Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads

"Family owned since 1987. Award-winning technicians. Call now for your free estimate." That ad has cost the trades more money than any recession ever did. Because the customer in a 94-degree house at midnight doesn't care about your award. She cares about one thing: the AC doesn't cool. In the finale of this 4-part series, Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Charlie Moger break down the single most e...

A cow eating grass beat half the ads in the world. That's not a joke. It's the research. And it means most ads (including yours) are paying a tax for being forgettable. Charlie Moger calls it the attention tax. $12 million more to match the result a creative ad delivers for free. Roy breaks down why 80% of ads barely register and why nobody takes the risk. They unpack Gallery Furniture's $200M bui...

Every brand has a soul that should never move — and a story that should never stop moving. Most owners either change everything or change nothing. Both kill the brand. Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Charlie Moger go deep on long-term brand evolution. Roy opens at the North Star — the thing about your brand that never moves. Charlie names the rule: principles don't change, tactics do. Roy tells t...

Your radio sounds like one company. Your Facebook ads sound like another. Your PPC team is off the rails. Everyone claims victory. You wonder why the phone isn't ringing. The problem isn't tactics. Nobody is conducting the orchestra. Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Charlie Moger (a Wizard of Ads partner with 120+ trophies) break down what Charlie calls funnel coherence. Each channel has its own j...

Your marketing company is reporting blended data. It looks fine. But when you separate branded search from unbranded search, the numbers tell a very different story. Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Jake Williams close out this 4-part miniseries by pulling apart the data most marketing companies don't want you to see. One real company, three cities, same week — branded keywords generated $49,400 i...

Many businesses believe their marketing success depends on targeting the right audience. But the real driver of results is something far more controllable...and far more powerful. Creative quality. In this episode, Roy H. Williams, Todd Liles, and Jake Williams break down why emotional, consistent, and fluent creative has a dramatically greater impact on advertising performance than targeting ever...

If your marketing feels inconsistent, unpredictable, or fragile… It may not be a media problem. It may be an alignment problem. In this episode, Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Jake Williams explore why branding fails when media, technician training, and daily operations are not marshaled toward the same reputation. This episode breaks down: • Brand priming as gravity • The Chickening Out Period...

A lot of business owners think they have three marketing problems: • Too few leads • Too expensive leads • Low-quality leads But that's not the real issue. In this episode, Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Jake Williams uncover the hidden fourth problem most contractors never consider: You don't own the relationship. If your business depends entirely on pay-per-click and performance marketing, you...

"Remarkable" is one of the most misunderstood words in business. It does not mean flashy. It does not mean viral. It does not mean loud. It means worth remarking about. In this episode, Roy H. Williams unpacks how brands are formed in the mind — not in the marketplace — and why familiarity, consistency, and memory are the true engines of long-term growth. You'll hear: Why people trust what feels f...

Most advertising decisions aren't made consciously. They're shaped by how success is measured. In this episode of Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads , Todd Liles and Roy H. Williams focus on a single principle that explains why so many smart businesses make bad advertising decisions: How you measure success quietly shapes every decision that follows. Short-term metrics reward urgency. They push busi...

Most businesses don't lose trust because they lie. They lose trust because they speak in generalities. In this episode of Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads , Todd and Roy focus on a single principle that shows up everywhere once you see it clearly: People believe what they can picture. Specific language creates belief. Vague language creates distance. This conversation breaks down why general state...

Advertising isn't a test of logic—it's a battle for memory. In this episode, Todd Liles sits down with Roy H. Williams, the Wizard of Ads, to dismantle one of the most expensive mistakes business owners make: trying to be "clear" by over-explaining. If your audience has to think too hard to understand your message, they've already forgotten you. We dive into the difference between "Porcupine" ads...

Most businesses don't fail because they spend too little on advertising. They fail because they spend without discipline . In this episode of Todd Liles & The Wizard of Ads , Todd Liles and Roy H. Williams dismantle one of the most dangerous myths in marketing: that bigger budgets automatically win. They explain why spreading money across too many channels kills momentum, why repetition matters mo...

