Nerd Alert: When Do Shoppers Switch Brands?

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 dig into whether the time of day changes how often shoppers try a new brand. A replication using three years of purchase data settles a split between two earlier studies.Topics covered: • [01:00] "Variety-Seeking and Time of Day: A Replication" • [02:00] 2004 vending machines vs. 2019 grocery data • [03:00] Inside the data: 1,000 shoppers and 135,000 purchases • [04:00] Switching rises toward midday, then dips • [05:00] Why energy levels shape brand choice • [06:00] Caveats and four takeaways for marketers  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Trinh, G. T. (2025). Variety-seeking and time of day: a replication. Marketing Letters, 36(4), 1017-1028. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-025-09771-9   Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Brands have been doing TV shows? iFIT has. Its reality competition, Trainer Games, is the ultimate long-form bet. And it's one of several the brand is making.This week, Elena, Angela and Rob are joined by Kirsten Spittel-Sloan, SVP Marketing and Head of International Marketing at iFIT. Kirsten shares why simple messaging wins, how to enter new markets by building trust first and where personalization pays off (and where it jumps from first date to 15th). She also explains how to use media mix models when data is thin and why long-form content works for a brand built on long workouts. Marketers will leave with practical ways to fund the full funnel without chasing every trend. Plus, hear Kirsten's contrarian take on stepping away from measurement and the hosts' picks for the women's athletes they'd sponsor.Topics covered: [01:00] Why the CMO role looks different today [03:00] What McKinsey taught Kirsten about simple messaging [10:00] How a legacy brand earns credibility in Pilates [12:00] Taking a brand global with local partners [13:30] Using media mix models without false certainty [17:30] Where personalization pays off [20:00] Why long-form content works for iFIT  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: Adweek Marketing Vanguard Podcast 2025: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/what-keeps-ifit-ahead-of-the-curve-kirsten-spittel-sloans-personalization-secret/Kirsten Spittel-Sloan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenspittelsloan/iFIT Website: https://www.ifit.com/  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 dig into a 21-month Pandora experiment on how many ads listeners will tolerate. Each extra ad per hour cut listening by about 2%, and the damage took a full year to show.Topics covered: [01:40] "Measuring Consumer Sensitivity to Audio Advertising" [02:00] Almost 35 million listeners, 21 months, three ad loads [04:00] One long break or two short ones? Total ads matter more [04:30] Why a one-month test understates the effect by three times [05:00] 82% of the drop came from fewer days or quitting [06:00] Ads-to-upgrade is costly, and age changes the response [07:00] Caveats and what marketers should do next  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: Goli, A., Huang, J., Reiley, D., & Riabov, N. M. (2025). Measuring consumer sensitivity to audio advertising: A long-run field experiment on Pandora internet radio. Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 23(3), 347-377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11129-025-09294-7   Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In-N-Out has a 4.03-star rating. Chick-fil-A sits at 3.36. Adjust for company size, and Chick-fil-A jumps to 4.06. This week, Elena, Angela and Rob unpack a Journal of Marketing study on why bigger brands get tougher reviews, even when the product is just as good. The researchers credit empathy. People root for small brands. They expect big ones to deliver. Learn how to read a rating that trails a scrappier rival, why word of mouth can't be your whole growth plan and how to match your advertising proof to your size. Topics covered: [02:00] In-N-Out vs Chick-fil-A: the ratings gap [04:00] How personal replies close the gap [07:00] Reading a rating that trails a rival [10:00] Why word of mouth isn't a growth plan [13:00] Matching advertising proof to brand size [16:00] Penetration over passionate advocates [18:00] Could AI search bake in the size bias? To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: 2026 AMA Article: https://www.ama.org/2026/06/01/why-do-small-brands-get-better-reviews-the-hidden-bias-in-word-of-mouth/Journal of Marketing Study: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00222429251320603 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 dig into what offsite tracking data is actually worth. Across more than 70,000 advertisers, losing it raised the median cost of a new customer 31%. Small brands took the biggest hit. They also cover why 10% of campaigns did better without it, and what to test before privacy rules take more tracking away. Topics covered:   [01:50] "Estimating the Value of Offsite Tracking Data to Advertisers: Evidence from Meta" [03:15] 70,000 advertisers, 160 countries and a holdout test [03:55] New customers cost 31% more without tracking data [04:25] Why small advertisers get hit harder [06:10] The 10% of campaigns that did better chasing clicks [06:45] Holdout tests and stress-testing for less tracking [07:25] Why smaller brands should diversify sooner  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: Wernerfelt, N., Tuchman, A., Shapiro, B. T., & Moakler, R. (2025). Estimating the value of offsite tracking data to advertisers: Evidence from Meta. Marketing Science, 44(2), 268–286. