Episodios

  • Nerd Alert: How Brands Grow: The Book That Changed Marketing

    Nerd Alert: How Brands Grow: The Book That Changed Marketing
    Mar 26 2026
    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 celebrate 100 episodes by flipping the script. Rob takes the lead to break down How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp, exploring why penetration beats loyalty, why light buyers matter more than most marketers think, and how distinctiveness drives brand growth.

    Topics covered:
    • [01:20] "How Brands Grow" by Byron Sharp
    • [02:45] The Law of Double Jeopardy
    • [06:15] Why light buyers drive growth
    • [08:00] Mental and physical availability
    • [10:00] Differentiation vs. distinctiveness
    • [12:15] Four takeaways marketers can apply today








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


    Resources:
    Sharp, B. (2010). How brands grow: What marketers don’t know. Oxford University Press.


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    16 m
  • The Hidden Cost of Media Flighting

    The Hidden Cost of Media Flighting
    Mar 24 2026
    Most brands pile spend into peak weeks. But higher CPMs, more clutter and faster saturation mean you're often paying more to reach the same people. Many of whom would have bought anyway.

    This episode, Elena, Angela, and VP of Media Analytics Jordan Rosler dig into media flighting: why it became the default, where the strategy breaks down, and what the data says about marginal ROI. They also tackle why shoulder weeks often outperform peak ones, when always-on advertising makes more sense, and how upfronts can quietly undermine the efficiency they promise.

    Topics covered:
    • [01:00] Why media flighting became standard marketing practice.
    • [04:00] The difference between blended and marginal ROI explained.
    • [07:30] What happens to TV performance when spend spikes in a short window.
    • [11:00] When always-on advertising beats a flighting strategy.
    • [14:00] How upfronts add rigidity to media planning.
    • [16:00] When flighting does make sense for your brand.
    • [17:30] How to build a 2026 media plan that's both impactful and measurable.






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


    Resources:
    2026 Digiday Article: https://digiday.com/sponsored/how-a-precise-timing-structure-drives-material-differences-in-marketing-efficiency/



    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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    21 m
  • Nerd Alert: How Tiny Brands Grow

    Nerd Alert: How Tiny Brands Grow
    Mar 19 2026
    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 challenge the widely held belief that small brands survive on loyal, niche audiences. They reveal why reach, not loyalty, is the real driver of growth for tiny brands.

    Topics covered:
    • [01:20] "Tiny Brands, Big Challenges: The Limits of Loyalty and the Role of Penetration in Driving Growth"
    • [02:10] What counts as a tiny brand?
    • [04:20] Do tiny brands actually have more loyal customers?
    • [06:10] What growing tiny brands have in common
    • [07:20] Why loyalty follows growth, not the other way around
    • [08:00] Why tiny brands need to compete for the whole category








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


    Resources:
    Barker-Trowse, A., Dunn, S., Graham, C., Sharp, B., & Corsi, A. M. (2026). Tiny brands, big challenges: The limits of loyalty and the role of penetration in driving growth. Journal of Business Research, 204, 115864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115864


    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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    11 m
  • What Your CFO Really Thinks About Marketing

    What Your CFO Really Thinks About Marketing
    Mar 17 2026
    Only 2.6% of board directors have marketing experience. So how is marketing really being evaluated at the top? And what can marketers do about it?

    This episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Marketing Architects CFO Brent Longwall to break down how finance actually evaluates marketing investments. They cover the root causes of tension between marketing and finance, what makes a marketing pitch credible to a CFO, and how to build a shared language across both functions. If you've ever struggled to justify a brand investment or earn trust with your finance team, this one's for you.

    Topics covered:
    • [01:45] Marketing's shrinking influence in the boardroom
    • [03:30] The core tension between marketing and finance time horizons
    • [07:00] The three numbers your CFO checks every month
    • [15:00] What makes a marketing investment credible vs. suspicious
    • [23:00] How marketers can speak the CFO's language
    • [25:00] What marketers should stop (and start) saying to finance








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


    Resources:
    Whitler, Kimberly & Krause, Ryan & Lehmann, Donald. (2018). When and How Board Members with Marketing Experience Facilitate Firm Growth. 10.1509/jm.17.0195?code=amma-site.


