81.5% of U.S. Marketers Surveyed Say Mindset Advertising Can Outperform Identity-Based Targeting

GumGum Report Finds Marketers Back Mindset Advertising But Struggle to Activate It 

GumGum, the Mindset Company™ transforming advertising, today 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. The report, which surveyed over 2,000 marketers across the US, UK, and Australia, found that while the industry has largely embraced mindset as a principle, adoption as a methodology has yet to catch up.

Across the markets surveyed, the findings reveal a consistent pattern: mindset is winning the argument but hasn't yet changed how advertisers plan media.

Mindset advertising by the numbers

GumGum’s research reveals where mindset is gaining ground and where adoption still lags: 

• 83.6% of global marketers surveyed 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 — consumers outside a brand's core target will still engage if the message is right.
• 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.
• 79.4% of U.S. marketers rate their brand’s mindset alignment as effective or very effective.
• 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.
• 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. Until now. With AI processing billions of signals in real time, brands can finally discern mindset, receptivity, and relevance at scale, and there has never been a better moment to put that into practice.

"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. 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," says Laura Foster, SVP, Global Marketing at GumGum. 

The Marketers' Take On Mindset: 2026 Global Report is available to be viewed HERE.