There's a lot of marketing effectiveness research out there. Binet and Field. Byron Sharp. Jenni Romaniuk. The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. Karen Nelson-Field. Peter Field. System1. The Effies and the IPA databank. If you're trying to absorb all of this while doing your actual job, it's overwhelming.

So we're making it simple: Eight fundamentals. These aren't tactics or channels. They're the underlying truths that emerge when you look at decades of research across thousands of brands, dozens of categories, and 50+ countries.

In this episode, V and Marc break down:

1. Strong Force vs. Weak Force - Why only 5% of buyers are ready to purchase right now, and why you need to build memory with the other 95%
2. Growth Comes From Reach, Not Loyalty - Why big brands aren't more loved, they're just more bought
3. Easy to Mind, Easy to Find - Mental and physical availability: being thought of and being findable
4. Bothism: Balance Short & Long - Why you need both brand building (60%) and sales activation (40%)
5. Creativity & Emotion Multiply Effectiveness - Why emotional campaigns are 11x more effective than rational ones
6. Fame & Consistency Build Memory - Why you should stop rebranding and commit to distinctive assets for decades
7. Making Promises & Building Trust - Why your entire organization needs to deliver on what marketing promises
8. Investment Drives Return - Why share of voice predicts share of market

The pattern across all eight? They require playing a longer game than most marketers are willing to play. Time and consistency win. These are the laws of gravity for marketing—you can ignore them, but they're still operating.

Whether you're in B2B or consumer, whether you're a CMO or running a small marketing team, these fundamentals apply. The question isn't "Do these apply to my business?" It's "How do I apply these to my specific context?"

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction & Overview

"We took 39 sources... synthesized it all into eight fundamental principles"

01:04 - Episode Opening

V and Marc introduce the episode and explain what fundamentals mean

03:36 - List of 8 Fundamentals

Quick overview of all eight principles

04:36 - Fundamental #1: Strong Force vs. Weak Force

How advertising actually works - the 5/95 rule

11:46 - Fundamental #2: Growth Comes From Reach, Not Loyalty

Why penetration beats retention

19:06 - Fundamental #3: Easy to Mind, Easy to Find

Mental and physical availability

27:45 - Fundamental #4: Bothism - Balance Short & Long

The 60/40 split and why you need both

38:03 - Fundamental #5: Creativity & Emotion Multiply Effectiveness

Why emotional campaigns are 11x more effective

46:31 - Fundamental #6: Fame & Consistency Build Memory

Distinctive assets and the danger of rebranding

54:14 - Fundamental #7: Making Promises & Building Trust

Why your whole organization owns the brand promise

01:00:11 - Fundamental #8: Investment Drives Return

Share of voice predicts share of market

01:08:22 - Synthesis & Wrap-Up

The pattern across all 8: Time and consistency

REFERENCES

Strong vs. Weak Force

Advertising: Strong Force or Weak Force? Two Views an Ocean Apart https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02650487.1990.11107151 

The weak force school vs the strong force school https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/swocc/the-weak-force-school-vs-the-strong-force-school/en-gb/88053? 

Les Binet How Advertising REALLY works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9EDJs3evCI

Andrew Ehrenberg Advertising: Strongly Persuasive or Nudging? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288306321_Advertising_Strongly_persuasive_or_nudging

Byron Sharp, Malcolm Wright & Gerald Goodhardt Purchase Loyalty is Polarised into either Repertoire or Subscription Patterns   https://www.marketingscience.info/wp-content/uploads/staff/2015/08/7539.pdf 

Growth Comes From Reach, Not Loyalty

Byron Sharp: "How Brands Grow" (Chapters on Double Jeopardy and penetration) https://www.amazon.ca/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/0195573560

Romaniuk & Sharp: "How Brands Grow Part 2" (B2B evidence) https://www.amazon.ca/How-Brands-Grow-Including-Emerging/dp/0190330023/ref=pd_bxgy_thbs_d_sccl_1/140-1332947-4400340 

Ehrenberg-Bass: Decades of analysis across 50+ countries https://marketingscience.info/marketing-theory-evidence-practice/ 

Binet & Field Long & Short of It: Brand penetration is the primary driver of share growth https://www.amazon.ca/Long-Short-Balancing-Long-Term-Strategies/dp/085294134X

Marketing’s 60/20 Pareto Law Byron Sharp, Jenni Romaniuk, Charles Graham https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338094423_Marketing's_6020_Pareto_Law

Easy to Mind, Easy to Find

Byron Sharp: "How Brands Grow" (Chapters on Double Jeopardy and penetration) https://www.amazon.ca/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/0195573560

Romaniuk & Sharp: "How Brands Grow Part 2" (B2B evidence) https://www.amazon.ca/How-Brands-Grow-Including-Emerging/dp/0190330023/ref=pd_bxgy_thbs_d_sccl_1/140-1332947-4400340 

Ehrenberg-Bass: Decades of analysis across 50+ countries https://marketingscience.info/marketing-theory-evidence-practice/

Herbert Simon’s work on Satisficing https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/satisficing.asp 

The market-based assets theory of brand competition https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096969892300317X 

Jenni Romaniuk: "Building Distinctive Brand Assets" (mental availability framework) https://www.amazon.ca/Building-Distinctive-Brand-Assets-Romaniuk/dp/0190311509/ref=sr_1_1 

B2B Institute and Jenni Romaniuk:  Category Entry Points in a B2B World https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/b2b-institute/cep-in-b2b 

Binet & Field: Fame beats uniqueness from the Long & Short of It https://www.amazon.ca/Long-Short-Balancing-Long-Term-Strategies/dp/085294134X

Karen Nelson-Field, Adam Morgan & Peter Field The Cost of Dull Media https://www.amplified.co/resources/cost-of-dull 

Bothism: Balance Short & Long

Mark Ritson coined the term: https://www.marketingweek.com/ritson-bothism-cure-marketers-fascination-conflict/

Binet & Field: "The Long and the Short of It" (the fou