Marketing scientist Professor Byron Sharp—director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at Adelaide University and author of How Brands Grow—sat down with Coen Olde Olthof (CEO of alpha.one) for a candid, wide-ranging conversation.

From his temporary base in Italy, Professor Sharp shared insights into his accidental path into academia, why many marketers still get the fundamentals wrong, and the simple, repeating patterns that actually drive brand growth.

👉 Whether you’re a CMO, brand manager, or researcher, this interview covers Double Jeopardy, Distinctive Assets, attention in advertising, and the balance between Mental and Physical Availability—concepts that remain critical in today’s fragmented, subscription-driven media landscape.

This interview was first published in Dutch on Adformatie.

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Origins, influence, and the point of science

In this section, Sharp explains how he stumbled into academia, why pseudo-science weakens marketing, and why replication matters more than flashy models.

Coen: Where are you calling from?

Byron: Italy. You're in the Netherlands? In Australian terms, that's practically next door.

Coen: Did you always want to be a marketing professor?

Byron: No. I didn't want to be an academic. Then I found myself becoming one. I woke up one day and thought, "Oh, I guess I'm a scientist."

Coen: What were you doing before academia?

Byron: Dun & Bradstreet. Then I did a single evening tutorial at a university. That led to a few more, and then to a role as marketing manager for the university's consulting arm. I started visiting engineering and chemistry departments and realised that's where the revenue was coming from, not the business school. Big companies were paying universities for answers to unknowns. That was pivotal for me: the world is full of unanswered questions, and we should do research that genuinely helps answer them.

Coen: And that path led to Ehrenberg-Bass?

Byron: Eventually. There was no Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at the time. I fell into research, encouraged a few other "crazy" people to join, and it snowballed.

Coen: What did you make of the marketing literature (back then)?

Byron: A lot of pseudo-science. Andrew Ehrenberg called it "SONK"—the scientific-cation of non-knowledge. You take trivial findings and dress them up with tortured statistics and jargon. And spread it over many pages. It's style over substance.

Coen: So, good science is simple?

Byron: When something's truly important, you don't need 45 pages. Think of Watson and Crick's short letter to Nature. When you've discovered something big and repeatable, you share it quickly. Why, well, because it's universal and important. That's the spirit.

Coen: How did you start working with Andrew Ehrenberg?

Byron: I launched a journal on replication—because science advances by finding things that repeat. I invited Andrew to the editorial board. The journal didn't take off, but that introduction changed everything. We were kindred spirits: interested in non-trivial, repeatable findings.

"Science in marketing isn't about one clever model that fits only one dataset. It's about patterns that keep repeating across hundreds of datasets." — Byron Sharp.

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What buyers really look like

Sharp highlights why buyer profiles are far more similar across brands than most marketers think, even in “symbolic” categories.

Coen: One of your most surprising findings for newcomers is that brand user profiles barely differ. True?

Byron: Yes. Across competing brands, buyer profiles are remarkably similar. Each brand's customer base is heterogeneous in similar ways—men and women, light and heavy buyers, the usual skews—but there aren't distinct "types" per brand the way textbooks imply.

Coen: Even in symbolic categories?

Byron: Even then. There's a classic study of 1950s American car buyers that looked at personality profiles. They all looked the same. They were Americans buying cars—not Jungian archetypes choosing "their soul on wheels."

Coen: Did you recognise the practical implications back then?

Byron: Not fully. Our early report on Dirichlet patterns—Double Jeopardy included—had almost nothing under "What does this mean?" We said you could benchmark. That was it. The discovery often comes fast; the development—the "D" in R&D—takes years.

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Double Jeopardy and Loyalty Myths

The Double Jeopardy law shows that bigger brands don’t just have more buyers—they also enjoy slightly higher loyalty. Sharp explains why this repeats across categories and why penetration, not loyalty schemes, drives growth.

Coen: In my days as CMO, I saw and understood for the first time the impact of brand size, "loyalty" rises mostly with scale—not just with better campaigns.

Byron: That's Double Jeopardy. Bigger brands have more customers, and those customers are slightly more loyal. An easier to buy. It feels counterintuitive, but it repeats across categories. And it has profound implications once you understand and accept it.

