Nerd Alert: How Your Brand Can Win the Holidays

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 explore how gift-giving experiences shape emotions, relationships, and brand perception. They reveal why the best brands focus on creating memorable experiences rather than just selling products during the holidays.

Topics covered:

• [01:00] "Gift Experience in Marketing: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda"
• [03:00] What marketers get wrong about holiday gifting
• [05:00] The four key elements of gift exchanges
• [06:00] Three stages of gift-giving: gestation, presentation, and reformulation
• [07:00] Why experiential gifts outperform material ones
• [08:00] Making the giver the hero

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


Resources:
Tyagi, H., & Rahman, Z. (2025). Gift experience in marketing: A systematic review and future research agenda. Indian Institute of Technology.


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