The Marketing Architects

Nerd Alert: Do Marketers Know Their Customers?

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 i

AI Didn’t Ruin Your Ads with Steve Babcock

83% of ad executives now use AI in the creative process, up from 60% two years ago. But only 45% of young consumers feel positive about AI-made ads. Advertisers guess tha

Nerd Alert: When to Admit Your Brand's Mistakes

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 i

Betting on the Long with Aaron Pelander, Chief Brand Officer, GOVX

The IPA analyzed nearly 1,000 campaigns and found a 60/40 split between brand and performance marketing drives the strongest long-term growth. GOVX tested that research a

Nerd Alert: Does a Family Name Make People Trust Your Brand?

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 i

The World Cup Just Redefined Sports Advertising

FIFA's 2026 World Cup pulled in more than $9 billion in tournament revenue. A single rule change around new hydration breaks is expected to net Fox at least $250 million

Nerd Alert: Outrage Sells

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 i

How to be a Confident Marketer with Daniel Sills and Dagmara Szulce

B2B marketer confidence jumped this year. But when researchers asked finance leaders the same questions, only 12% said marketing's financial impact holds up under pressur

Nerd Alert: Betting Small on Everything

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 i

Does AI Have Taste? with Catrina McAuliffe

AI and human evaluators rated the same 20 ad concepts within 0.2 points of each other, across nearly every dimension. So can a machine really judge great creative? This

Nerd Alert: The Power of Product Placements

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 i

Marketing Effectiveness and the Proof Problem with Andrew Tindall

Ignaz Semmelweis proved handwashing saved lives, but doctors ignored his messy data for decades. Thousands died waiting for perfect proof. This week, Elena and Rob sit d

Nerd Alert: The Cure for Dull Advertising

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 i

The Media Quality Obsession

Ask media buyers what quality media means, and answers vary. Reach, brand safety, dwell time, exclusivity: nobody agrees, and that confusion is costing marketers real mon

Nerd Alert: Why Nostalgic Advertising 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 i

What The Industry Gets Right and Wrong About Effectiveness

Cannes debuted a new award for creative consistency this year. 73 brands entered. Just two won. This week, Elena, Angela, Rob, Catherine, and Nikki unpack what actually

Nerd Alert: Why Your Advertising ROI is Wrong

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 i

Creating Future Demand with James Hurman

84% of the time, buyers choose a brand that was already on their radar before they ever started shopping. So why do so many marketing budgets only chase the people ready

Nerd Alert: When Personalized Ads Become Creepy

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 i

From the Archive: The Problem with "Purpose" with Nick Asbury

This week, we're resharing a favorite episode from the archive. Enjoy, and we'll be back with new content next week! Our hosts are joined by Nick Asbury, creative writer