SBP 178: Stop Buying Media on CPM. With Peter Field

In this episode, the "Godfather of Effectiveness" Peter Field joins the show to discuss why the pursuit of efficiency is making marketing less effective. He breaks down the "Triple Jeopardy" facing modern marketers: over-investing in the bottom of the funnel, producing dull rational creative, and purchasing low-attention media. Field provides an evidence-based case for why the industry must move away from CPM and toward "cost per attentive second" to drive real profitability.

Key Takeaways

1. The Triple Jeopardy: Effectiveness is being squeezed by three factors: a lack of brand investment, a decline in creative "magic," and the rise of low-attention media platforms.
2. The 60% Waste: Choosing media based on low CPMs often results in zero attention, effectively wasting the majority of the investment.
3. The One-Second Brand Fail: You cannot build brand memory or mental availability in one second.
4. The Recession Playbook: Economic uncertainty is the best time to "go long" as media costs for brand building decrease, providing a massive competitive advantage for the recovery.
5. The CFO Dialogue: Use evidence and case studies to prove that brand health is the primary driver of conversion efficiency.

Guest Bio

Peter Field is a world-renowned marketing consultant and researcher. He is the co-author of several seminal works on marketing effectiveness, including The Long and Short of It and The Five Principles of Growth in B2B Marketing.

1. Peter Field on LinkedIn

Timestamps

1. 00:04 – The Rant: Stop buying on CPM.
2. 04:11 – Defining the Triple Jeopardy of Media.
3. 08:44 – Why "going short" in a recession is the riskiest move.
4. 15:30 – The "Science-ification" of creative and why it's failing.
5. 22:07 – Why CPM is a "bad drug."
6. 31:15 – The difference between "Active" and "Passive" attention.
7. 42:10 – How to talk to your CFO about brand investment.
8. 51:21 – Closing thoughts: Fixing the number one problem in media.

Reference Links

1. Binet, L., & Field, P. (2013). The Long and the Short of It: Balancing Short and Long-Term Marketing Strategies. Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.
2. Field, P. (2024). The Cost of Dull: How boring advertising is costing brands billions. eatbigfish & System1.
3. Field, P., & Binet, L. (2021). The 5 Principles of Growth in B2B Marketing. LinkedIn B2B Institute.
4. Field, P., & Nelson-Field, K. (2022). The Triple Jeopardy of Attention. Amplified Intelligence.
5. Trading Economics. (2026). Canada Consumer Confidence Index. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/canada/consumer-confidence