The Marketing Architects

1,100 marketers were asked if they’d recommend working in their own marketing department to a friend or colleague. The results were a definitive "no.” Clearly, marketing teams need a rebrand. Results were better among the 11% of companies the researchers identified as “winning marketing organizations” based on sales and profit growth, implying a relationship between a healthy workplace and teams that achieve success. In this episode, Elena, Rob, and Angela explore why marketing has an image problem in the first place, how bad it is, and strategies leaders can use for successful marketing team management such as fostering clarity, aligning marketing efforts with business goals, and investing in team building. Topics covered: [01:30] Reviewing marketing’s image problem[06:30] Why individual achievement doesn’t translate to management skills[09:30] What does a high-performing team look like?[13:00] Why brand and performance should be separate teams[16:30] The importance of clarifying who owns business growth[20:00] The benefits of investing in learning and coachingTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 MarketingWeek Article Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

For years, Tesla has been the poster child for why not every brand needs advertising. With word-of-mouth alone they became one of the most valuable companies in the world. So why is Tesla now shifting gears into advertising?CEO Elon Musk publicly claimed to hate advertising, preferring to invest in research and development. But in a recent shareholder meeting, he changed his tune, suggesting advertising as a solution to the company’s recent growth challenges. This week, Elena, Rob and Angela dig into Tesla’s decision, how growing competition is changing the playing field for the company, and why all brands eventually need advertising to grow and reach new audiences. Topics covered: [01:00] Why Tesla is launching advertising for the first time[05:30] How advertising affects pricing power[12:30] The importance of investing in product quality[14:00] Advertising provides greater reach than word-of-mouth marketing[16:30] Great advertising isn’t a solution for a bad product[18:00] Reviewing Tesla’s first advertisement To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2022 Statista Chart 2023 Reuters Article 2023 MarketingWeek Article 2023 BusinessInsider Article Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The “dark funnel” gained attention when marketers realized prospects were beginning the customer journey sooner than they’d thought. And they weren’t measuring it.The earliest stages of the buyer journey happen before marketers can identify prospects engagement or without those consumers providing any personal information. These dark funnel touchpoints take place through off-site channels like word of mouth, organic social, reviews, third-party communities, and even podcasts. In this episode, Elena, Rob, and Angela are joined by Director of Analytics Jordan Rossler to talk about the challenges (and benefits) of the dark funnel plus how to set your marketing campaigns up for measurement success. Topics covered: [02:30] What is the dark funnel in marketing?[07:00] How are privacy changes impacting measurement?[09:00] Using multiple models to shed light on the dark funnel[13:00] How to use a “How did you hear about us?” survey[15:30] Where should marketers start with testing a channel’s effectiveness?[17:00] How to approach test design with intentionality[20:00] Using creative pretesting to set marketing tests up for success To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: MarketingProfs Article 2021 6sense Blog 2022 LinkedIn Post Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The top 100 B2B brands across the globe are worth a staggering $2 trillion collectively. But they have $1 trillion in untapped brand potential. Talk about missed opportunity, right?Historically, B2B marketing has been highly rational, focused on features and benefits. But this has come at the price of undervaluing brand-building and awareness. Now, that’s starting to change. In this episode, Angela, Rob and Elena discuss B2B’s emerging focus on brand-building, creativity and reach. Because the truth is that many B2C marketing strategies have just as much relevance for B2B. After all, even as a B2B company, you’re still selling to people. Topics covered: [01:30] Summarizing the study "B2B companies are lagging behind...” from Brand Finance[04:30] B2B buying decisions are still made by people[08:00] What are the differences between B2C and B2B?[13:00] Using characters in B2B creative[18:30] Using TV advertising for B2B growth[23:30] Telling the same story to all buying decision-makersTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 MarketingWeek Article 2021 The B2B Institute Report 2019 Gartner Report Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Reaching large audiences is powerful. But they still need to be the right large audiences. Because even the biggest brands can't afford to skip targeting. Even on mass-reach marketing channels like TV, radio and print.In this episode, Elena, Angela and Rob are joined by VP of Strategy Dan Cleveland to discuss the MarketingWeek article “Even sophisticated mass marketers need targeting.” The team explores the marketing industry’s shift toward mass marketing, but homes in on the need to use mass marketing strategically to drive meaningful results. Like how mass marketing does not equal marketing to everyone you possibly can. (And how mass media can be used for performance marketing, too). Topics covered: [02:25] Recapping Mark Ritson’s article “Even sophisticated mass marketers need targeting”[05:45] Using mass media for strategic growth beyond digital[10:00] How to better define and understand your target audience[17:00] Using response to guide targeting for brick-and-mortar businesses [20:00] Using incremental reach to drive performance[23:00] What does good budget stewardship look like? To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 MarketingWeek Article Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Airbnb is the only public VC-backed company founded in the US in the last 15 years that is meaningfully profitable. How did they do it? They dramatically changed their approach to marketing.Two years ago, Airbnb started prioritizing brand-building while limiting their previous focus on search advertising. In this episode, Elena, Angela and Rob discuss the Airbnb success story, why finding a balance of performance and brand marketing is crucial for business growth, and whether this approach could make sense for brands across multiple categories and life stages.Topics covered: [01:00] Why Airbnb changed their marketing mix[05:30] How Airbnb “became a verb” despite not creating their category[09:00] How TV advertising reduces digital dependency and the “Google tax”[11:00] How other brands like Adidas have also used brand building for growth[14:30] Why digital-focused brands lean into brand marketing[18:30] Turning marketing into a growth-driver To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2019 MarketingWeek Article 2023 MarketingWeek Article 2022 eMarketer Report Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Brand is far more measurable today than 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—and defend its importance to the business.In this episode, Elena, Angela and Rob tackle brand misconceptions from a performance marketer’s perspective. They discuss what it means to build brand awareness and drive tangible business results related to brand growth. Their conclusion? While building brand may seem like a “fluffy” goal, research continually shows it leads to increased revenue and greater customer loyalty. But done right, brand growth should always be measurable. Topics covered: [01:45] 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[16:30] What physical availability looks like for online businesses[18:40] What business stage is right for focusing on brand-building? To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2020 The Marketing Student Article 2013 WARC Article 2023 BuiltIn Article 2012 Scientific American Article Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Behavioral targeting has undeniably changed marketing and advertising, fueling the online advertising industry’s growth to $540 billion globally. But what’s the real impact... for marketers and for consumers?In this episode, Elena, Angela, and Rob discuss a recent article featured in The New York Times that digs into what it means to target (and be targeted) online. They explain the different types of targeting available to marketers, pros and cons of each, and why it’s important to be skeptical when evaluating data to determine the success of marketing campaigns. Just a heads up? We’re big fans of contextual targeting. Topics covered: [00:45] Reviewing “If It’s Advertised to You Online, You Probably Shouldn’t Buy It” from The New York Times[04:30] What are the different types of online targeting?[10:00] What are the benefits and downsides of behavioral targeting?[17:00] Exploring contextual targeting vs behavioral targeting with a study by HP[22:00] How do you know when marketing is really performing?To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 New York Times Article 2023 SSRN Report 2022 AdButler Blog Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

