Nerd Alert: The Cost of Going Dark

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 reveal the true cost of turning off advertising spend. They explore research across 365 US brands showing market share declines by 10% after one year, 20% after two years, and 30% after four years of going dark.

Topics covered:

• [01:00] "When Brands Go Dark: A Replication and Extension"
• [02:00] Market share drops 10% after one year of going dark
• [04:00] Brand size and trajectory predict decline severity
• [05:00] Low frequency categories suffer most without advertising
• [06:00] Light buyers are first to forget your brand
• [07:00] Mental availability matters more than shelf availability

To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.


Resources:
Phua, P., Hartnett, N., Beal, V., Trinh, G., & Kennedy, R. (2023). When brands go dark: A replication and extension. Journal of Advertising Research, 63(2), 172–184. https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-2023-009


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