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.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 can sway our feelings and decisions to buy.Topics covered:   [00:54] “The Sound of Brands”[02:23] How to choose the right brand name[04:48] Ice cream and... cat litter?[05:56] How suppressed emotions affect brand name reactions [06:35] How much rhyme is too much?[07:00] Positive effect and sound repetition make a differenceTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: Argo, Jennifer & Popa, Monica & Smith, Malcolm. (2010). The Sound of Brands. Journal of Marketing - J MARKETING. 74. 97-109. 10.1509/jmkg.74.4.97.    Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 focusing on fundamentals. Topics covered:   [01:15] Some marketing fundamentals never change[04:00] How AI is transforming advertising and creative[08:00] How to keep up with AI’s evolution[09:00] Gen Z’s impact on marketing trends[14:00] Why AR/VR is overhyped for marketers right now[17:00] How top-performing ad formats are moving to short-form video[20:00] Would you rather travel to the future or the past?  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: 2023 Wizard of Ads Article: https://wizardofads.org/the-fundamentals-that-remain/ 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 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.Topics covered:   [00:45] “An Involvement Explanation for Nostalgia Advertising Effects”[01:00] How some people are extra susceptible to nostalgia[02:00] What is nostalgia?[03:30] Three types of nostalgia[07:00] Why is nostalgia so effective in advertising?[10:00] The connections between nostalgia, likeability, and memorability To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: Muehling, Darrel & Pascal, Vincent. (2012). An Involvement Explanation for Nostalgia Advertising Effects. Journal of Promotion Management. 18. 100-118. 10.1080/10496491.2012.646222.   Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 LinkedIn, including the 95-5 rule, why tight targeting isn’t always the right choice, and the role of creativity in B2B marketing. Stick around, and you’ll even get a sneak peek at what Peter’s doing next! Topics covered:   [00:30] Introducing Peter Weinberg[04:30] How the 95-5 rule leads B2B marketing strategy[08:00] Broad vs narrow targeting for B2B[12:00] Why top-of-funnel and brand matters for B2B[14:00] How should B2B marketers think about TV?[19:00] The state of marketing effectiveness in the US[25:30] What’s next for Peter? To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: The B2B Institute Article: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/b2b-institute/b2b-research/trends/95-5-rule 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 are talking all things TV advertising. There have been plenty of marketers announcing “TV is dead” over the last decade, but what does research say about TV’s effectiveness today?Topics covered:   [00:45] “Effectiveness and Efficiency of TV’s Brand-Building Power”[03:00] What is a gross rating point (GRP)?[04:00] A 30-second TV ad is just as effective today as in the 1980s[05:00] Does spot length impact effectiveness?[07:00] Traditional marketing should still be a focus[08:00] How pretesting makes in-market campaigns more successful  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: Effectiveness and Efficiency of TV's Brand-Building Power: A Historical Review Frank Findley, Kelly Johnson, Douglas Crang, David W. Stewart Journal of Advertising Research Jun 2020, JAR-2020-011; DOI: 10.2501/JAR-2020-011  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 beliefs.Topics covered:   [01:30] What happens when marketing debates get controversial[06:00] Where did the term “primetime” come from?[07:30] Why primetime doesn’t always equal the best performance[12:00] The history of the subliminal advertising myth[17:30] What research says about the impact of personalization[22:00] Where personalization can go wrong   To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: 2012 Brand Genetics Article: https://brandgenetics.com/human-thinking/how-brands-grow-speed-summary/ 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 discuss a study reviewing behavioral advertising’s impact on consumer welfare, with some surprising results. Hint: behavioral advertising’s not as helpful for consumers as you might think!Topics covered:   [01:00] Introducing Behavioral Advertising and Consumer Welfare[02:00] Defining behavioral targeting[04:30] Study results on behavioral advertising’s impact[05:30] How you might interact with behavioral ads[06:00] Behavioral vs contextual targeting  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: Schnadower Mustri, Eduardo and Adjerid, Idris and Acquisti, Alessandro, Behavioral Advertising and Consumer Welfare: An Empirical Investigation (March 23, 2023). Available at:  https://ssrn.com/abstract=4398428  or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4398428  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 conversation explores the need for platform diversification, the implications of privacy changes on targeting, and why video content now claims more than half of social ad budgets. Topics covered:   [01:30] How Facebook transformed social media forever[04:00] Snapchat and Reddit’s potential for growth[06:30] The risk of over-dependence on Meta[08:00] How privacy changes affect social attribution[09:30] How to make the most of social video[14:30] How to measure the effectiveness of social marketing[16:30] Organic vs paid social  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: 2024 Mashable Article: https://mashable.com/article/facebook-changed-social-media 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 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 research is more focused right now on tactics than strategies, creating a gap in how we think about the conceptual side of marketing.Topics covered:  [00:30] Introducing Nerd Alert[02:00] Overview of “Research in Marketing Strategy”[05:00] The four parts of the marketing strategy framework [08:30] How marketing’s short-termism problem shows up in research[10:00] Why we need more research on marketing theory  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast Resources: Morgan, N.A., Whitler, K.A., Feng, H. et al. Research in marketing strategy. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 47, 4–29 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-018-0598-1  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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 highlighting the importance of emotional connection and positive brand experiences in fostering both customer loyalty and acquisition, leading them to ask whether the two strategies really stand in opposition or could, just maybe, work together.Topics covered:[01:00] What’s the fuss around brand loyalty all about?[03:30] How quality and brand experience affect loyalty[06:00] Debating acquisition vs retention for growth[10:00] The history of ‘double jeopardy’[18:00] How effective are loyalty programs, really?[21:30] How loyalty programs can be a source for first-party data  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast  Resources: 2023 Kantar Article: https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/brands/modern-marketing-dilemmas-is-it-still-ok-to-talk-about-brand-loyalty Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.