The Marketing Architects

Kim Kardashian and Skims. Snoop Dogg’s 'smokeless’ stunt for Solo Brands. And of course, celebrity-packed Super Bowl commercials. What’s the true power of star power in advertising?This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are discussing the benefits (and risks) of using a celebrity to promote your brand. Because while celebrities can drive strong attention to your ad, they typically come with high price tags, can feel inauthentic if they aren’t clearly connected to your brand, and can even draw attention away from your product or service through the ‘vampire effect.’ The team talks through when a celebrity might not be the right choice and how to find the right partner when you are pursuing a celebrity endorser.Topics covered: [01:30] The types of celebrity endorsements[02:30] The history of celebrities in advertising[05:30] How celebrities drive greater attention in ads[08:00] The pros and cons of partnering with a celebrity[11:30] Using characters vs celebrities[13:00] How to choose the right celebrity for your brand[17:30] Marketing Architects’ celebrity fantasy draftTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 Knowledge at Wharton Article: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-marketing-psychology-behind-celebrity-endorsements/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The podcast discusses the balance between digital and offline marketing channels for brand-building, emphasizing the effectiveness of offline channels. Topics cover marketers' bias towards digital, limitations of online advertising, barriers to testing offline channels, and strategies for testing offline on a budget. The importance of TV advertising for business growth is highlighted, along with the introduction of Misfits & Machines.

VP of Analytics Matt Hultgren joins the hosts to debate reach vs frequency in marketing. Topics include defining reach and frequency, the value of first impressions, streaming TV frequency, creative quality impact, and planning a campaign for both reach and frequency.

The US might be behind in marketing effectiveness—at least according to Mark Ritson. But why? What does the state of marketing effectiveness and research really look like?This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Dr. Mitch Olsen, marketing professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame, to answer that very question. With rich experience in both the corporate and academic worlds of marketing, Mitch shares his thoughts on the state of marketing effectiveness in the US, the process behind publishing marketing research, and how the next generation of marketers are being taught to prioritize business outcomes in their work. Topics covered: [02:00] Mark Ritson’s take on effectiveness in the US[03:30] Mitch’s experience marketing at P&G and transition to academia[11:30] The process of publishing marketing research[16:30] Is the US actually behind on effectiveness?[23:30] What marketing education looks like today[26:00] How is TV advertising discussed in the classroom?To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 MarketingWeek Article: https://www.marketingweek.com/effectiveness-ignorance-american-marketing/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The biggest ad platforms are leaning into media mix modeling, even when that means giving other ad channels more credit than their own. Why? Well, MMM might just be making a comeback. This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by VP Strategy Dan Cleveland and Director of Analytics Jordan Rossler to talk about all things MMM. They’re digging into the pros and cons of the model, how new tools have made MMM more accessible than ever, and the importance of tying marketing investments back to business results. Topics covered: [02:00] Why Facebook, Google and Amazon are adopting MMM[04:30] What is media mix modeling (MMM)?[05:30] Why marketers aren’t satisfied with last-click attribution[10:00] How MMM provides a holistic view of performance[13:00] Meta’s Robyn vs Google’s Lightweight[16:30] Why MMM struggles to measure brand impacts[21:30] How AI will change MMMTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 Adexchanger Article: https://www.adexchanger.com/measurement/why-facebook-google-and-amazon-are-embracing-media-mix-modeling/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

B2B marketing is behind. Research by BrandFinance shows the top 100 B2B brands have $1 trillion in untapped brand potential... It might just be time for a B2B marketing revolution.This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob are joined by Colin Fleming, EVP Global Marketing at Salesforce. Colin leads a team of more than 600 marketers building Salesforce’s brand and customer base. In this episode, he shares how Salesforce identified the need to lean into brand-building, how to balance brand and performance objectives, and why B2B marketers need to spend more time thinking about the humans on the other end of their work. Topics covered: [02:00] MarketingWeek on why B2B brands are behind[03:30] Colin’s experience as a F1 racecar driver[08:30] Brand marketing for Salesforce[11:15] Marketing effectiveness for B2B[14:30] Treating B2B like B2C marketing[21:00] Thinking about category entry points (CEPs)[24:00] How Salesforce’s forest characters came to life[33:00] Using TV’s broad reach for business growthTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 BrandFinance Report: https://static.brandirectory.com/reports/brand-finance-global-b2b-brands-index-2023-full-report.pdf Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Only 15% of brand assets are truly distinctive. And just 19% of logos achieve “gold” status in recognizability according to a study by Ipsos and JKR. So where are things going wrong?This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob talk about what makes assets truly distinctive, the most effective formats for memorability, and whether consistency or creativity plays a larger role in an asset’s success. Plus, quiz yourself along with the hosts as they run through some of the most well-known brand assets used today. Topics covered: [01:00] MarketingWeek’s review of brand assets study[04:00] The highest-scoring format for distinctive assets[05:30] Why patience matters for distinctiveness[09:00] Assets need to be memorable, ownable, and have long-term potential[10:00] How distinctive assets have been elevated on TV[14:00] Using AI to evaluate brand assets[18:00] Distinctive assets quizTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 MarketingWeek Article: https://www.marketingweek.com/15-brand-assets-truly-distinctive-finds-research/ Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week, we’re resharing one of our top episodes from the archive. Enjoy, and we’ll be back with new content next week!Brand is far more measurable today than it was even five years ago. So why are we still questioning brand’s value? Maybe because it’s tough to know exactly how to grow brand. Or how to defend its importance to the business. In this episode, Elena, Angela and Rob tackle brand misconceptions from a performance marketer’s perspective, from what it means to build brand awareness to driving tangible business results related to brand growth. Topics covered: [02:00] Brand awareness vs performance marketing[05:30] How can marketers defend brand’s ability to drive business results?[7:00] Defining brand awareness and measuring brand growth[12:00] How to grow your brand[16:00] What physical availability looks like for online businesses[18:30] What business stage is right for focusing on brand-building?To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2020 The Marketing Student Article: https://www.themarketingstudent.com/how-brands-grow/2013 WARC Article: https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/the-long-and-short-of-it-measuring-campaign-effectiveness-over-time/en-gb/17272023 BuiltIn Article: https://builtin.com/marketing/mere-exposure-effect2012 Scientific American Article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kahneman-excerpt-thinking-fast-and-slow/Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Catherine Walstad, VP Media, joins Elena, Angela, and Rob to discuss the potential and pitfalls of Connected TV in 2024. They cover topics such as CTV ad spend, the future of TV advertising, targeting challenges, CTV measurement, testing creative in CTV, and driving CTV results for performance marketers.

Advertisers are tracking their investments more carefully and attention metrics in advertising are gaining relevance. The hosts discuss the benefits and challenges of attention metrics, including how they go beyond visibility and impressions. They explore eye tracking technology, its impact on marketing, and its use in analyzing TV commercials. The connection between attention and persuasion is emphasized, highlighting the importance of attention metrics in marketing.