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Jul 2025
29m 54s

How Does Advertising Actually Work?

Marketing Architects
About this episode
Does advertising nudge your memory? Change your mind? Or make you feel something? The answer isn't as simple as you think.

This week, Elena, Angela, and Rob examine five leading theories of how advertising works. They debate memory nudging versus persuasion models, explore why emotional ads outperform rational ones, and reveal which approaches actually drive business results.

Topics covered: 
  • [02:00] Memory nudging theory and mental availability from Ehrenberg-Bass
  • [08:00] When persuasion models change consumer minds
  • [13:00] Why emotional priming outperforms rational advertising
  • [18:00] Cultural branding and why most brands can't pull it off
  • [21:00] Signaling theory and how expensive media builds credibility
  • [24:00] Which advertising theory each host likes most
  • [26:00] Mandela Effect game connecting memory to brand recall 








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


Resources: 
2020 Ehrenberg-Bass Institute Study: https://marketingscience.info/what-is-the-effect-of-advertising-on-mental-market-share/ 

 
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