Coen: Subscriptions—do they change the rule?

Byron: In subscription markets, customers are essentially equal in value. Growth still comes from more customers—penetration. There was a belief that everything would become subscription, but in many categories, consumers don't have a problem to solve. Dog food subscription, well,.... "I'm in the supermarket anyway." Plus, subscription fatigue is real—you end up keeping a list on your phone just to track them.

Coen: Some streamers are pivoting towards more ad-supported tiers.

Byron: Sensible. Across media history—TV, newspapers, magazines—people prefer to pay something while ads subsidise the rest. Ask consumers if they want to pay double for their magazine, to remove ads, and most say no.

Coen: And YouTube?

Byron: Effectively, the world's biggest ad-supported TV station—especially with younger audiences watching YouTube, they watch it on their televisions. For marketers, TV will feel "new" again as ad-supported models expand.

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Attention, inattention, and what ads must do

Attention may be scarce, but fleeting exposures can still work—if ads are distinctive and front-load branding in the first 3–5 seconds.

Coen: Everyone talks about attention. Your take?

Byron: Worry about inattention. Many exposures are fleeting or skipped. The good news: advertising can still work even in very short exposures—if it carries fast branding or distinctive brand assets, so simple memory cues at the start.

Coen: An example that you liked?

Byron: McDonald's ran a simple visual: the burger box as a laptop for free Wi-Fi. Instantly recognisable, instantly processed. Distinctive Assets do real work—they help people recognise and understand faster.

Coen: And paying for guaranteed longer watch time is pricey.

Byron: Astonishingly so. Media can't easily force people to linger. If you try to buy a minimum of, say, seven seconds across the board, costs will spike. The agencies will charge you more—a lot more. Better to accept reality: assume fleeting exposures and make the first three to five seconds carry branding and a simple idea.

"Let's not get hypnotised by media metrics. The job is to reach brains and leave or refresh simple memory traces." — Byron Sharp.

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Reach in a fragmented world (and the B2B reality)

With media fragmentation, marketers must stitch together multiple vehicles to build reach—especially in B2B, where no “big channel” exists.

Coen: How should marketers think about reach now?

Byron: It's harder. Media collectively reach everyone, but the paths are fragmented. You build reach by stitching together many vehicles—especially in B2B, where the old "one big channel" (TV) never existed—salespeople, trade shows, sponsorships— all expensive media. If marketing were easy, anyone could do it.

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Memory, CEPs, and why packaging is a financial asset

Sharp underlines the role of Category Entry Points (CEPs), packaging, and Distinctive Assets as long-term financial assets that protect sales.

Coen: How do people recall brands?

Byron: We're intensely visual. The brain is constantly "counting" exposures in the background. And familiarity feels safe. Simple Category Entry Points—common buying situations—plus Distinctive Assets make retrieval faster and more likely, at the shelf or in a feed.

Coen: Is this why packaging consistency matters so much?

Byron: If you change your appearance, people may not recognise you and will buy something else without realising it. Or they try a different brand, and that becomes "my brand." Visual continuity protects future sales.

Coen: The M&M's characters?

Byron: Mars once treated them as optional creative devices. Paul Michaels brought them back—and made them non-optional. Once you understand that assets are financial assets that do the branding, you stop playing with them. You instruct agencies to use them consistently.

Coen: Like Red Bull?

Byron: They've sponsored the Institute for about 20 years. They always look like Red Bull. That discipline is rare and very hard; we tend to want to do new things, but it's very valuable.

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Heineken, wagons west, and mental then physical availability

Brands must seed demand mentally before securing physical availability—a lesson that applies from Heineken’s early days to Red Bull’s global presence.

Coen: Freddie Heineken used to seed demand by asking for Heineken in New York bars, even though he knew they did not have it—then the sales team followed up to get them to try a box. Smart?

Byron: Lovely example. Build mental availability, then quickly convert it into physical availability. Early brand builders—Wrigley, Mars—understood the "wagons west" logic: go where the people are not yet buying you and be easy to find when they want to.

