GumGum, the Mindset Company transforming advertising, has announced the release of The Marketers' Take On Mindset: 2026 Global Report, revealing that marketers increasingly see consumers' mindsets as a critical factor in determining advertising relevance, even as many continue to rely on traditional identity-based audience targeting.
GumGum surveyed over 2,000 marketers across the US, UK and Australia for its 2026 Global Report.
83.6% of global marketers agree that mindset advertising outperforms contextual advertising alone.
81.5% of U.S. marketers agree that mindset advertising can outperform identity-based targeting.
94.3% of U.S. marketers say mindset matters more than audience fit.
59.8% of U.S. marketers say they would still default to identity-based advertising for their next campaign, the lowest rate among markets surveyed.
U.S. marketers cite properly understanding their audience (16.6%), data access (10.0%) and resources (7.6%) as the leading barriers to implementing mindset advertising.
"The data tells a clear story: marketers believe in mindset, but belief and execution are still two different things. AI is reshaping nearly every aspect of our industry, yet most campaigns are still being planned the way they were a decade ago," said Laura Foster, SVP, Global Marketing at GumGum. "Over 80% of marketers agree that mindset advertising outperforms legacy targeting approaches, yet the majority would still default to those same approaches for their next campaign. The industry is evolving fast. It is time media planning did too."
Global marketers say mindset advertising most positively impacts brand favorability (60.7%), brand recall (42.2%), click-through and engagement (41.3%), and purchase intent (34.1%).
For brands and agencies still defaulting to identity-based planning, the research reveals a significant missed opportunity. It has long been understood that reaching someone in the right moment matters as much as the ad itself, but the tools to effectively identify and act on those moments at scale have not existed. With AI processing billions of signals in real time, brands can finally discern mindset, receptivity, and relevance at scale.
79.4% of U.S. marketers rate their brand's mindset alignment as effective or very effective, even as most would still default to identity-based advertising for their next campaign.
About GumGum
GumGum is The Mindset Company transforming advertising. We deliver results by matching brands with people in the right mindset, in the moments that matter. Powered by the Mindset Graph, our AI-driven data engine processes billions of real-time contextual, creative, environmental, and historical signals to match every ad with the most receptive audience. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Santa Monica, GumGum operates in over 19 markets across North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia.
