Podcast
The Marketing Architects
Hosted by Marketing Architects · EN
Introducing a research-first podcast that builds revenue, not condos.
Answer questions on the biggest marketing trends and news with discussions based in marketing, psychology and economics research. Along the way, learn about marketing accountability, category leadership, brand-building and much more.
Featuring a team of experienced marketers whose blueprints for success are marketing strategies actually proven to work.
Answer questions on the biggest marketing trends and news with discussions based in marketing, psychology and economics research. Along the way, learn about marketing accountability, category leadership, brand-building and much more.
Featuring a team of experienced marketers whose blueprints for success are marketing strategies actually proven to work.
179episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Nerd Alert: The Cure for Dull Advertising
4d ago00:11:10Summary readyWelcome 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 unpack System1's new report, "The Cure for Dull," revealing why 48% of ad viewers still feel absolutely nothing and the five creative ingredients marketers can use to fix it. Topics covered: [01:00] "The Cure for Dull" [02:00] Ads that stuck: Nike and Budweiser [04:00] Has advertising gotten more or less dull over time? [05:00] 48% of viewers feel nothing [07:00] Five pillars for treating dull [09:00] The megaphone analogy for media budgets To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: System1. (2026). The cure for dull. System1 Group, in collaboration with Adam Morgan (eatbigfish), Peter Field, Karen Nelson-Field, Orlando Wood, and Jon Evans. https://system1group.com/the-cure-for-dull Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SummaryThe Media Quality Obsession
6d ago00:23:19Summary readyAsk media buyers what quality media means, and answers vary. Reach, brand safety, dwell time, exclusivity: nobody agrees, and that confusion is costing marketers real money.This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob challenge the industry's obsession with premium placements. They argue quality really comes down to effectiveness: reaching real humans, in a context where the ad can do its job, at a price that makes the math work. They also unpack why Marketing Architects built its own DSP instead of relying on industry platforms, what to demand from media partners to protect against fraud, and how AI cuts both ways for junk inventory and creative quality.Topics covered:[01:00] Two studies on the industry's quality confusion and CTV fraud[02:00] A working definition: audience, context, and price[07:00] Whether premium placements really make creative work harder[08:00] The one non-negotiable floor: real humans seeing the ad[11:00] Why "everything works at zero" and cost drives TV performance[13:00] Why Marketing Architects built its own DSP[19:00] Using AI to fight junk inventory without lowering creative quality To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources:2026 eMarketer Article: https://www.emarketer.com/content/media-buyers-struggle-define-quality-inventory--it-s-costing-them2025 AdExchanger Article: https://www.adexchanger.com/on-tv-and-video/new-channel-same-old-tricks-how-legacy-web-tactics-are-undermining-ctv-advertising/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SummaryNerd Alert: Why Nostalgic Advertising Works
2w ago00:10:01Summary readyWelcome 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 look at new research on nostalgic advertising. They break down when a "remember when" ad sticks in someone's memory, and when a straightforward, factual ad works better instead. Topics covered: [02:05] "Nostalgic Advertising Enhances Brand Name Recall by Reactivating Brand-Related Autobiographical Memories" [02:35] Why marketers need every edge to stay top of mind [04:00] Three studies pit nostalgic ads against factual ads [05:00] When nostalgia wins, and when it doesn't [06:00] Younger versus older adults: who remembers more? [07:05] Takeaways for legacy brands and win-back campaigns To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Thoma, D., & Koziak, J. (2025). Nostalgic advertising enhances brand name recall by reactivating brand-related autobiographical memories, especially for familiar and personally relevant brands. Psychology & Marketing, 42(12), 3306–3318. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.70042 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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What The Industry Gets Right and Wrong About Effectiveness
2w ago00:36:59Summary readyCannes debuted a new award for creative consistency this year. 73 brands entered. Just two won.This week, Elena, Angela, Rob, Catherine, and Nikki unpack what actually happened at Cannes versus what just made headlines. The team shares why intelligence-gathering, not glamour, is the real reason to attend, and how AI is quietly reshaping ad tech products behind the scenes. They also weigh in on where live sports, retail media, and creator marketing genuinely fit into an effectiveness-driven strategy versus where they're overhyped. Marketers will walk away knowing which Cannes trends deserve real budget attention and which are just award-show noise. Topics covered:[02:00] Why Marketing Architects decided to start attending Cannes[04:00] The real gap between Cannes glamour and the actual work[13:00] How AI is quietly reshaping ad tech products[14:00] Live sports as a growth opportunity, not a silver bullet[17:00] Why competing streaming platforms are all facing the same challenges[21:00] Retail media and creator marketing: tools, not full strategies[24:00] Cannes' new award for long-term creative consistencyTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources:2026 The Drum Article: https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/andrew-tindall-what-ritson-and-sharp-got-right-and-wrong-at-cannesGet more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SummaryNerd Alert: Why Your Advertising ROI is Wrong
