The Marketing Architects

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 in

To 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-2026

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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 closer







To 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/039472903X
  
  
• 22 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 stages





To 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-report

Thinkbox Profitability 2 Report: https://www.thinkbox.tv/profitability2


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 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 marketers

To 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 decisions


To 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 ones

To 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.

More than 40% of American marketers can't define positioning. And 84% of those same marketers rate themselves as above average. Both can't be right.

This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Mark Ritson, marketing professor, consultant, and creator of the Mini MBA. Mark walks through his new research with Ipsos on US marketing knowledge, explains why formal training is the single biggest predictor of marketing competence, and shares the one concept every marketer should prioritize. The conversation also covers market orientation, how AI is reshaping marketing careers, and what it takes to stay relevant in the years ahead.

Topics covered:
•    [01:00] Ipsos study reveals the US marketing knowledge gap
•    [04:00] Why formal education is the top predictor of marketing success
•    [08:00] Where marketers can find good training today
•    [13:00] Market orientation as the most important concept to learn
•    [17:00] How AI will reshape marketing careers and roles
•    [24:00] Byron Sharp and Mark Ritson's upcoming Cannes Lions session
•    [27:00] What the rise of AI means for the agency world






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




Resources:

2025 Adweek Article: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/two-thirds-of-american-marketers-would-fail-a-basic-marketing-test/

Mark Ritson's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markritson/ 



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 how large language models like ChatGPT recommend vendors. They unpack why visibility in AI-generated lists doesn't always mean credibility, and what marketers can do about it.

Topics covered:

• [01:00] "Visibility is Not Equal to Credibility: Self-Promotion Bias in LLM Generated Recommendations"
• [02:30] Three patterns brands use to game AI rankings
• [03:50] What ChatGPT admitted when pushed for sources
• [04:30] Can better prompts fix the problem?
• [04:50] Takeaways for marketers and brands
• [05:30] The talent show analogy

To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast

Resources:
Sangra, T. (2026). Visibility is not equal to credibility: Self-promotion bias in LLM-generated recommendations. She Innovates AI Research. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6598718

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