Journal of Public Policy & Marketing | Associa<\/a><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//associate-editors-journal-of-public-policy-marketing///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">te Editors<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing-research-editorial-review-board///">Journal of Public Policy & Marketing | Editorial Review Bo<\/a><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//editorial-review-board-journal-of-public-policy-marketing///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ard<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","post_title":"New Editors at the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"new-editors-at-the-journal-of-public-policy-marketing","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-10-29 14:57:50","post_modified_gmt":"2025-10-29 19:57:50","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.ama.org\/?p=210199","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":210088,"post_author":"18","post_date":"2025-10-28 14:18:47","post_date_gmt":"2025-10-28 19:18:47","post_content":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>The American Marketing Association is pleased to announce that <strong>Raphael Thomadsen, Professor of Marketing at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis,<\/strong> will serve as the next Editor in Chief of the <em><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing-research///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Journal of Marketing Research<\/a><\/em> (<em>JMR<\/em>), succeeding current Editor in Chief Rebecca Hamilton, whose term ends on June 30, 2026. Thomadsen is currently a department editor (Marketing) at <em>Management Science<\/em>. His research spans a wide range of topics in quantitative marketing, including both theoretical and empirical research. He holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford University. Thomadsen will serve as Editor in Chief from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2029, and he will be assisted by five Coeditors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//Thomadsen_500x500-1_0cfee3.jpg?resize=247,300\%22 alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210106\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Raphael Thomadsen<br>Washington University in St. Louis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p><strong>Simon Blanchard<\/strong> is the Dean\u2019s Professor and Professor of Marketing at Georgetown University\u2019s McDonough School of Business. His research spans a broad range of consumer behavior and marketing research methods. He is currently an Associate Editor (AE) at <em>JMR<\/em>, and has also served as an AE at <em>Journal of Marketing<\/em>, <em>Journal of Consumer Research<\/em>, and <em>International Journal of Research in Marketing<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//simon.jpg?w=247\%22 alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210100\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Simon Blanchard<br>Georgetown University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p><strong>Bryan Bollinger<\/strong> is Professor of Marketing and Economic Policy at Dartmouth College\u2019s Tuck School of Business. His interdisciplinary research portfolio aims to understand the causal effects of marketing and policy decisions and the interdependent reactions by consumers and firms. He is currently an AE at <em>JMR<\/em>, and he has also served as an AE at <em>Journal of Marketing<\/em> and <em>Quantitative Marketing and Economics<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//bryan.jpg?w=247\%22 alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210101\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bryan Bollinger<br>Dartmouth College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p><strong>Elea McDonnell Feit<\/strong> is Professor of Marketing at Drexel University\u2019s LeBow College of Business. Her research develops data-driven solutions to critical marketing decisions, including measuring ad performance, planning A\/B tests, and designing new products. She is currently an AE at <em>JMR<\/em>, and she has also served as an AE at <em>Management Science<\/em> and <em>Marketing Science<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//elea_cba69b.jpg?resize=247,300\%22 alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210123\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elea McDonnell Feit<br>Drexel University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p><strong>Katrijn Gielens<\/strong> is Professor of Marketing at Tilburg University\u2019s School of Economics and Management. Her research bridges marketing strategy, retailing, and quantitative modeling to uncover how firms create and sustain advantage through branding, channel design, and retail innovation. She has served as Editor in Chief of the <em>Journal of Retailing <\/em>and as an AE at <em>Journal of Marketing<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//csm_Katrjin_Gielsen_5c49ae1e27.jpg?resize=247,300\%22 alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210124\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Katrijn Gielens<br>Tilburg University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p><strong>Manoj Thomas<\/strong> is the Sabanci Professor of Management and Marketing and Associate Dean on NYC Initiatives at Cornell University\u2019s SC Johnson College of Business. A behavioral scientist, he conducts experiments to understand how human psychology and marketing actions shape perceptions of economic value. He has served as an AE at <em>JMR<\/em>, <em>Journal of Consumer Research<\/em>, and <em>Journal of Consumer Psychology<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//Thomas_Manoj_mkt27_DONE_046b6b.jpg?resize=247,300\%22 alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210125\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Manoj Thomas<br>Cornell University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The new editorial team will begin processing new manuscripts on <strong>April 1, 2026<\/strong>. The current editorial team (<a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing-research-editors///">Hamilton, Gordon, Iyengar, Tuli, and Winterich<\/a>) will continue to handle all revisions until the end of the review process for these papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>-<em>JMR <\/em>Editor Selection Committee (Roland Rust [chair], Rajdeep Grewal, Amber Epp, Jeff Inman, Anja Lambrecht, Renana Peres, Steve Shugan, and Marilyn Stone)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing-research-associate-editors///">Journal