Nerd Alert: What Makes Content Go Viral?

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 how psychological targeting enhances digital marketing performance. Together, they explain how matching ads to audience traits can offer a more personalized—and effective—approach.Topics covered:   [00:45] “Psychological Targeting as an Effective Approach to Digital Mass Persuasion”[01:25] How effective is psychological targeting?[02:55] Targeting social media activity[06:00] Create ads based on personality[07:10] Social media vs. behavioral targeting[09:00] Sending ads by tracing breadcrumbs To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: Matz, Sandra & Kosinski, M. & Nave, Gideon & Stillwell, David. (2017). Psychological targeting as an effective approach to digital mass persuasion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114. 201710966. 10.1073/pnas.1710966114.  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Did you know AI influencers drive more engagement than real humans do? Or that consumers buy less, not more, from your brand the longer they’re a customer? Or why you always buy the large popcorn at the movie theater, even though you’d be happy with a smaller size?This episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob are sharing some of their favorite (and most surprising) research on marketing principles and consumer behavior. Plus, they dig into how marketers should apply these learnings to their own strategies and campaigns. Prepare to have your mind blown!Topics covered:[01:00] The Law of Buyer Moderation[02:30] Why brand loyalty is hard to maintain[06:00] How the decoy effect changes how we think about options[10:00] AI vs human influencers[13:00] Share of voice’s correlation to share of market[16:45] What is the mere exposure effect?[20:15] How LLMs are changing market research  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: 2010 How Brands Grow Book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/01955735602023 MarketingWeek Article: https://www.marketingweek.com/marketing-experts-effective-share-of-voice/2023 Marketing Science Study: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4241291The Decision Lab Article: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/mere-exposure-effect The Decision Lab Article: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/decoy-effect  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 learn about the value of using irrelevant attributes to set your brand apart from competitors. They explore why even meaningless differentiation can positively impact consumer preference and make your brand memorable.  Topics covered:   [01:05] “Meaningful Brands from Meaningless Differentiation: The Dependence of Irrelevant Attributes.”[01:35] The importance of differentiation in marketing[04:15] Consumers value irrelevant attributes[07:10] Advertising’s impact in differentiation[08:40] Differentiation vs. Distinctive branding  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: Meaningful brands from meaningless differentiation: The dependence on irrelevant attributes. Carpenter, Gregory S; Glazer, Rashi; Nakamoto, KentJMR, Journal of Marketing Research; Aug 1994; 31, 3; ABI/INFORM Globalpg. 339 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Connected TV is one of the most popular new marketing channels of 2024. According to eMarketer, CTV ad revenue will reach $28 billion this year. But it’s also one of the most complex and confusing channels. This episode is dedicated to fixing that. Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Director of Advanced TV Marrika Zapiler to break down how CTV works and why it’s attracting so much attention right now. Plus learn how to work around the channel’s complexities to drive performance with CTV campaigns, even as the media landscape continues to change.Topics covered:   [01:00] Connected TV viewership and ad revenue[03:00] How do marketers feel about CTV?[06:00] The history of streaming and CTV[12:30] How is CTV ad inventory purchased?[19:00] How much does CTV advertising cost?[22:00] Targeting options on CTV as the cookie declines[28:30] The importance of testing new channels  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: 2023 Nielsen Report: https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/data-driven-personalization-2023-state-of-play-report/ Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 take a closer look at the impact celebrities have on consumer buying decisions. Plus, they dig into the psychological and biological reasons as to why celebrity endorsements can be so effective.Topics covered:   [00:55] “How Celebrity Status Engaged Direction in Ads Drive Visual Attention to Shape Consumer Decisions” [01:25] Examples of celebrity endorsed products [03:00] Why do celebrity endorsements work? [04:10] Effectiveness is rooted in biology [05:20] Gaze cueing and Gen Z  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: D'Ambrogio, Simone & Werksman, Noah & Platt, Michael & Johnson, Elizabeth. (2022). How celebrity status and gaze direction in ads drive visual attention to shape consumer decisions. Psychology & Marketing. 