The Marketing Architects

Explore how brand presence and timing significantly impact viewer memory. Discover why early exposure to your brand in advertisements is critical for optimal recognition. The hosts unveil the two-thirds rule for brand visibility and discuss the consequences of delayed introductions. Delve into the creative tension between storytelling and branding effectiveness. Learn practical takeaways to enhance brand recall, including the strategic use of distinct assets like music and logos throughout your ads.

When your grandma starts asking ChatGPT for recommendations, you know search has fundamentally changed. Josh Blyskal from Profound tracks billions of real AI search queries, and his data reveals a massive shift in how consumers discover and evaluate brands.This week, Elena, Rob, and Jonathan sit down with Josh to discuss answer engine optimization (AEO) and what marketers need to know right now. Josh explains why traditional SEO tactics like domain authority matter less in AI search, how different engines cite content, and the surprising power of FAQs in product discovery. Plus, learn why SEOs have never had a better opportunity to become heroes in their marketing organizations.Topics covered: [04:00] When AI search shifted from novelty to cultural necessity[06:00] How ranking signals differ between ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity[09:00] Why domain authority matters less for AEO than traditional SEO[14:00] Tracking real user prompts across the marketing funnel[19:00] How instant checkout in ChatGPT changes brand visibility strategy[22:00] Why FAQs increased citations by 848% in top-performing domains[26:00] Why SEOs should lead the AEO charge at their companies To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: 2025 Profound Article: https://www.tryprofound.com/guides/what-is-answer-engine-optimizationProfound Website: https://www.tryprofound.com/Profound LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tryprofound/Josh Blyskal’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-blyskal/ Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Highly engaging music can double your return on media investment. Yet most brands treat music as an afterthought, leaving millions on the table.This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Roscoe Williamson, Global Strategy Director at MassiveMusic. Together, they dig into groundbreaking research proving music is a tangible driver of marketing effectiveness. Roscoe shares findings from a study with the IPA that tested hundreds of UK TV ads and reveals which types of music increase brand fame, willingness to pay, and campaign ROI.Topics covered: [01:00] The history of music in advertising from jingles to sonic ecosystems[09:00] Why longer-form music has been a black hole in effectiveness research[14:00] How engaging music can double return on media investment[17:00] Examples of brands using music to drive effectiveness[23:00] Why CMOs should mandate music testing for campaigns over $1 million[27:00] The future of sonic branding and generative AI music  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: IPA & Massive Music Report: https://resources.massivemusic.com/sound-science-whitepaperRoscoe Williamson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roscoewilliamson/ Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Dale Harrison, a marketing strategist known for his research on marketing effectiveness, joins Angela to challenge conventional wisdom about advertising. They discuss how reach, rather than creative quality, drives market share and brand recall. Dale highlights the importance of continuous reach to combat memory decay and warns against the pitfalls of hyper-targeting in CTV. The conversation also covers the role of light buyers in growth and how AI-driven media buying can cut TV costs while expanding audience reach.

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 gift-giving experiences shape emotions, relationships, and brand perception. They reveal why the best brands focus on creating memorable experiences rather than just selling products during the holidays. Topics covered:   [01:00] "Gift Experience in Marketing: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda"[03:00] What marketers get wrong about holiday gifting[05:00] The four key elements of gift exchanges[06:00] Three stages of gift-giving: gestation, presentation, and reformulation[07:00] Why experiential gifts outperform material ones[08:00] Making the giver the hero  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Tyagi, H., & Rahman, Z. (2025). Gift experience in marketing: A systematic review and future research agenda. Indian Institute of Technology.  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Measuring marketing's impact is hard. There's no silver bullet. And if someone tells you there is, they're probably selling you something that only tracks clicks.This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Chief Analytics Officer Matt Hultgren to tackle one of marketing's most persistent challenges: measurement. They explore why so many campaigns fail before they even launch, how to balance short-term performance with long-term brand building, and why the best marketers use multiple models to find the truth.Topics covered: [02:00] Why human behavior makes measurement messy[04:00] The planning problem causing measurement failures[06:00] Choosing your North Star metric[08:00] Balancing immediate CAC with long-term brand growth[10:00] Using multiple models to triangulate the truth[13:00] Quantifying TV's halo effect across channels[15:00] Incrementality testing vs MMM vs synthetic controls To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: 2025 Marketing Architects Report: https://www.marketingarchitects.com/Long-and-Short  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Elena and Rob dive into the impact of retailer-exclusive labels on consumer behavior. They discuss how scarcity can drive excitement but note that such exclusives often fall flat in actually boosting sales. Through experiments with products like vacuums and Blu-rays, they reveal that added exclusive features can hurt appeal when perceived as trivial. Instead of mere labels, they suggest that engaging in-store experiences may be a better way to connect with consumers. Authentic exclusivity should create genuine meaning, rather than rely on superficial distinctions.

Ryan Sullivan, CMO of GoodRx and former performance marketing maven, shares his journey toward challenging traditional marketing paradigms. He discusses the misleading nature of brand search attribution and the hidden costs of programmatic advertising. Ryan highlights how GoodRx's unique ads, like the Savings Wrangler, break the mold in a crowded market. With a focus on 'triangulated measurement,' he emphasizes a balance between broad reach and precise targeting, advocating for a more curious and less controlled approach to marketing.

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 telling people a product isn't for them can boost interest among the right audience. They discuss why exclusion signals expertise and how persuasive framing builds stronger connections with core customers than traditional persuasive messaging.Topics covered:   [01:00] "This Article is Not for Everyone: The Impact of Persuasive Framing on Consumer Response to Product Messages"[02:00] Examples of brands using exclusionary messaging[04:00] Why persuasive ads outperform persuasive ads[05:00] Target specificity and specialized positioning[06:00] The steakhouse billboard and flexing for your audience[07:00] Marketing takeaways: filtering builds credibility  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter.  Resources: Wallach, K. A., Blair, S., & Tanenbaum, J. L. (2025). This article is not for everyone: The impact of dissuasive framing on consumer response to product messages. Journal of Consumer Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucaf034  Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Marc Guldimann, Co-founder and CEO of Adelaide, specializes in measuring media quality with attention metrics. He discusses the surprising truth that elderly intoxicated viewers pay more attention to ads but retain less information. Marc critiques the pitfalls of optimizing for attention, highlighting how it can lead to creative distortions and wasted resources. He advocates for a nuanced approach, promoting a credit-rating-like method for media quality that focuses on genuine outcomes, and reveals why some media channels are undervalued.