Podcast Episode Summary

The Marketing Architects

Episode: Nerd Alert: How Advertising Builds Brand and Sales Simultaneously
Date: August 21, 2025
Hosts: Lana Jasper (B), Rob Demar (A)

Overview

This episode of The Marketing Architects dives into the question: How does advertising build both brand and sales at the same time? Drawing from an academic study by Norris Bruce, K. Peters, and Prasad Nick Paul (2012), the hosts dissect how advertising influences not just short-term sales, but also long-term brand equity—debunking the idea that these are separate outcomes. Using research-based insights, they discuss the interconnected psychology and economics underlying advertising’s dual role, translating complex findings into actionable strategy for marketers.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Do Marketers Really Design Campaigns for Both Goals?

• Lana (B) questions whether marketers actually balance both short-term sales and long-term brand-building in their campaign designs ([01:20]):
  • “Do you think that most marketers actually believe that advertising works in both the short and the long? And if they do believe that, how often do you think campaigns are actually designed with both those goals in mind?”
• Rob (A) acknowledges the belief is there, but execution is inconsistent:
  • “I think you look at short term metrics for sure. And also looking at long term brand recall... advertisers that are planful, which we would like to think many of the good ones are, then yes, they're absolutely considering both of those levers.” ([02:13])
• They agree many organizations lean toward short-termism, often driven by media channel choices ([02:44]).

2. The Study: Mapping the Ad-to-Purchase Journey

• Study Cited: "Discovering how Advertising Grows Sales and Builds Brands" (Bruce, Peters, Nick Paul, 2012)
• Analytical Approach:
  • Integrated Hierarchy Framework: Tracks cognition (“think”), effect (“feel”), experience (“do”)
  • Data: 5 years (251 weeks) from a major soft drink brand; over 30,000 interviews; 16 different brand metrics ([04:00])
  • Methods Used:
    • Bayesian state space modeling: Updates probability as new data comes in
    • Kalman filtering: Strips out measurement noise ([05:44])
• Key Model: Tests how “think,” “feel,” “do” interact and impact sales over time.

3. Surprising Findings: The Journey is NOT Linear

• Contrary to the classic “Think–Feel–Do” sequence, the research found:
  • Actual sequence observed: Experience (“do”) → Cognition (“think”) → Effect (“feel”)
  • In practice, people try the product first, then form opinions, and finally develop feelings that drive repeat purchase ([06:40]):
    • “Instead of I think about it, I feel something and then I act. This brand's customers acted, thought after, and then felt even later. And that's what led to more sales.” (B, [07:10])

4. Direct and Indirect Effects of Advertising

• Advertising has immediate impact on both:
  • Feelings about the brand (affect)
  • Sales behavior
• Supports the idea you don’t always need experience to form feelings toward a brand, e.g. iconic ads create attachment pre-purchase ([07:58]):
  • “Advertising can... drive that effect. And they also, they did look at that in this study. They looked at advertising in particular and they found that it didn't just set things in motion. It had a direct immediate effect on two key things, which is one, how people felt about the brand (feeling), and how much they bought right away, which is sales.” (B, [07:58])

5. Duration of Effects & Brand Building

• Brand “Feelings”: Fade quickly—about 4 weeks after exposure. Consistent advertising is needed to maintain positive brand feelings ([09:00]).
• Experience/Sales Effects: Last much longer—people retain their behaviors and product experiences.
• Takeaway: Measuring only immediate sales or awareness is insufficient; advertising also shapes future perceptions and loyalty.

6. Metaphors & Practical Implications

• Lana’s Metaphor: Advertising is a campfire ([09:50]):
  • "The flame is the ad, the heat is sales. But the smoke, that's everything else. The thoughts, feelings, experiences drifting through the air... If you only measure the heat, you'll miss the real story of how a great ad warms a room, sparks conversation, and keeps people coming back."
• Rob’s Extension: Advertising not only draws new buyers, but also supports past purchasers by overcoming buyer’s remorse ([10:09]):
  • “Their campaigns have value…to continue to help them feel good about that purchase after the fact…multiple benefits.”

7. Consistency and Share of Voice

• Long-term brand building depends on consistently reminding consumers of your brand ([10:45]):
  • “As much as we'd like to think, oh, someone's going to see my brand and remember it forever, or they're going to buy me once and remember me forever, that's not how it works. You need to be consistently reminding them and that becomes how advertising can build your brand and why share of voice is so linked to market share.” (B, [10:45])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the realities of campaign design:
  “It’s more talk than walk is what you’re saying.” — Rob (A), [02:56]
• On the sequence discovery:
  “Instead of I think about it, I feel something and then I act. This brand’s customers acted, thought after, and then felt even later. And that’s what led to more sales.” — Lana (B), [07:10]
• On the importance of consistent advertising:
  “Feelings about the brand… faded pretty quickly. Within about four weeks, those warm, fuzzy feelings start to wear off. That means if you want people to keep feeling good about your brand, you need to keep advertising to them consistently.” — Lana (B), [09:00]
• On advertising as more than sales:
  “Advertising could cause that real work in the moment. So it’s backing up what you’re saying, Rob, that you can see an ad, you can feel something, and that can drive how you interact with it.” — Lana (B), [08:05]
• Memorable Metaphor:
  “Think of advertising like a campfire. The flame is the ad, the heat is sales. But the smoke, that’s everything else… If you only measure the heat, you’ll miss the real story...” — Lana (B), [09:50]
• Connecting it to share of voice and market share:
  “Brands that have a high share of voice are consistently reminding their customers that they either made a good choice or they will make a good choice when they buy you.” — Lana (B), [10:52]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:20] — Do marketers really design for both short-term and long-term?
• [04:00] — Introduction & breakdown of the cited academic study
• [05:44] — Explanation of Bayesian modeling and Kalman filtering
• [06:40] — The surprising “do-think-feel” sequence found in the research
• [07:58] — Advertising’s immediate effects on feelings and sales
• [09:00] — Duration of brand feelings and need for consistent advertising
• [09:50] — Campfire metaphor for advertising’s multi-faceted impact
• [10:09] — Value of advertising in overcoming buyer’s remorse
• [10:45] — Role of reminder advertising and share of voice

Final Takeaways

• Advertising is most powerful when recognized for its dual role: It can drive immediate sales and slowly build brand equity.
• Marketers should resist the urge to focus exclusively on short-termism—brand-building effects require ongoing, visible presence.
• The sequence from ad to purchase is not always linear; often action precedes emotion for specific products.
• Measuring only sales or awareness misses the subtle, long-term levers that advertising pulls (consistency is key).
• Marketers should bridge research and strategy, connecting campaign design to both present and future business growth.