Podcast Summary: The Forgotten Half of Growth: Physical Availability Explained

Podcast: The Marketing Architects
Episode Date: August 19, 2025
Hosts: Elena Jasper (Marketing Lead), Angela Voss (CEO), Rob DeMars (Chief Product Architect)

Overview:

This episode explores the often neglected "P" in the marketing mix—Place, or physical availability. The hosts discuss why physical presence matters even in a digital-first world, the pitfalls of overlooking it, and how brands—especially D2C players—are shifting strategies to meet customers wherever and whenever they are ready to buy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Physical Availability in Modern Marketing

• Physical Availability = "Easy to Buy"

  • "Be first to mind and easy to buy. Physical availability is the easy to buy piece."
    – Elena Jasper (04:00)

• It’s about reducing friction for customers and being present at the right time, in the right place, and in stock.

• System 1 Thinking

  • Consumers often make low-consideration purchases. Brands must be present at those low-thought moments.
    • Angela: "How do I reduce friction in the path to purchase? By being in the right place at the right time and being in stock..." (02:27)

• Who Owns 'Place'?

  • Siloed responsibilities for sales, logistics, and marketing often mean no one team prioritizes physical availability.
    • "If everybody owns it, nobody owns it."
      – Rob DeMars (05:32)

2. Physical Availability as the Forgotten ‘P’

• Place is described as the "invisible thread" connecting product, price, and promotion (00:39).
• Mark Binkley's analysis (from The Sleeping Barber Podcast) on Target’s failed Canada expansion stresses poor place strategy can unravel even iconic brands.

3. D2C Brands' Evolving Approach to Place

• Early D2C growth was fueled by cheap digital ads, but increasing costs and shifting consumer habits forced brands back into physical retail.

  • "The pandemic isn't a business model... Facebook costs a kidney. Physical availability and foot traffic are irreplaceable."
    – Rob DeMars (07:17)

• Light Buyers Matter:

  • If you’re not easily replaceable, you lose market share to convenience.
    • "If you're losing market share to convenience or you're not there to pick up where another brand is losing... that's a tough battle."
      – Angela Voss (06:29)

• Real Shopping Habits:

  • Most consumers go to Amazon first, even if brands want to focus on D2C or avoid Amazon for margin reasons.
    • "Something like 75 to 80% of consumers go to Amazon when they're ready to buy a product..."
      – Angela Voss (10:03)

4. Brand and Client Examples: Place Can Make or Break Campaigns

• Amazon Resistance Hurts Sales:

  • "We refused to be on Amazon at first… As much as we resisted it, it was a huge channel for us… through our own stubbornness… they're right, need to be there."
    – Rob DeMars (12:20)

• Importance of Packaging:

  • Packaging is a critical touchpoint; it must stand out and sell in the moment.
    • "Packaging is a channel in and of itself."
      – Rob DeMars (13:42)

5. Notable Modern Brands Excelling at Physical Availability

• Function of Beauty:

  • Transitioned from D2C to retail with a modular system for personalized haircare at Target, balancing customization with mass reach.
    – Angela Voss (14:23)

• Athletic Brewing:

  • Non-alcoholic beer brand securing presence in mainstream bars, marathons, and restaurants—cracking the code for physical availability in a niche.
    – Rob DeMars (16:03)

• Honey Stinger Waffles:

  • Expanding from athletic shelves to gas station energy aisles to meet buyers where they need quick energy, broadening reach.
    – Elena Jasper (18:22)

6. Expanding the Concept of ‘Place’

• Place is more than shelves; it’s any environment where your solution is accessible: portals, search, integrations, etc.

  • "Place is any environment where your solution becomes accessible."
    – Angela Voss (19:09)

• Emerging Tech:

  • Digital ads, streaming TV, shoppable ads, and even LLMs (Large Language Models) are new surfaces for availability.
    • "Can the ads become the place themselves?... shoppable experiences with checkout and everything baked into the ad"
      – Rob DeMars (20:14)

• AI Agents as Gatekeepers:

  • Need to ensure brands are easy for search agents and AI assistants to find and purchase.
    – Elena Jasper and Rob DeMars (21:36-22:09)

7. Personal Stories: When Place Fails

• All three hosts mention protein/energy bars they would buy more often if they were simply easier to find, especially in places like gas stations.
  • "It takes a while to get them. I want to buy them at Target. I want to order them on Amazon."
    – Angela Voss (23:08)
  • "I have to go on a quest to get a Quest protein bar."
    – Rob DeMars (24:10)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You can have passionate consumers—people willing to wear your fricking T-shirt and your logo—and I can't go there." – Rob DeMars on Piggly Wiggly’s lack of Minnesota stores (02:52)

• "When was the last time a can was awarded for best shelf-talker?" – Rob DeMars (05:06)

• "If everybody owns [place], nobody owns it." – Rob DeMars (05:32)

• "The pandemic isn't a business model." – Rob DeMars (07:17)

• "We are not as loyal as we think we are. We buy from a repertoire of brands and you will easily be replaced with somebody else that's right in front of their face." – Elena Jasper (07:51)

• "Be first to mind and easy to buy." – Elena Jasper (04:00)

• "Packaging is a channel in and of itself." – Rob DeMars (13:42)

• "Place is any environment where your solution becomes accessible." – Angela Voss (19:09)

• "Can ads become the place themselves?... opening up new doors with shoppable experiences." – Rob DeMars (20:14)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – Introduction to the importance of physical availability
• 02:27 – Simple definition: "being in the right place, at the right time, and in stock"
• 04:11 – Why ‘place’ is overlooked in organizations
• 06:29 – The D2C reversal: from digital-only to multichannel presence
• 10:03 – Client examples: refusing Amazon and the consequences
• 11:26 – Transitioning D2C brands into retail: “Stuffies” and “Hurricane” case
• 13:42 – Packaging as a key channel
• 14:23 – Modern success in place: Function of Beauty and Athletic Brewing
• 17:41 – Nontraditional place strategies: Honey Stinger Waffles in gas stations
• 19:09 – Place as any surface (including digital, B2B, SaaS spaces)
• 20:14 – New digital surfaces: shoppable ads, streaming, and beyond
• 21:36 – The rise of AI agents and place
• 23:08–24:10 – Personal buying friction stories and importance of convenience

Key Takeaways for Marketers

• Physical availability often gets ignored but is crucial for sustained growth, especially as digital-only strategies face diminishing returns.
• Convenience out-competes brand loyalty; if you’re not present when and where the customer wants to buy, someone else will be.
• Think of ‘place’ expansively—beyond retail shelves to digital, experiential, and AI-powered channels.
• Packaging and in-store presence are marketing touchpoints, not mere afterthoughts.
• Own or collaborate cross-functionally to make physical availability a priority—not leave it to chance.

Summary by The Marketing Architects Team
This episode is essential for brand builders, marketers, and anyone facing the challenge of making their product as easy as possible for customers to find and buy—in every channel possible.