The Reach Delusion: How Marketers Are Wasting Millions & What You Need To Know

In this compelling episode of That's What I Call Marketing, Conor Byrne sits down with Professor Felipe Thomaz, an Oxford-based academic whose research is reshaping how marketers approach media planning and campaign strategy. From his unconventional journey — starting in Brazil, moving through a myriad of industries, and landing at the University of Oxford — to his groundbreaking work on marketing effectiveness, Felipe shares insights that every marketer needs to hear.

Key topics include:

The Role of Media Synergies and Complementarity: Felipe explains why combining media channels isn’t just about reach but about leveraging their unique functionalities to achieve business outcomes.

Challenging Established Marketing Theories: Hear why Felipe’s data-driven research calls into question some widely accepted marketing principles, including those inspired by Byron Sharp.

AI and the Marketplace: Discover how artificial intelligence is not just transforming how marketers create campaigns but fundamentally changing how consumers buy and engage with products.

Campaign Effectiveness: Learn why only 1% of campaigns deliver exceptional results and how most fall short, along with strategies to break out of mediocrity.

Understanding Consumer Journeys: Felipe reveals insights from analysing over a million customer journeys, showing how different channels impact people based on their decision-making tendencies.

If you’re a marketer seeking an edge, this episode offers practical advice, evidence-backed insights, and a glimpse into the future of marketing. Whether you’re in brand management, media planning, or digital marketing, this conversation is your roadmap to outperforming the competition. Access the paper here https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3836621

00:42 Early Life and Career Path

02:37 Research Focus and Government Work

03:47 Marketing Insights and Strategies

04:20 The Power and Complexity of Marketing

08:00 Brand Awareness and Decay

10:06 Research and Publications

11:04 Challenging Established Marketing Theories

18:54 Campaign Efficiency and Optimization

27:38 The Client-Agency Dynamic

28:03 Oversimplification in Media Planning

28:25 The Importance of Honest Conversations

29:08 Channel Selection and Audience Targeting

30:09 Understanding Media Functionality

31:38 The Role of Different Channels

36:16 Avoiding the Scattergun Approach

39:07 Analyzing Media Strategies

42:21 Opportunities in Media Pricing

53:44 Future of Marketing and AI

That’s What I Call Marketing is where marketers come for real conversations about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.

Hosted by Conor Byrne, the show features conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, authors, thinkers and practitioners about what good marketing looks like in practice.

Listen, follow and find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com

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