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2023.0274  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Between 60% and 75% of buy-side marketers say their core measurement approach falls short. And no one's measurement fully covers every paid channel.This week, Elena, Angela and Chief Analytics Officer Matt Hultgren dig into zombie statistics: numbers that get debunked but keep getting repeated. They start with the Rule of Seven, then turn to the scarier ones hiding in dashboards. Hear why CTV is so hard to measure, how attribution windows can mislead and why last-click still lingers. Plus, learn how to talk to your CFO about uncertainty and how multiple models help you replace a metric you've outgrown.Topics covered: [01:00] The Rule of Seven and its murky origins [03:00] What the data says about extra exposures [05:00] IAB's State of Data 2026 findings [08:00] When last-click still makes sense [11:00] Why CTV is so hard to measure [12:30] How attribution windows skew results [14:30] Killing zombie metrics with multiple models [15:30] How AI will change measurement To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: IAB State of Data 2026 Report: https://www.iab.com/insights/2026-state-of-data-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 dig into a two-and-a-half-year experiment with a semiconductor company's ads. Every ad dollar brought back about $12 in revenue, but less than half arrived within three months. They cover why existing customers drove most of the payback and how to match your measurement window to your sales cycle.Topics covered: [01:50] "Long Lags and Large Returns: Experimental Evidence from Advertising to Businesses" [02:30] Why B2B buyers are a tough crowd [03:20] Switching ads on and off across U.S. markets for two and a half years [04:00] A return on ad spend of 12, and the payback lag [05:10] Existing customers returned $34.60 per ad dollar, new ones $1.40 [06:00] The approved vendor list and why paperwork slows new buyers [06:50] What marketers should do about the lag To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Thomas, M., Goic, M., & Kalyanam, K. (2025). Long lags and large returns: Experimental evidence from advertising to businesses. Management Science. 71(10):8750-8766. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.02661  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Political ad spend is projected to hit $11.07 billion this election cycle, according to eMarketer. That's a 21.4% jump over the last midterm. And broadcast TV alone will claim more than half of it. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob break down where that political money is flowing, from Senate races to swing states like Michigan. They cover how rising demand for TV inventory could squeeze nonpolitical advertisers this fall. Rob also traces the history of political advertising, from Eisenhower's first TV jingles to today's AI-generated attack ads.  Topics covered: [00:00] Political ad spend breaks midterm records this cycle [01:00] CTV becomes political ads' fastest-growing channel [02:00] Senate, House, and local races drive the surge [05:00] Rob's history lesson on political advertising [09:00] AI-generated ads take over the 2026 campaign trail [10:00] What Berkeley research reveals about ad effectiveness [13:00] Why TV wins on emotion and credibility  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: 2026 Campaigns & Elections Article: https://campaignsandelections.com/voices/the-2026-midterms-are-where-ai-meets-the-tv-ad/   2026 NPR Report: https://www.npr.org/2026/09/16/nx-s1-5953990/ai-political-ads-2026-midterms   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 question whether paying Google to show up for your own brand name creates new sales. They dig into field experiments showing branded search ads mostly take credit for purchases brands would have won anyway.Topics covered:   [01:20] "Do Brands Need Search Advertising?" [01:50] Do you click the paid result or the organic one? [02:25] Nine field experiments across eight D2C brands [03:40] Turning off branded ads: zero effect on sales in 20 tests [04:35] The fake mattress brand experiment [05:30] Where to move your search budget instead To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: Beknazarova, I., Cohen, J., Driesener, C., Hartnett, N., & Bellman, S. (2027). Do brands need search advertising? Journal of Business Research, 218, 116485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116485  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

By October, a quarter of shoppers are already hunting for gifts. That's 15 million more people than two years ago. If you wait until Q4 to launch your holiday campaign, you're late to the race. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob unpack our 2026 holiday shopper trends report. They explore why trust can't be built in six weeks, how B2B brands should approach stretched year-end buyers, and what AI shopping means for this season. Plus, learn how to measure always-on investment and hear the team's favorite holiday commercials.Topics covered: [00:30] Holiday anticipation now starts in June [03:45] Why trust can't be manufactured in six weeks [06:45] B2B buyers are holiday shoppers too [09:15] ChatGPT's conversion rate and AI shopping agents [14:50] Share of voice when the room is quiet [16:00] Measuring the impact of always-on investment [21:45] The team's favorite holiday commercials  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: 2026 Marketing Architects Report: https://na2.hubs.ly/H083tlz0 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.