Concern over short-termism has more than doubled in three years, from 25% of marketers calling it the biggest industry issue in 2022 to 55% in 2025. And yet, budget allocation has barely moved.This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob dig into why the say-do gap persists in media planning and what it looks like to build a mix based on marketing effectiveness principles instead. They walk through the 60-40 rule and how to make it your own, what warning signs signal a brand is over-indexed on performance, and why channels like TV and audio earn a closer look when competitors are busy piling into the same digital placements. Topics covered:[01:00] The say-do gap and why marketers keep doing what they know doesn't work[05:22] What rebalancing toward brand building looks like in practice[07:27] Warning signs your brand is over-indexed on performance[10:00] How to use reach to grow beyond your existing customers[12:28] Using share of voice to find channel opportunities your competitors have missed[14:08] Linear vs. CTV: how to use each as a distinct strategic tool[17:46] Building a measurement approach that captures both short and long-term impactTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: 2026 WARC Article: https://www.warc.com/en/article/whats-stopping-cmos-investing-in-brand-building-9ceffeb68530467cb3ecc12959e94670 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 dig into a direct experiment comparing TV and YouTube advertising to find out which format drives more attention, stronger emotion, and better brand memory.Topics covered:•    [01:40] "TV versus YouTube"•    [02:00] How the study was designed•    [03:46] Which platform captures more attention?•    [05:56] The serial position effect and ad memory•    [06:36] Your body remembers ads your brain forgets•    [08:20] What this means for your media mixTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources: Weibel, D., di Francesco, R., Kopf, R., Fahrni, S., Brunner, A., Kronenberg, P., Lobmaier, J. S., Reber, T. P., Mast, F. W., & Wissmath, B. (2019). TV vs. YouTube: TV advertisements capture more visual attention, create more positive emotions and have a stronger impact on implicit long-term memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 626. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00626Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Rebalancing toward brand from a performance-only mix lifts revenue ROI by a median of 90%. Yet 67% of senior marketers are still shifting budget the wrong direction. The gap between what marketers know and what they do turns out to be one of the costliest problems in the industry.In this episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob dig into the Multiplier Playbook, a new WARC report that surveyed over 200 senior marketers to identify the structural, cultural, and measurement barriers keeping brands stuck in a performance-only loop. They break down the doom loop, explain the missing 15% of brand value hiding in baseline sales, and discuss what it really takes to close the say-do gap. Topics covered:[01:18] What the Multiplier Playbook found about the say-do gap [02:01] Why 67% of marketers keep shifting budget toward performance [07:15] The doom loop and how performance-only thinking compounds over time [10:56] The missing 15% of brand value hiding in your baseline [14:12] Why 41% of marketers say creativity is seen as a risk [16:13] How brand investment strengthens your visibility in AI-driven search [17:55] Why 90% of ads get pulled before they ever wear inTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources:The Multiplier Playbook: https://www.warc.com/en/the-multiplier-playbook-2026Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 whether humor belongs in B2B advertising. They dig into new research that challenges the assumption that business buyers only respond to rational, no-nonsense messaging. Topics covered:[02:44] "To Humor or Not Humor: Buyers Evaluating the Effective Use of Humor in B2B Advertisements"[03:06] How often is humor used in B2B vs. B2C ads?[04:55] What four experiments with 305 B2B buyers revealed[05:45] Three conditions that determine when humor helps or hurts[06:47] Why humor is a door opener, not a deal closerTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast Resources: Swani, K., Gulas, C. S., & Dinsmore, J. (2025). To humor or not humor buyers? Evaluating the effective use of humor in B2B advertisements. Journal of Business Research, 200, 115632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115632 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

A premium supplement brand saw retail sales jump 40% in six months after one strategic shift: switching from direct response TV to brand advertising. That single result changed 25-year media pro Peter Sengenberger's entire belief system. In this episode, Elena and Rob are joined by Peter Sengenberger, former demand gen and brand strategy lead at BambooHR. Peter explains why over-reliance on performance channels creates a "doom loop," why brand advertising builds what he calls "prepaid demand," and how his "depth of message" framework ranks media by the quality of impressions they deliver.  