survey of more than 300 marketers. This week, Angela, Rob, and Elena are breaking down the definition of marketing effectiveness, discussing the fi...

Marketers have been overwhelmed with lessons from the success of the Barbie movie’s marketing strategy. But those lessons only go so far if you don’t have a 150-million-dollar budget to spend. This week, Rob, Angela, and Elena explore why Barbie’s marketing was so successful and how other marketers could replicate the principles of Barbie’s strategy with smaller budgets. They’re discussing categor...

Research from System1 and Pinterest found that digital ads rated highly for emotion resulted in a staggering 90% average increase in brand favorability. And this isn’t the first time research has proven emotion’s effects on ad performance. The IPA reports that 43% of emotional ad campaigns lead to very large business effects across sales, market share, loyalty and new customers, compared to only 2...

Nearly half of marketers believe senior stakeholders focus too much on ROI. Because while it’s the top metric the C-Suite cares about, ROI alone doesn’t show marketing’s full impact. Proving marketing’s value to the business isn’t a new challenge. But it is a persistent one. This week, Elena and Angela are joined by John Wojcik, VP New Business and Solution Development at Brother USA and former CM...

Based on an analysis of 2,500 B2B ads, one thing is very clear: B2B needs a new creative formula, one that’s actually effective. This week, Ty Heath, Director of Market Engagement at The B2B Institute, a think tank funded by LinkedIn, joins Angela, Rob, and Elena to talk about why B2B advertising struggles with creative effectiveness. They cover why marketing to businesses is still marketing to pe...