40. 10.1002/mar.21772.  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Advertising is on its way out. Or so marketing professor Scott Galloway suggested in his recent interview on the Uncensored CMO podcast. We (naturally) found this concerning. So this week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are taking a good, hard look at whether advertising really impacts business growth. They review how much the biggest and most innovative brands in the world really spend on advertising, how advertising connects brands with customers, and why brand storytelling matters. Topics covered:   [01:00] Galloway’s interview with Jon Evans on Uncensored CMO[06:30] Is advertising as powerful as it used to be?[08:30] What happens when you turn off ads?[13:00] Why even great products need to advertise to stand out[17:00] How Apple has used advertising to grow[21:30] The team’s favorite ad campaigns  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: Uncensored CMO Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/scott-galloway-on-the-end-of-the-brand-era/id1486335987?i=1000654133403James Hurman LinkedIn Post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7191932287385587712/ Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 what drives us to click and share online content. Is virality just luck, or is it strategic? Discover how emotions and planning play a part.Topics covered:   [00:50] “What Makes Online Content Viral”[01:25] What makes something go viral?[02:50] Content drives social transmission and virality[05:10] High versus low arousal emotions[06:05] Why positivity is contagious.[09:05] Emotion and content sharing To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: Berger, Jonah & Milkman, Katherine. (2009). What Makes Online Content Viral? Journal of Marketing Research. 49. 10.2139/ssrn.1528077.  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Brace yourselves. This week, we’re covering a highly debated marketing topic: targeting strategy. Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by VP Strategy Dan Cleveland to talk about misconceptions around narrow vs broad targeting, problems with hypertargeting, and how CTV targeting is changing the game for TV advertisers. Plus, hear about a new targeting method Dan created with the help of machine learning, called Smart Targeting. Topics covered:   [01:30] Mark Ritson vs Byron Sharp on targeting[02:30] The cost of broad targeting[08:00] Brand vs performance marketing[12:00] Types of targeting for connected TV[15:45] Targeting on CTV vs digital advertising[17:30] Fees behind third-party targeting[19:30] How machine learning can help solve targeting  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: 2023 MarketingWeek Article: https://www.marketingweek.com/ritson-sgementation-pointless/ Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 revisit the traditional divide between brand and performance marketing. Then, they explore how advertising effectiveness is now being redefined through three dimensions: scale, efficiency, and time. Topics covered:   [01:20] “Profit Ability 2”[02:20] How much has advertising effectiveness changed?[05:10] Brand versus performance[07:50] How big of an effect do your ads have?[08:40] Budget for impact without waste[10:15] Short- and long-term payback To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast Resources: https://www.thinkbox.tv/news-and-opinion/events/the-new-business-case-for-advertisinghttps://assets.ctfassets.net/ptzdhtf6t0jg/1QnN6BTbV16BXEPQojyQEc/57b12e6b4a65150f3fac6bd8c2b7a3df/The_new_business_case_for_advertising_event_slides.pdfhttps://www.warc.com/content/article/Event-Reports/Beyond_brand_vs_performance_The_three_dimensions_of_effectiveness/155612 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Did you know marketers will spend more than $650 billion on online ads this year? Or that a surprisingly massive chunk of this spending will be completely wasted?This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob discuss Bob Hoffman’s recent book, Inside the Black Box, which highlights one of the dark sides of online advertising—ad fraud. As marketers, we all know ad fraud is a problem. But it might be even worse than we thought. Shockingly, WFA says that by 2025, ad fraud may be the second largest source of criminal income on the planet.Topics covered:   [00:45] Introducing Inside the Black Box[02:30] Why programmatic media buying is subject to fraud[07:30] What’s wrong with MFA sites[12:30] Types of ad fraud[16:30] Ad viewability across ad formats[19:00] How to prevent and reduce wasted ad spend   To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: Inside the Black Box by Bob Hoffman, 2024: https://typeagroup.createsend.com/campaigns/reports/viewCampaign.aspx?d=d&c=FC142680CDB9311A&ID=C0C74A04140F82EE2540EF23F30FEDED&temp=False&tx=0&source=Report Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.