3w ago00:11:03Summary readyWelcome 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 break down why proving ad ROI is far harder than most marketers assume, even with millions of dollars and millions of customers. They also unpack why the Super Bowl might be the hardest ad buy of all to measure.Topics covered: [01:00] "The Unfavorable Economics of Measuring the Returns to Advertising"[02:00] Why the spirit of ROI gets abused[03:35] Why customer spending is too noisy to spot small ad effects[06:00] How targeting bias can inflate results by 30 times[07:00] Why the Super Bowl isn't a coupon, it's fame[09:00] Could anyone actually solve the ROI theorem?To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Lewis, R., & Rao, J. (2015). The unfavorable economics of measuring the returns to advertising. The Economic Journal, 125(585), 1–27. Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Creating Future Demand with James Hurman
3w ago00:42:45Summary ready84% of the time, buyers choose a brand that was already on their radar before they ever started shopping. So why do so many marketing budgets only chase the people ready to buy today?This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob talk with brand strategist and author James Hurman about his new book, Future Demand. James breaks down why brands hit a growth ceiling when they lean too hard on performance marketing. He also explains why feelings outlast facts in memory, and why that changes which channels deserve your investment. Marketers will leave with a clearer case for building demand among tomorrow's customers, not just converting today's.Topics covered:[05:00] Defining current demand versus future demand[07:00] Splitting budgets 50/50 between brand and performance[12:00] Why American marketers lag on brand-building principles[18:00] Measuring future demand through brand tracking[22:00] Why feelings outlast facts in memory[26:00] The case for creativity in earning attention[35:00] James's own future demand brand: Land RoverTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources:Resources: 2021 WARC White Paper: https://www.warc.com/the-rise-of-digital-commerce 2026Future Demand Book: https://futuredemand.com/ James Hurman’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshurman/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Nerd Alert: When Personalized Ads Become Creepy
4w ago00:09:12Summary readyWelcome 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 triggers the personalization backfire effect and why the same ad can feel helpful one day and invasive the next. Topics covered:[01:20] "Triggering the Personalization Backfire Effect: The Moderating Role of Situational Privacy Concern"[02:45] How the study tested three levels of ad personalization[04:27] When more personal data actually hurts performance[06:10] Privacy sensitivity isn't a fixed personality trait[07:10] Contextual targeting vs. identity-based targetingTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources: Kim, H., & Han, S. (2025). Triggering the personalization backfire effect: The moderating role of situational privacy concern. Behavioral Sciences.Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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From the Archive: The Problem with "Purpose" with Nick Asbury
4w ago00:42:03Summary readyThis week, we're resharing a favorite episode from the archive. Enjoy, and we'll be back with new content next week!Our hosts are joined by Nick Asbury, creative writer and author of The Road to Hell: How Purposeful Business Leads to Bad Marketing and a Worse World. Nick challenges brand purpose, arguing it produces formulaic campaigns while the research supporting it is fundamentally flawed.Topics covered:[04:00] How the 2008 financial crash sparked the purpose movement[12:00] The real story behind Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign data[18:00] Why for-profit companies lack social license to lead causes[21:00] Nick's crowdsourced fact-checking of Cannes award entries[26:00] Debunking the Gen Z purpose myth after the 2024 election[29:00] What respectful marketing looks like without purpose To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources:2024 MarketingWeek Article: https://www.marketingweek.com/good-intentions-lead-to-bad-marketing-why-purpose-is-missing-the-mark/Nick Asbury’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-asbury/ Nick's Substack: https://nickasbury.substack.com/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SummaryBONUS: An Ecommerce Brand’s Guide to TV that Performs
4w ago00:18:42Summary readyAccording to WARC, TV drives more sales impact than Facebook video and YouTube. GOVX proved the research to be true, growing orders alongside TV impressions.Recorded live at CommerceNext 2026, this bonus episode features Marketing Architects Chief Strategic Growth Officer Stacey Hawes and GOVX Chief Brand Officer Aaron Pelander. They tackle one of marketing's toughest challenges: proving TV's impact when its biggest effects don’t show up for months after launch. Aaron shares how GOVX moved from a performance-only mindset to a 60/40 split between brand and performance budgets, and why that shift unlocked new growth. Marketers will also learn which metrics matter and why relying on just one measurement model leaves value on the table.Topics covered:[00:00] Kicking off the session at CommerceNext 2026[03:00] Why TV remains one of the hardest channels to measure[06:00] Short-term metrics for tracking TV's immediate impact[08:00] Long-term measurement: brand lift, MMM, and incrementality testing[11:00] Inside GOVX’s mission and its path to TV[13:00] GOVX’s shift to a 60/40 brand and performance budget[16:00] GOVX’s results after partnering with Marketing ArchitectTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SummaryNerd Alert: The Packaging Redesign Dilemma
Jul 900:09:40Summary readyWelcome 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 packaging redesigns so often backfire, and what actually drives shoppers to pick a product off the shelf. Topics covered: [01:21] "The Packaging Redesign Modernization Dilemma" [03:06] Why redesigns are an expensive, common gamble [05:35] Does looking more modern actually boost sales? [06:17] Why familiarity beats likability at the shelf [07:31] When a redesign makes sense, and when it doesn't To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources: Caruso, W., Romaniuk, J., Page, B., & colleagues. (2026). The packaging redesign modernisation dilemma: The relationship with familiarity, likeability, and its effect on purchase intent. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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