Last summer, a record-low 58% of U.S. adults said they were “extremely” or “very” proud to be an American, per a Gallup poll. That figure was down nine points from the previous year, and down nearly 30 points from when the firm first polled Americans about their pride in January 2001. While Gallup has yet to reveal this year’s findings, 2026 so far has delivered month after month of political polarization and economic strain, which has taken a toll on consumers. But even as the culture wars that have ensnared brands like Bud Light and Target continue — this time with a red, white and blue facade —  there is still value in being associated with America. For example, Brand Keys’ 25th annual index of patriotic brands includes a top 10 featuring institutions like Coca-Cola, Ford, Disney, Amazon and Walmart — companies with big marketing footprints and bigger market values. “As we gear up for the 250th party, more brands are viewed through a political lens — and authentic patriotism is more important than ever,” Robert Passikoff, president of research firm Brand Keys, said in a press release.

Brands preparing for the end of the third-party cookie see one possible solution in email, judging by “Life after the third-party cookie,” a study by Lytics, done in conjunction with Sapio. Of the companies polled, 51% plan to spend more on email, and many see first-party data as critical to this effort. In general, 92% say first-party data is more important than ever. The most popular ways of using first-party data are to: *Create personalized content on websites — 56% *Predict customer behavior — 54% *Create more personalized emails — 48%. Almost half believe the end of third-party cookies will have a great impact on their marketing ROI. This includes 55% of financial-services marketers; 46% of beauty brands, 54% of media companies and 57%. of advertisers with budgets between $10 and $20 million.

Simplicity in marketing isn’t easy to achieve but making engagement easy can be fairly simple. That sentence is a brain twister, right? Let me untangle the words. ‘Simple’ and ‘Easy’ are two different things, and both are critically important when it comes to effective marketing. Simple means making something uncomplicated, like expressing a brand proposition in just a few words. Easy means achieving something without effort, like creating an intuitive check-out funnel. The two concepts of simplicity and ease have been foundational in successful marketing for a long time. But if you consider that consumer attention span is only about 8 seconds, (down 30% from 2000), it makes focusing on simplicity and ease imperative. read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/breakthrough-creative-art-of-simplicity/