The Marketing Architects

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281

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Introducing a research-first podcast that builds revenue, not condos. Answer questions on the biggest marketing trends and news with discussions based in marketing, psychology and economics research. Along the way, learn about marketing accountability, category leadership, brand-building and much more. Featuring a team of experienced marketers whose blueprints for success are marketing strategies actually proven to work.

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June 16, 2026Episode 16826 min

The Death of the Funnel

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.

June 11, 2026Episode 1118 min

Nerd Alert: When Consumers Punish Acquired Brands

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.

June 9, 2026Episode 16742 min

Synthetic Research and the Future of Marketing with Peter Weinberg

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.

June 4, 2026Episode 1108 min

Nerd Alert: Your Strongest Distinctive Brand Asset

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.

June 2, 2026Episode 16639 min

Two-Thirds of American Marketers Would Fail a Basic Marketing Test with Mark Ritson

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 worldTo 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.

May 28, 2026Episode 1097 min

Nerd Alert: But AI Told Me So!

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 analogyTo 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.

May 26, 2026Episode 16547 min

The Psychology Marketers are Missing with Phill Agnew

Telling people not to listen drove three times more podcast listeners than telling them why they should. That's behavioral science at work, and most marketers are barely scratching the surface of it.This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Phill Agnew, host of "Nudge," the UK's number one marketing podcast. Phill breaks down the hidden psychology that shapes how consumers think and buy, from why visible effort makes your brand more valuable to how scarcity can be applied in ways that go far beyond a "limited time offer." You'll walk away with principles you can apply immediately... and a few that might change how you think about advertising altogether.Topics covered:• [03:00] The labor illusion: why showing your work increases perceived value• [05:00] What System 1 vs. System 2 thinking means for marketers• [12:00] Costly signaling and why TV advertising commands trust• [17:00] The mere exposure effect• [24:00] Distinctiveness vs. differentiation and how to stand out• [33:00] Scarcity done right: the KFC Australia example.• [40:00] The Pratfall Effect and why admitting weakness builds brand likability.To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.Resources:Buell, R. W., & Norton, M. I. (2011). The labor illusion: How operational transparency increases perceived value. Management Science, 57(9), 1564–1579. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1110.1376 2018 The Choice Factory Book: https://www.richardshotton.com/the-choice-factory Behavioral Business Book by Richard Chataway: https://www.amazon.com/Behaviour-Business-behavioural-science-business/dp/0857197347 Phill Agnew’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

May 21, 2026Episode 1089 min

Nerd Alert: Ad Wearout...Wearout

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 the annoyance caused by overexposed ads actually fades over time and what that means for when and how brands should measure campaign effectiveness. Topics covered:[01:20] "Ad Wearout...Wearout: How Time Can Reverse the Negative Effect of Frequent Advertising Repetition on Brand Preference"[02:40] What happens when people see your ad too many times?[03:30] Halloween spiders and a field experiment on frequency[04:00] Memory vs. annoyance: which one lasts longer?[05:30] Why being "in market" changes everything[06:20] What this means for brands with long purchase cyclesTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcastResources:Kronrod, A., & Huber, J. (2019). Ad wearout wearout: How time can reverse the negative effect of frequent advertising repetition on brand preference. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 36(2), 306–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2018.11.008Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

May 19, 2026Episode 16434 min

Changing Brand Perception with Kim Storin, CMO of Zoom

Zoom has incredibly high brand awareness. But that's actually part of the problem. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob sit down with Kim Storin, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Zoom, to dig into one of marketing's most counterintuitive challenges: too much awareness for the wrong thing. Kim shares how she diagnosed Zoom's perception problem, rebuilt the brand's health measurement from scratch, and launched a campaign strategy rooted in category thinking, humor, and hard data. Topics covered: [02:30] Mental availability vs. awareness [06:00] Reinventing brand health measurement to track new buying cohorts [08:30] "Brand to demand" and why Kim refuses to separate the two [11:00] Marketing in the dark funnel and the shift toward a zero-click world [15:00] Building a new category narrative around Zoom [19:00] The thinking behind the "Take Back Lunch" and Zuma Head campaigns [24:00] How AI-driven B2B search is changing citation strategy, content and credibility To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: 2011 Byron Sharp Article: https://byronsharp.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/mental-availability-is-not-awareness-brand-salience-is-not-awareness/Kim’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlystorin/

May 14, 2026Episode 10711 min

Nerd Alert: When Creative Advertising Actually Works

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 sweeping meta-analysis on advertising creativity. Together, they go over what it really means, when it moves the needle most, and why chasing memorability may be the wrong goal.Topics covered:• [01:20] "A Meta-Analysis of When and How Advertising Creativity Works"• [02:45] Originality alone isn't enough• [04:55] High involvement vs. low involvement: where creativity doubles in power• [06:55] The three theories behind why creative ads work• [08:00] Why consumer judges outperform award shows at predicting brand outcomesTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcastResources: Rosengren, S., Eisend, M., Koslow, S., & Dahlen, M. (2020). A meta-analysis of when and how advertising creativity works. Journal of Marketing, 84(6), 39–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920929288Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.