Coen: Jim Koch at Boston Beer reportedly said he spent more on advertising than on hops.

Byron: Yes—he told us that was the moment he realised he knew beer, not advertising, and went looking for the best brains on marketing. That humility pays.

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Brand love, relationships, and email reality

Sharp dismisses the myth of “brand love” and stresses that growth comes from reach, availability, and consistency—not sending 14 emails a week.

Coen: Many marketers still talk about brand love and relationships today.

Byron: Most of that is nonsense. Sending someone 14 emails a week isn't a relationship—it's annoying. Retargeting can nudge a purchase; that's fine. But let's not pretend it's about deep emotional bonds. Growth comes from reaching more buyers, building Mental and Physical Availability, and looking like you every time.

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Evidence vs. headlines

Drama between marketing thinkers may grab attention, but evidence-based findings endure. Sharp explains why marketers resist slow-to-learn truths.

Coen: The industry loves personality clashes—Ritson vs. Sharp, attitude models vs. behaviour. Given the vast amount of work that still has to be shared on evidence-based marketing, does that not seem somewhat unhelpful?

Byron: Drama gets clicks. But it can also license people to stop thinking: "I've heard there's a dispute so that I can ignore all the evidence." When papers throw lots of variables at a model, you can often bump the fit. But if you look closely at those behaviour-based papers, and not a lot of people do this, awareness-type variables tend to do the heavy lifting.

Coen: Why is uptake still slow in parts of marketing?

Byron: We have made good progress. But humans learn slowly. It took doctors a century to start washing their hands. People ignored a randomised trial showing lemon juice prevents scurvy—for years—because it didn't fit the story. Andrew Ehrenberg said we shouldn't be surprised that people are slow to learn; we should be amazed humans learn at all.

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What Sharp would add to How Brands Grow today

If rewriting today, Sharp would emphasise the overlap between Mental and Physical Availability—especially for small brands.

‍Coen: If you rewrote How Brands Grow now, what would you add?

Byron: The overlap between Mental and Physical Availability—especially for small brands. Having each in isolation isn't enough; they need to coincide in buying situations. Seems obvious now. But that omission matters. I'd also cover more about small brands and portfolio management—how to embed evidence-based marketing inside organisations.

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How to start on Monday

Sharp suggests simple first steps: small surveys, repertoire measurement, and embedding evidence-based marketing into daily practice.

Coen: I'm a CMO hearing this for the first time. Where do I start?

Byron: Run a small survey. Ask about the last purchase and the likely next purchase. Even with modest samples, you'll see Double Jeopardy. You can also estimate simple repertoire and repeat patterns. The wobble won't hide the main shape.

Coen: And if I want to go deeper?

Byron: Read the books—they're cheap. Listen to podcasts. Follow our work on LinkedIn. Join our executive course—we recently ran one in Bordeaux. The room was diverse across countries and categories, but everyone had roughly 20 years of experience. And if you can, work for a company that sponsors the Institute; you'll access far more data and tools.

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"Brand equity isn't mystical love. It's looking unmistakably like you—so your buyers can spot and buy you again." — Byron Sharp

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Sidebar: Five practical moves for the next 90 days

• Audit Distinctive Assets – Catalogue logos, colours, characters, shapes, sonic cues. Test recognition and attribution. Mandate consistent use.
• Protect packaging – If you must change, evolve—don’t reinvent. Keep the “silhouette” and key cues.
• Front-load branding – Assume fleeting exposures. Make the first 3–5 seconds do real branding work.
• Build simple CEPs – Identify buying situations (“Friday night in,” “on the go”) and cue them repeatedly.
• Measure repertoire reality – Run small surveys on last and next purchase. Confirm Double Jeopardy and plan reach accordingly.

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Coen: Final thought?

Byron: Be humble about how little attention you'll get. Be relentless about looking like you. And spend more time increasing Mental and Physical Availability for more buyers. In the end, that's how brands grow.

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🎥 Watch the full video interview with Professor Byron Sharp here

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This interview was conducted by alpha.one. For more evidence-based marketing insights, visit alpha.one or follow us on LinkedIn.