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.
173episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Nerd Alert: When Personalized Ads Become Creepy
4d 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
6d 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
1w 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
2w ago00:09:40Summary 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.
SummaryHow to Build a Media Mix That Actually Works
2w ago00:24:27Summary readyConcern over short-termism has more than doubled in three years, from 25% of marketers calling it the biggest industry issue in 2022 to 55% in 2025. And yet, budget allocation has barely moved.This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob dig into why the say-do gap persists in media planning and what it looks like to build a mix based on marketing effectiveness principles instead. They walk through the 60-40 rule and how to make it your own, what warning signs signal a brand is over-indexed on performance, and why channels like TV and audio earn a closer look when competitors are busy piling into the same digital placements. Topics covered:[01:00] The say-do gap and why marketers keep doing what they know doesn't work[05:22] What rebalancing toward brand building looks like in practice[07:27] Warning signs your brand is over-indexed on performance[10:00] How to use reach to grow beyond your existing customers[12:28] Using share of voice to find channel opportunities your competitors have missed[14:08] Linear vs. CTV: how to use each as a distinct strategic tool[17:46] Building a measurement approach that captures both short and long-term impactTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: 2026 WARC Article: https://www.warc.com/en/article/whats-stopping-cmos-investing-in-brand-building-9ceffeb68530467cb3ecc12959e94670 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SummaryNerd Alert: TV vs. YouTube
3w ago00:11:53Summary 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 dig into a direct experiment comparing TV and YouTube advertising to find out which format drives more attention, stronger emotion, and better brand memory.Topics covered:• [01:40] "TV versus YouTube"• [02:00] How the study was designed• [03:46] Which platform captures more attention?• [05:56] The serial position effect and ad memory• [06:36] Your body remembers ads your brain forgets• [08:20] What this means for your media mixTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources: Weibel, D., di Francesco, R., Kopf, R., Fahrni, S., Brunner, A., Kronenberg, P., Lobmaier, J. S., Reber, T. P., Mast, F. W., & Wissmath, B. (2019). TV vs. YouTube: TV advertisements capture more visual attention, create more positive emotions and have a stronger impact on implicit long-term memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 626. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00626Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SummaryThe Real Cost of Cutting Brand for Performance
3w ago00:24:29Summary readyRebalancing toward brand from a performance-only mix lifts revenue ROI by a median of 90%. Yet 67% of senior marketers are still shifting budget the wrong direction. The gap between what marketers know and what they do turns out to be one of the costliest problems in the industry.In this episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob dig into the Multiplier Playbook, a new WARC report that surveyed over 200 senior marketers to identify the structural, cultural, and measurement barriers keeping brands stuck in a performance-only loop. They break down the doom loop, explain the missing 15% of brand value hiding in baseline sales, and discuss what it really takes to close the say-do gap. Topics covered:[01:18] What the Multiplier Playbook found about the say-do gap [02:01] Why 67% of marketers keep shifting budget toward performance [07:15] The doom loop and how performance-only thinking compounds over time [10:56] The missing 15% of brand value hiding in your baseline [14:12] Why 41% of marketers say creativity is seen as a risk [16:13] How brand investment strengthens your visibility in AI-driven search [17:55] Why 90% of ads get pulled before they ever wear inTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources:The Multiplier Playbook: https://www.warc.com/en/the-multiplier-playbook-2026Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SummaryNerd Alert: Should B2B Brands Use Humor?
4w ago00:08:47Summary 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 whether humor belongs in B2B advertising. They dig into new research that challenges the assumption that business buyers only respond to rational, no-nonsense messaging. Topics covered:[02:44] "To Humor or Not Humor: Buyers Evaluating the Effective Use of Humor in B2B Advertisements"[03:06] How often is humor used in B2B vs. B2C ads?[04:55] What four experiments with 305 B2B buyers revealed[05:45] Three conditions that determine when humor helps or hurts[06:47] Why humor is a door opener, not a deal closerTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast Resources: Swani, K., Gulas, C. S., & Dinsmore, J. (2025). To humor or not humor buyers? Evaluating the effective use of humor in B2B advertisements. Journal of Business Research, 200, 115632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115632 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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The Performance-to-Brand Playbook with Peter Sengenberger
4w ago00:29:01Summary readyA premium supplement brand saw retail sales jump 40% in six months after one strategic shift: switching from direct response TV to brand advertising. That single result changed 25-year media pro Peter Sengenberger's entire belief system. In this episode, Elena and Rob are joined by Peter Sengenberger, former demand gen and brand strategy lead at BambooHR. Peter explains why over-reliance on performance channels creates a "doom loop," why brand advertising builds what he calls "prepaid demand," and how his "depth of message" framework ranks media by the quality of impressions they deliver. Topics covered: [00:00] Performance marketing's "doom loop" and the case for brand advertising [04:00] Supplement brand case study: 40% retail lift from brand TV [09:00] The true cost of over-optimization [13:00] Why TV earns the highest trust and completion rates [16:00] CTV skepticism: what is overpromised and why[18:00] Programmatic media and the algorithmic house advantage[20:00] What direct response teaches every marketer To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy: https://www.amazon.com/Ogilvy-Advertising-David/dp/039472903X22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout: https://www.amazon.com/22-Immutable-Laws-Marketing-Violate/dp/0887306667/Grow with Peter Substack: https://growwithpeter.substack.com/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 Ads Reach Older Consumers Less
Jun 1800:13:00Summary 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 examine why advertising consistently underperforms with consumers over 60 and find the answer has less to do with older brains and more to do with where marketers are pointing their media budgets. Topics covered: [00:02:00] "Differences in Advertising Effectiveness Across Age Groups[00:03:00] How researchers measured mental availability across 1,500 [00:04:00] The associative penetration gap between age groups[00:07:00] How the purchase funnel narrows sharply at 60-plus[00:08:00] Why newer product categories widen the confidence gap[00:10:00] Three practical takeaways for reaching older audiences To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast Resources: Mecredy, P., Stocchi, L., & Feetham, P. (2025). Differences in advertising's effectiveness across age groups. International Journal of Advertising, 44(2), 235–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2370678 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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