Lab-Grown Marketing by Evidenza

Most ads aren’t ignored because they’re bad. They’re ignored because they assume attention that doesn’t exist.
The real problem isn’t a “worst-case scenario” — it’s the default one.

In this episode, Jon and Peter break down why modern advertising must be designed for half a second, sound off, mid-scroll. They unpack the picture superiority effect, why visuals are processed up to 20x faster than text, and why branding is mandatory while messaging is optional — no matter how smart your copy sounds in a deck.

From Renaissance garb to Geico geckos, the guys explore why distinctive visual assets outperform clever words, why most marketers massively underinvest in imagery, and how AI-generated visuals are already beating human-made ads on clicks and purchase intent. If your ads only work when people pay attention, they’re not really working.

AI slop? Not so fast. This week on Lab Grown Marketing, Jon and Peter make the case that AI isn’t cheapening marketing — it’s upgrading it. From voice-first workflows to a sudden boom in “storytelling” jobs, the guys explore why the real productivity unlock of AI isn’t faster typing… it’s better thinking, spoken out loud.
They kick things off From the Feed with a surprising Wall Street Journal signal: job postings for storytellers are exploding. Why now? Because when content becomes infinite, narrative coherence becomes scarce — and valuable.
In Million Dollar Data, Jon shares fresh synthetic research showing just how bad most companies are at telling a clear story (spoiler: only 6% think they do it well), and why committees, fear, and diluted positioning keep killing narrative power.
Finally, in the Synthetic Salon, a very-not-Morgan-Housel guest drops a simple but dangerous idea: the best story wins. In a world where products are copyable and content is free, storytelling isn’t fluff — it’s the moat.
If you’re still typing your way through the AI revolution… this episode might convince you to start talking instead.

Marketers love data. More dashboards. More cuts. More “just one more slide.” But what if more data doesn’t make you smarter — it just makes you slower?This week on Lab Grown Marketing, Jon and Peter go deep on the signal-to-noise ratio and the uncomfortable truth hiding inside modern marketing teams: sometimes the thing you’re asking for is the thing delaying your best decision.They kick things off From the Feed with a tweet that hits a little too close to home — why adding more information can actually make automated systems (and humans) worse at choosing. Then in Million Dollar Data, they reveal results from a synthetic survey of 1,000 global CMOs… and yes, the numbers will surprise you. Most leaders swear more data helps them make better decisions — but the same people admit something else that completely flips the story.If you’ve ever felt “data-driven” right up until you were data-driven off a cliff… press play.

02:18 — From the Feed: more data = slower decisions
4:12 — Million Dollar Data: 1,000 CMO survey results (the paradox)
9:58 — Marketing Mental Models: The horse racing study

Everyone loves the idea that the best product wins. It’s clean, comforting, and almost always wrong. This week on Lab Grown Marketing, Peter and Jon take on the product delusion — the belief that product superiority alone guarantees success.

In From the Feed, the guys use a timely media moment to revisit an old debate: why better products so often lose to better distribution. It’s a familiar pattern, and one that keeps repeating itself across entertainment, tech, and now AI.

Then, in Million Dollar Data, Jon shares new synthetic research exploring where the product delusion actually lives inside modern organizations — and who’s finally starting to let it go. The results might surprise you, or they might confirm everything marketing has been quietly complaining about for years.

Finally, in Synthetic Salon, Peter and Jon sit down with a very on-brand guest to talk defaults, familiarity, and why being easy to choose beats being objectively better. In a world where products are increasingly copyable, the real advantage shows up somewhere else entirely.

Product matters first. Everything else matters most.

02:40 — From the Feed: Netflix, HBO, and the Myth of Product Superiority
23:42 — Million Dollar Data: Who Still Believes the Product Delusion?
31:05 — Synthetic Salon: Defaults, AI, and Why Distribution Always Wins

Marketers keep talking about brand building — meanwhile, half of today’s brands are quietly dying. Jon and Peter are here to stop the funeral.
This week on Lab Grown Marketing, the guys break down how to avoid brand death in the synthetic era — why it happens, what causes it, and what the top 1% are doing differently.
We open with Move 37, where Jon shares the story of how AI beat the world champion of Alpha Go and explains the shift from making “one ad” to making “infinite ads.” Peter argues the old model wasn’t just slow — it was creativity-blocking. Yes, there are framework jokes.
In From the Feed, Jon and Peter dissect the internet’s latest identity crisis: brands acting like people, people acting like brands, and why the line keeps getting blurrier.
Then, in Million Dollar Data, Jon shares new findings showing that most “breakthrough” assets aren’t novel — they’re consistent. Peter walks through why repetition remains the most underrated growth lever in the synthetic century.
We wrap with this week’s Synthetic Salon, where the guys tackle the real question: How do you keep a brand alive when everything is changing? The rules are simple, the execution isn’t — but the payoff is massive.
Four segments. One mission. No brand funerals.

3:30 - Move 37
8:26 - From the Feed
18:13 - Million Dollar Data
30:55 - Synthetic Salon