TikTok has over 100 million American users, and US marketers will spend more than $11 billion on the app by the end of 2023. So what happens if the app is banned? In this episode, we’re reviewing everything from the earliest rumors of a ban to the latest court hearings. Elena, Angela, and Rob delve into the discussion around banning TikTok, what it means for marketers, and why even the threat of a ban has implications for data privacy on social platforms ranging from Facebook to Snapchat. They wrap up the conversation with advice for how marketers can shield their campaigns from volatility and unpredictability while acknowledging the growing attention on protecting consumer data. Topics covered: [01:15] The timeline of events around the TikTok ban [4:30] TikTok as an example of social media intersecting with politics [6:30] How the potential ban impacts marketers [9:25] Data privacy concerns on social platforms [14:00] How consumer sentiment around data privacy is changing[16:30] The importance of diversifying your marketing mix To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast. Resources: 2023 The Drum Article 2023 The Drum Article 2020 MarketingWeek Article Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

AI is probably the hottest topic in business right now. And while the core technology is far from new, the launch of ChatGPT has kickstarted a fresh frenzy around AI’s implications for marketers especially. In fact, marketing might be the category of work most impacted by artificial intelligence. In this episode, Elena is joined by Marketing Architects founder Chuck Hengel to discuss how marketers should approach experimenting with AI to improve both efficiency and quality of their work, what it means to look at AI as a “partner in creativity,” and how much the entire industry is still learning as the technology continues to evolve. Topics covered: [02:20] How did AI become the biggest topic in marketing news?[07:25] AI’s potential is much more than increasing efficiency[09:30] Where should marketers begin to apply AI to their daily work?[20:00] Why AI’s value is inherent to its ability to process massive amounts of data[22:10] How to develop guardrails to protect from AI’s downsides[25:00] Lean into learning with AI to become super-marketersTo learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast.Resources: 2023 Adexchanger Article 2017 The Marketing AI Institute Article 2023 The Marketing AI Show Podcast 2023 Quartz Article Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.