83% of ad executives now use AI in the creative process, up from 60% two years ago. But only 45% of young consumers feel positive about AI-made ads. Advertisers guess that number is 82%.

This week, Elena and Angela are joined by Chief Creative Officer Steve Babcock to dig into that gap. Cost efficiency is now the top reason marketers reach for AI. It ranked fifth two years ago. Steve explains where AI slop really comes from, why TV punishes cut corners far more than social does, and what still has to stay human. Plus, why cutting production costs means improving the smallest line item on the page. 

Topics covered: 
[01:40] Why cost efficiency became AI's top-cited benefit 

[04:00] Where AI slop comes from and the uncanny valley 

[11:50] Should brands disclose when an ad was made with AI? 

[15:00] How AI shows up in briefs, idea generation and pretesting 

[22:15] Why TV is the least forgiving channel for AI creative 

[27:30] The case for raising the creative ceiling, not lowering the price floor 

[30:30] Steve's contrarian take on creating with AI 

 


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

Resources: 
2026 IAB and Sonata Insights Study: https://www.iab.com/insights/the-ai-gap-widens/
 

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 look at why burying a mistake isn't always the right call. They learn how an honest flaw in a product's story can make it feel rare, one of a kind and worth paying more for. Plus, the two limits every marketer should know before trying it.

Topics covered:   
[02:05] "Made by Mistake: When Mistakes Increase Product Preference" 

[03:15] The chocolate that people picked over cash 

[04:05] Why a flaw made a drawing sell for more 

[04:20] Intentionality bias and the appeal of the improbable 

[04:45] Mistakes only pay off when you're already skilled 

[06:00] Fun products versus function, and the $6 eBay premium 

 


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

Resources: 
Reich, T., Kupor, D. M., & Smith, R. K. (2018). Made by mistake: When mistakes increase product preference. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(5), 1085–1103. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx089 
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The IPA analyzed nearly 1,000 campaigns and found a 60/40 split between brand and performance marketing drives the strongest long-term growth. GOVX tested that research and broke free of a plateau.

This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob talk with Aaron Pelander, Chief Brand Officer at GOVX, the largest online retailer serving the US military and first responder community. Aaron shares how GOVX moved from a performance-only mindset to a balanced brand strategy. He breaks down the leading indicators his team tracks, from share of search to direct traffic. Marketers on a plateau will get a real plan for building brand strength. 

Topics covered: 
[04:00] GOVX marketing before the plateau hit 

[07:00] What clicked after reading The Long and the Short of It 

[09:00] Splitting budget into member and brand marketing 

[14:00] Leading indicators like share of search and direct traffic 

[21:00] Earning executive buy-in for TV and sponsorships 

[33:00] Aaron's advice for brands stuck on a plateau 

[34:00] Why precise attribution is overrated 




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

Resources: 
2013 IPA Report: https://ipa.co.uk/knowledge/publications-reports/the-long-and-the-short-of-it-balancing-short-and-long-term-marketing-strategies/

GOVX Website: https://www.govx.com/

Aaron Pelander’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronpelander/


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 why family-owned branding builds consumer trust. They dig into new research testing whether a family name on the label actually changes how people feel about a brand, and which categories benefit most.

Topics covered:   
[02:00] "I Vouch for It with My Name" 

[00:35] Why a family name feels like an emotional shortcut 

[03:00] Testing the same cheese ad with two different backstories 

[04:00] How sincerity turns into brand credibility 

[05:35] Which categories benefit most from family ownership 

[07:00] Takeaways for marketers, plus real brand examples 

 


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

Resources: 
Schramm, H., & Zinser, A. (2025). "I vouch for it with my name." The influence of brand perception of family businesses on their credibility and the purchase intention of consumers. Frontiers in Communication, 10, Article 1607511. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1607511 
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

FIFA's 2026 World Cup pulled in more than $9 billion in tournament revenue. A single rule change around new hydration breaks is expected to net Fox at least $250 million in ad revenue alone.

This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob break down what the World Cup's record-breaking business means for marketers investing in live sports. They dig into whether mega events can crowd out regular advertisers, if sponsorships or TV spots make the smarter sports buy, and how brands of any size can get into the game without overspending. Plus, hear creative tips for keeping viewers engaged when 71% of fans admit their attention is split during the game.

Topics covered: 
[00:00] The record-breaking business of the 2026 World Cup 

[03:00] Why the "Americanization" backlash didn't dent demand 

[08:00] How mega events affect TV pricing for other advertisers 

[10:00] Why live sports still build a brand's memory structures 

[14:00] Making creative work for second-screen viewers 

[15:00] Sponsorships vs. TV spots: which buy works best 

 


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

Resources: 
2026 SportsPro Article: https://www.sportspro.com/analysis/sponsorship-marketing/fifa-world-cup-2026-business-revenue-ticketing-broadcast-sponsorship/

2026 WARC Article: FIFA World Cup: https://www.warc.com/en/article/almost-nine-in-ten-fans-plan-to-engage-with-world-cup-games-across-channels-d6e7955af51540c791c76b231ac1eeca

2026 WARC Article: World Cup Engagement: https://www.warc.com/en/article/almost-nine-in-ten-fans-plan-to-engage-with-world-cup-games-across-channels-d6e7955af51540c791c76b231ac1eeca
 

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 how anger changes the way people shop. They break down new research showing angry buyers move faster, skip the safe middle option, and end up more satisfied with what they choose.

