The Marketing Architects

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 new data showing most Fortune 500 ads run on next to nothing, and why the real problem isn't budget size. It's confidence in the ideas worth backing.

Topics covered:   
[02:32] "Fewer, Bigger, Longer, Better" — Creative X's new ad spend study 

[03:47] 93% of ads run on less than $10,000 

[05:02] Production is up 29%, but spend per ad is down 15% 

[07:02] Small tests eat 30% of budget, top ads get just 18% 

[08:02] Why this is a confidence problem, not a budget problem 

[08:32] What marketers should do with the data 

To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. 
 

Resources: 
WARC. (2026, June 22). Most big-brand ads run on digital platforms have tiny budgets. WARC. https://www.warc.com/en/feed/most-big-brand-ads-run-on-digital-platforms-have-tiny-budgets-16a01f05c2ba4a1bbdc515099bb8acb2 
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 week, Elena and Rob are joined by SVP Brand Strategy Catrina McAuliffe to unpack Marketing Architects' new seven-criteria framework for creative quality. Catrina shares how the framework was built, how it held up against 500 marketing and creative pros, and where AI still falls short. Marketers will get a clearer sense of when to trust AI's creative feedback, and when human debate still wins.

Topics covered: 
[01:00] The seven-criteria framework for creative quality 

[09:00] Testing the framework against 500 marketing and creative pros 

[11:00] AI and human scores landed within point-two of each other 

[13:00] Does AI push ideas toward safe, average creative? 

[15:00] How the framework differs from ScriptSooth pretesting 

[16:00] Using AI to sharpen writers, not replace them 

[22:00] Where pretesting and the framework each fit in 

 

To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. 
 

Resources: 
2026 Marketing Architects Research Press Release: https://marketingarchitects.com/blog/marketing-architects-research-gives-humans-and-ai-a-shared-language-for-creative-quality
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 whether product placement in movies sticks in viewers' memories, using the famous Reese's Pieces and E.T. story as a jumping-off point.

Topics covered:   
[02:20] "The Effect of Product Placement in Movies on Brand Recall: A Meta-Analysis" 
[03:10] Why brands pay for screen time instead of commercial breaks 
[04:30] Cohen's d and what counts as a large effect 
[05:10] Kids and adults recall placements about the same 
[06:10] Execution matters more than exposure 
[07:40] Aston Martin versus BMW in the Bond franchise 

 

To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. 
 

Resources: 
Preethy Rose, M., & Shanthi, R. (2024). The effect of product placement in movies on brand recall: A meta-analysis. International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Scope, 5(4), 807–814. 
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 down with System1 Chief Growth Officer Andrew Tindall to talk about what makes marketing research worth trusting. Andrew breaks down why distinctiveness alone won't grow your brand, and why emotion is the real profit driver. The conversation also covers his research on creators, consistency, and why audio remains one of the most underrated channels in the industry. It's a must-listen for any marketer trying to separate real evidence from marketing hype. 

Topics covered: 
[03:00] What "useful evidence" means for marketers
[10:00] Andrew's favorite research-backed finding on emotion 
[13:00] Surprising results from the Creator Effectiveness Playbook 
[17:00] Why distinctive and emotional ads drive more profit 
[20:00] The case for "compound creativity" and consistency 
[25:00] Why audio and radio remain overlooked and undervalued 
[32:00] Andrew's most contrarian marketing opinion 

To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. 
 

Resources: 
2026 The Drum Article: https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/andrew-tindall-marketing-doesn-t-need-perfect-evidence-it-needs-useful-evidence

Andrew Tindall’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-tindall/
 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 unpack System1's new report, "The Cure for Dull," revealing why 48% of ad viewers still feel absolutely nothing and the five creative ingredients marketers can use to fix it. 

Topics covered:   
[01:00] "The Cure for Dull" 

[02:00] Ads that stuck: Nike and Budweiser 

[04:00] Has advertising gotten more or less dull over time? 

[05:00] 48% of viewers feel nothing 

[07:00] Five pillars for treating dull 

[09:00] The megaphone analogy for media budgets 

To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. 
 

Resources: 
System1. (2026). The cure for dull. System1 Group, in collaboration with Adam Morgan (eatbigfish), Peter Field, Karen Nelson-Field, Orlando Wood, and Jon Evans. https://system1group.com/the-cure-for-dull 

Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.