Most advertisers believe clarity is enough. They explain it well. Show the facts. Make it logical. And yet…the ads that win don't do any of that first. In this episode of Todd Liles & The Wizard of Ads, Todd and Roy break down a truth every marketer eventually learns the hard way: People don't decide with logic. They decide with emotion — and then use logic to justify it. They unpack: Why emotiona...

Most brands don't fail because they lack talent. They fail because they're afraid to draw a line. In this episode of Todd Liles & The Wizard of Ads , Todd and Roy unpack a hard truth most businesses avoid: If your message is designed to offend no one, it will move no one. This conversation breaks down: Why "playing it safe" is actually risky How brands disappear by chasing approval Why advertising...

Persuasion and manipulation can look identical from the outside. Same words. Same tone. Same delivery. So what's the real difference? In this episode of Todd Liles & The Wizard of Ads , Todd and Roy break down the hidden psychology behind influence — and reveal why intent is what separates ethical persuasion from manipulation. Roy explains how perception shapes reality, why people argue personal p...

You can't engineer virality...but you can create something so meaningful that people see themselves inside it. In this episode of Todd Liles & The Wizard of Ads, Brian Brushwood reveals the real reason ideas spread:  Great content doesn't make the creator look smart… it makes the viewer feel transformed. Drawing from decades of storytelling, magic, viral experimentation, and behavioral psychology,...

Artificial intelligence can write, draw, replicate, and remix. But can it create ? Can it feel? Can it speak to the human heart? In this episode of Todd Liles & The Wizard of Ads , Brian Brushwood joins Todd and Roy to explore one of the biggest questions of our time: What happens to creativity when machines can do the work of artists… faster than ever? This is not a technical conversation about A...

Most business owners want more sales. But magician Brian Brushwood says they're skipping the most important step:  attention. In Part 2 of this 4-part series, Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Brian Brushwood break down the real currencies of influence — story, attention, and sales — and why almost every business fails by trying to jump straight to the sale. Brian reveals how street magic taught hi...

How do you guide attention without crossing the line into manipulation? In this episode of Todd Liles & The Wizard of Ads, Todd and Roy sit down with magician and storyteller Brian Brushwood to explore the shared psychology between magic, marketing, and trust. They unpack how the best communicators direct attention ethically — using story, empathy, and timing, not tricks. You'll learn: Why "there'...

Every great company wants to charge what they're worth. But in the pursuit of profit, some forget that price must be earned, not assumed. In this episode of The Wizard of Ads , Todd Liles and Roy H. Williams unpack the truth about raising prices the right way —when confidence is justified, and when it turns into arrogance. They reveal: How to know when your service truly deserves a higher price Wh...

Most people talk in generalities. But specifics (real, vivid details) are what make people believe you. In this episode of Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads, Todd and Roy H. Williams unpack how specific words create persuasion, trust, and emotional connection. From Tolstoy's "glint of light on broken glass" to Apple's "Shot on iPhone" campaign, they reveal why clarity and courage are the most persu...

What makes a message unforgettable? In this episode of Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads , Todd and Roy break down one of the most powerful lessons in advertising: It's not what you say — it's what you leave out. From the porcupine vs. rhinoceros analogy to lessons from Procter & Gamble, Chanel No. 5, and Kessler's Jewelers, you'll learn why focus beats volume, and how simplicity can make your mess...

Most business owners make one fatal mistake in their marketing — they talk about themselves instead of their customers. In this episode of Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads , Todd and Roy H. Williams break down why the most powerful ads are written in second person ("you" and "your"), not "we" or "our." You'll learn how empathy, perspective, and storytelling turn ordinary advertising into unforgett...

Why do stories sell when facts don't? Because humans are hardwired for stories — not statistics. In this episode of Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads , Todd and Roy H. Williams uncover the psychology behind storytelling and why the most successful brands build their message around human emotion, not just logic. You'll learn: Why stories build trust faster than any sales pitch How myths, archetypes,...