Topics covered:   
[02:00] "The Unique Role of Anger Among Negative Emotions in Goal-Directed Decision Making" 

[03:00] Does anger lead to better or worse buying choices? 

[04:00] The compromise effect and the safe middle option 

[05:00] Angry shoppers click less and decide faster 

[06:00] Are angry buyers happier with their choices? 

[07:00] Turning anger appeals into action 

[08:00] How brands can use a "villain" to tap into emotion 

 


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

Resources: 
Khan, U., DePaoli, A., & Maimaran, M. (2019). The unique role of anger among negative emotions in goal-directed decision making. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 4(1), 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1086/701028 
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

B2B marketer confidence jumped this year. But when researchers asked finance leaders the same questions, only 12% said marketing's financial impact holds up under pressure.

This week, Elena and Rob talk with Daniel Sills of NewtonX and Dagmara Szulce of the ANA about their new Confident B2B Marketer study. They unpack why marketer confidence is rising, and why finance and revenue leaders aren't yet convinced. The group breaks down the vocabulary gap driving that disconnect, and how confident marketers grew brand investment in a year when most companies cut back.

Topics covered: 
[03:00] Key findings from the Confident B2B Marketer study 

[04:00] What's driving marketer confidence up this year 

[09:00] The vocabulary gap between marketing and finance 

[12:00] How confident marketers grew brand budgets under pressure 

[18:00] Marketing to complex buying groups and AI search 

[22:00] Using AI without losing your data foundation 

[26:00] The one move to make before your next budget cycle 




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


Resources: 
2025 ANA and NewtonX Confident B2B Marketer Study: https://www.newtonx.com/article/confident-b2b-marketer-2026/

Daniel Sills’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielpsills/

Dagmara Szulce’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dagmaraszulce/

NewtonX Website: https://www.newtonx.com/work-with-us/?utm_campaign=50131755-PER-PC-General-Podcast-Campaign-All-2026-01-01&utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Marketing%20Architects

ANA Website: https://www.ana.net/
 


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 new data showing most Fortune 500 ads run on next to nothing, and why the real problem isn't budget size. It's confidence in the ideas worth backing.

Topics covered:   
[02:32] "Fewer, Bigger, Longer, Better" — Creative X's new ad spend study 

[03:47] 93% of ads run on less than $10,000 

[05:02] Production is up 29%, but spend per ad is down 15% 

[07:02] Small tests eat 30% of budget, top ads get just 18% 

[08:02] Why this is a confidence problem, not a budget problem 

[08:32] What marketers should do with the data 




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

Resources: 
WARC. (2026, June 22). Most big-brand ads run on digital platforms have tiny budgets. WARC. https://www.warc.com/en/feed/most-big-brand-ads-run-on-digital-platforms-have-tiny-budgets-16a01f05c2ba4a1bbdc515099bb8acb2 
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

AI and human evaluators rated the same 20 ad concepts within 0.2 points of each other, across nearly every dimension. So can a machine really judge great creative?

This week, Elena and Rob are joined by SVP Brand Strategy Catrina McAuliffe to unpack Marketing Architects' new seven-criteria framework for creative quality. Catrina shares how the framework was built, how it held up against 500 marketing and creative pros, and where AI still falls short. Marketers will get a clearer sense of when to trust AI's creative feedback, and when human debate still wins.

Topics covered: 
[01:00] The seven-criteria framework for creative quality 

[09:00] Testing the framework against 500 marketing and creative pros 

[11:00] AI and human scores landed within point-two of each other 

[13:00] Does AI push ideas toward safe, average creative? 

[15:00] How the framework differs from ScriptSooth pretesting 

[16:00] Using AI to sharpen writers, not replace them 

[22:00] Where pretesting and the framework each fit in 

 


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

Resources: 
2026 Marketing Architects Research Press Release: https://marketingarchitects.com/blog/marketing-architects-research-gives-humans-and-ai-a-shared-language-for-creative-quality
 

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 whether product placement in movies sticks in viewers' memories, using the famous Reese's Pieces and E.T. story as a jumping-off point.

Topics covered:   
[02:20] "The Effect of Product Placement in Movies on Brand Recall: A Meta-Analysis" 
[03:10] Why brands pay for screen time instead of commercial breaks 
[04:30] Cohen's d and what counts as a large effect 
[05:10] Kids and adults recall placements about the same 
[06:10] Execution matters more than exposure 
[07:40] Aston Martin versus BMW in the Bond franchise 

 


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

Resources: 
Preethy Rose, M., & Shanthi, R. (2024). The effect of product placement in movies on brand recall: A meta-analysis. International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Scope, 5(4), 807–814. 
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.