Topics covered: [00:00] Performance marketing's "doom loop" and the case for brand advertising [04:00] Supplement brand case study: 40% retail lift from brand TV [09:00] The true cost of over-optimization [13:00] Why TV earns the highest trust and completion rates [16:00] CTV skepticism: what is overpromised and why[18:00] Programmatic media and the algorithmic house advantage[20:00] What direct response teaches every marketer To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy: https://www.amazon.com/Ogilvy-Advertising-David/dp/039472903X22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout: https://www.amazon.com/22-Immutable-Laws-Marketing-Violate/dp/0887306667/Grow with Peter Substack: https://growwithpeter.substack.com/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 examine why advertising consistently underperforms with consumers over 60 and find the answer has less to do with older brains and more to do with where marketers are pointing their media budgets. Topics covered: [00:02:00] "Differences in Advertising Effectiveness Across Age Groups[00:03:00] How researchers measured mental availability across 1,500 [00:04:00] The associative penetration gap between age groups[00:07:00] How the purchase funnel narrows sharply at 60-plus[00:08:00] Why newer product categories widen the confidence gap[00:10:00] Three practical takeaways for reaching older audiences To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast Resources:  Mecredy, P., Stocchi, L., & Feetham, P. (2025). Differences in advertising's effectiveness across age groups. International Journal of Advertising, 44(2), 235–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2370678 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Concern about short-termism among marketers jumped from 25% in 2022 to 55% in 2025. Budget allocation barely moved. The funnel may not be dead, but it might be damaging your brand.This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob debate whether the marketing funnel still belongs in the boardroom. They unpack why the funnel persists despite strong evidence against it, how ad platforms reinforce flawed thinking for commercial reasons, and what alternatives actually work. Topics covered:•    [01:00] Marketing Week article on why funnel reinvention is backfiring•    [02:00] The funnel as a mental shortcut vs. a map of how people buy•    [05:00] How ad platforms built funnel logic into their products for commercial reasons•    [07:00] Categories where the funnel fits (and where it falls apart)•    [11:00] The say-do gap: marketers believe in brand investment but budgets barely moved•    [15:00] Tom Roach's alternative: building, nudging, and connecting•    [18:00] How to plan media without the funnel•    [20:00] What great creative looks like when you stop thinking in funnel stagesTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources:2025 Marketing Week Article: https://www.marketingweek.com/reality-check-funnel-reinvent/Google Messy Middle Research: https://business.google.com/us/think/consumer-insights/navigating-purchase-behavior-and-decision-making/WARC Multiplier Effect Report: https://page.warc.com/the-multiplier-effect-reportThinkbox Profitability 2 Report: https://www.thinkbox.tv/profitability2Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 consumers sometimes turn on brands after an acquisition, even when the product hasn't changed, and what marketers can do to soften the blow.Topics covered:[02:05] "When and Why Consumers React Negatively to Brand Acquisitions: A Values Authenticity Account"[03:00] What is values authenticity, and why does it matter?[04:05] Why the underdog effect isn't the real culprit[04:40] How a 15% stake can start eroding consumer trust[05:55] Five factors that can reduce acquisition backlash[06:55] What competing brand equities mean for marketersTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast Resources: Biraglia, A., Fuchs, C., Maira, E., & Puntoni, S. (2023). When and why consumers react negatively to brand acquisitions: A values authenticity account. Journal of Marketing, 87(4), 601–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429221137817 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

95% of senior marketing leaders are already using or planning to use synthetic data within 12 months. So why are so many marketers still on the fence?In this episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob talk with Peter Weinberg, co-founder of Evidenza and former head of research at LinkedIn’s B2B Institute. They discuss where to start with synthetic audiences, how to assess accuracy, and why brand building still matters as AI changes how people search and decide.Topics covered:•    [00:00] Introductions and what synthetic research actually is•    [03:00] Why 95% of marketing leaders plan to use synthetic data within 12 months•    [05:00] Synthetic research really replaces ignorance, not traditional surveys•    [09:00] How to evaluate accuracy in synthetic research tools•    [10:30] Where marketers should start: find the white spaces first•    [16:00] Why AI can be creative and what 'temperature' means for marketers•    [24:00] Why brand still matters in an AI-driven search world•    [28:00] How Evidenza applied Ehrenberg-Bass principles to build their own brand•    [34:00] Why more real-time data can lead to worse decisionsTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources:2025 Qualtrics Article: https://www.qualtrics.com/articles/strategy-research/synthetic-research-breakthrough/Peter's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weinbergpeter/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 the first large-scale benchmarking study of distinctive brand assets, and the results challenge some long-held assumptions about which assets actually stick in consumer memory. Topics covered:[01:35] "Shape-Based Assets Are Strongest: Benchmarking Distinctive Brand Asset Performance Across Industries"[02:55] What is a distinctive brand asset?[03:30] Fame vs. uniqueness: the two dimensions of distinctiveness[04:15] Why color is the weakest asset type[05:35] The bizarreness effect[06:00] When narrative assets outperform visual onesTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast Resources: Phua, P., Bali, L., Anesbury, Z., & Sharp, B. (2026). Shape-based assets are strongest: Benchmarking distinctive brand asset performance across industries. International Journal of Advertising. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2026.2637295 Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.