    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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    32 m
  • Nerd Alert: The Ad Load Problem

    Nerd Alert: The Ad Load Problem
    Mar 12 2026
    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 what happens when people feel bombarded by ads on social media and why the real threat to engagement isn't a bad ad. It's platform fatigue.

    Topics covered:
    • [01:05] "The Impact of Ad Overload Perception and Social Media on Ad Avoidance Behavior"
    • [02:10] The two theories behind why ads push people away
    • [03:45] How researchers measured ad clutter, fatigue and avoidance
    • [05:55] Why fatigue, not the ad itself, drives avoidance
    • [06:45] Three key takeaways for marketers
    • [08:00] Why TV advertising sidesteps the ad overload problem








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


    Resources:
    Essa Tayeb, M., Chebbi, T., Badawi, A., Ali Toumi, J., & Louail, B. (2024). The impact of ad overloads perception in social media on ad avoidance behavior: The mediating effect of social media fatigue and goal impediment. Management, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.58691/man/197329


    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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    9 m
  • The Marketing Order of Operations (MOO)

    The Marketing Order of Operations (MOO)
    Mar 10 2026
    Tiny brands don't grow through loyalty. They grow through penetration. A study of 400+ brands found that growing brands increased penetration by 135%, compared to just 26% growth from purchase frequency. So where should marketers invest first?

    This episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob introduce the MOO, a seven-step Marketing Order of Operations that gives marketers a clear priority sequence for building effectiveness, from defining the competitive playing field to communicating results internally. The team also covers why even small brands can't afford to ignore marketing effectiveness principles and how to balance short-term performance with long-term brand building.

    Topics covered:
    • [01:00] Research on tiny brands debunks the loyalty-first growth myth
    • [05:00] Step 1: Define your competitive playing field and category buyers
    • [07:30] Step 2: Build distinctive brand assets that make your brand recognizable
    • [12:30] Step 4: Choose channels for both short- and long-term growth
    • [15:00] Step 5: Build a measurement system that matches your objectives
    • [19:30] Step 7: Communicate results in the language of the business








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


    Resources:
    2026 Money Guy Article: https://moneyguy.com/guide/foo/

    Alicia Barker-Trowse, Steven Dunn, Charles Graham, Byron Sharp, Armando Maria Corsi, Tiny brands, big challenges: The limits of loyalty and the role of penetration in driving growth, Journal of Business Research, Volume 204, 2026, 115864, ISSN 0148-2963, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115864.


    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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    27 m
  • Nerd Alert: The Science of Sustainability Advertising

    Nerd Alert: The Science of Sustainability Advertising
    Mar 5 2026
    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 why sustainability advertising is so hard to get right and what brands can do to close the gap between what consumers say they value and what they actually buy.

    Topics covered:
    • [00:55] "Sustainability Advertising: A Literature Review and Framework for Future Research"
    • [01:50] The gap between sustainable intent and action
    • [04:00] The three levers of sustainability advertising: ad context, source characteristics, and message design
    • [05:30] Why consumers don't trust sustainability claims and when third-party cues help
    • [06:15] The sustainability liability: when "eco-friendly" hurts perceived performance
    • [07:40] What brands can do to make sustainability messaging actually work








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


    Resources:
    Rathee, S., & Milfeld, T. (2023). Sustainability advertising: Literature review and framework for future research. International Journal of Advertising. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2023.2175300


    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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    11 m
  • Where Brand Actually Happens

    Where Brand Actually Happens
    Mar 3 2026
    7 in 10 people globally say they're hesitant to trust someone different from them, according to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer. Trust is getting more personal. So where does that leave brands?

    This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob explore what it really means to build a brand in a world where trust is earned through experience, not messaging. They dig into why the gap between marketing promises and reality is so damaging, how to bridge online and in-person brand moments, and what channels like TV do for brand trust that others simply can't. Plus, hear real-world examples of brands that get it right, from Snickers to Disney to Jeep.

    Topics covered:
    • [01:00] 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer findings on consumer trust
    • [03:00] How much control marketers actually have over brand perception
    • [06:00] Where marketing promises most often break down
    • [08:30] Why marketers over-index on comms and under-index on product experience
    • [11:00] The moment where brand actually happens
    • [14:00] How TV builds familiarity that carries into other channels
    • [17:00] Real examples of brands bridging TV and in-person experience








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


    Resources:
    2026 Edelman Trust Barometer Report: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2026/trust-barometer


    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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    22 m