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 explore why narrative ads work even when they say little about the product. The answer lies in image fluency. How easily a story can be pictured shapes how much people like the ad and the brand behind it.

Topics covered:  
[01:05] "Image Fluency and Narrative Advertising Effects"
[01:55] The four steps of ad processing
[03:00] How matching visuals change brand attitudes
[03:55] Familiar vs. unfamiliar story scenarios
[04:35] How to make your ads easier to imagine
[05:00] Why clarity matters more than originality 

 

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

Resources: 
Chang, C. (2013). Imagery fluency and narrative advertising effects. Journal of Advertising, 42(1), 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2012.749087 
 

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Marketers love the idea that premium media makes brands premium. But the research is surprisingly mixed. High involvement content can change how ads land, sometimes helping attitudes, sometimes hurting recall.

This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob tackle the debate between premium media and efficient reach. They review mixed research on media context effects, break down the extreme cost differences between premium and standard TV placements, and share when high-profile media genuinely outperforms. Discover why sacrificing reach for prestige might hurt more than help.

Topics covered: 
[02:00] Super Bowl advertising performance data
[04:00] The history of premium media and costly signaling
[09:00] Cost differences between premium and standard TV placements
[14:00] When premium media actually performs better
[18:00] Creative requirements for premium placements
[26:00] Playing "Worth the Premium" game with real scenarios 

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

Resources: 
Norris, Claire E.; Colman, Andrew M.; Aleixo, Paulo A. (2003). Selective Exposure to Television Programmes and Advertising Effectiveness. University of Leicester. Journal contribution. https://hdl.handle.net/2381/3983  

Hartmann, W. R., & Klapper, D. (2016). Super Bowl Ads (Working Paper No. 2139). Stanford Graduate School of Business. https://web.stanford.edu/~wesleyr/SuperBowl.pdf 
 

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 explore how privacy first advertising changes digital marketing. They reveal that when individual tracking disappears, platforms must rely on user groups instead. This shifts advertising toward probabilistic targeting, like how TV has always worked. 

Topics covered: 
[01:00] "Reach, Measurement, Optimization and Frequency Capping and Targeted Online Advertising Under K Anonymity"
[01:45] Privacy forces less tracking, more thinking
[02:50] How K Anonymity groups users by shared traits
[04:35] Simulating the trade-off between privacy and performance
[06:00] Privacy pushes reach-first thinking 

 

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

Resources: 
Gao, Y., & Qiao, M. (2025). Reach measurement, optimization and frequency capping in targeted online advertising under k-anonymity. arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.04882. 

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

A single 30-second Super Bowl spot now costs $8 million. Factor in production, celebrities, and amplification, and total campaign costs land between $15 and $50 million. So, are the ads actually worth it?

Elena, Angela, and Rob break down this year's Super Bowl commercials through a marketing effectiveness lens. They discuss which brands nailed distinctive assets versus those that let celebrity overshadow strategy, why consistency beats spectacle, and what separates memorable ads from forgettable ones. 

Topics covered: 
[02:00] Classic TV commercial effectiveness errors in Super Bowl ads
[06:00] Which brands executed distinctive brand assets well
[11:00] The Pepsi polar bear debate and brand linkage
[20:00] Patterns across effective ads: product as hero and consistency
[28:00] Quiet winners that did real work for brands
[32:00] Key takeaways for brands not advertising in the Super Bowl 

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

Resources: 
2026 Adwave Article: https://adwave.com/resources/super-bowl-commercial-cost

2026 Billboard Article: https://www.billboard.com/lists/super-bowl-2026-time-performers-commercials-everything-to-know/
 

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 explore what makes ads memorable over time, not just minutes after viewing. They reveal how emotion, brand relevance, and AI are reshaping how marketers should think about ad recall and creative testing. 

Topics covered: 
[01:00] "Long-Term Ad Memorability: Understanding and Generating Memorable Ads"
[02:00] Why short-term recall is a poor proxy for advertising effectiveness
[04:00] Emotion as the strongest driver of long-term memory
[05:00] How brand relevance affects ad memorability
[06:00] AI model Henry predicts and generates more memorable ads
[07:00] Practical takeaways for marketers on creative testing  

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

Resources: 
Khosla, A., Ranjan, A., Torralba, A., Oliva, A., & colleagues. (2024). Long-term ad memorability: Understanding and generating memorable ads. Adobe Research and collaborating universities. 

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