of Marketing Research | Associate Editors<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing-research-editorial-review-board///">Journal of Marketing Research | Editorial Review Board<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","post_title":"Journal of Marketing Research Welcomes New Editorial Team for 2026\u20132029","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"journal-of-marketing-research-welcomes-new-editorial-team-for-2026-2029","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-10-28 14:18:50","post_modified_gmt":"2025-10-28 19:18:50","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.ama.org\/?p=210088","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":209091,"post_author":"221814","post_date":"2025-10-21 11:40:38","post_date_gmt":"2025-10-21 16:40:38","post_content":"\n<p>Social media has transformed how brands interact with consumers, making platforms like Instagram and Facebook critical for advertising success. As businesses invest billions into social ads, understanding how users engage with these ads is more important than ever. But how do social signals such as likes influence user behavior?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////doi.org//10.1177//00222429241307608/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new <em>Journal of Marketing<\/em> study<\/a> finds that the first like on a social ad has a profound impact, significantly boosting both clicks and likes. However, as the number of likes increases, their influence on clicks diminishes. The research reveals two key forms of social influence at play: normative and informational. Normative influence encourages users to conform to social norms, leading them to like an ad simply because others have done so. Informational influence, on the other hand, drives meaningful actions like clicking on an ad when users perceive it as credible or relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This dual effect of likes provides critical insights for marketers and platforms aiming to optimize ad performance and user engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-key-findings-how-likes-shape-user-behavior\"><strong>Key Findings: How Likes Shape User Behavior<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Initial Likes Are Critical:<\/strong> The first like on an ad acts as a powerful social cue, boosting both clicks and likes. It serves as a signal of credibility, encouraging users to engage with the content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Normative vs. Informational Influence:<\/strong> While the first like generates both normative and informational influence, additional likes primarily encourage conformity rather than meaningful engagement. This results in more users liking the ad but fewer clicking through to learn more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Plateau in Engagement:<\/strong> As the number of likes grows, their ability to drive clicks diminishes. This suggests that showing too many likes can dilute their informational value, leading to a plateau in meaningful engagement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The first like is a critical moment for engagement. It signals to users that the content is worth their attention, encouraging both likes and clicks. However, as likes accumulate, their role shifts. Instead of driving deeper interactions, they primarily serve to reinforce conformity, leading users to simply like the ad without taking further action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-practical-insights-for-marketers\"><strong>Practical Insights for Marketers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For marketers, these findings offer actionable strategies to enhance the effectiveness of social media ad campaigns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Optimize for Click-Through Campaigns:<\/strong> Campaigns designed to drive clicks should display only a few likes to preserve the informational value of the first like. This strategy helps maintain the ad\u2019s perceived credibility, encouraging users to take action.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Boost Brand Awareness:<\/strong> For campaigns focused on building brand awareness, showing higher like counts can leverage normative influence to make the ad appear more popular and widely accepted. This approach enhances brand perception and visibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tailor Social Cues to Campaign Goals:<\/strong> Marketers should carefully consider the type of engagement they aim to achieve. Balancing normative and informational influences can help design campaigns that maximize both likes and clicks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By aligning the visibility of likes with campaign objectives, brands can optimize their return on investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-implications-for-social-media-platforms\"><strong>Implications for Social Media Platforms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The study also has significant implications for social media platforms. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook continuously experiment with the visibility of likes, as seen in Instagram\u2019s recent tests on hiding like counts. These decisions impact user behavior and advertiser outcomes, making it critical for platforms to strike the right balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Platforms can use these insights to refine how they display likes in ads. For click-through campaigns, limiting the visibility of likes can preserve the informational value of the first like, driving deeper engagement. For awareness campaigns, showing higher like counts can enhance normative influence, boosting surface-level engagement and brand visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Platforms must consider how their design choices influence both user behavior and advertiser performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-challenges-and-considerations\"><strong>Challenges and Considerations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While likes are a powerful tool for driving engagement, their effects are not universal. Campaigns that rely too heavily on normative influence may fail to drive meaningful actions like clicks or purchases. Similarly, campaigns that prioritize clicks without considering the role of social cues risk missing opportunities to build brand awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another challenge lies in balancing authenticity with strategy. Overemphasizing likes as a metric of success can lead to inauthentic interactions, where users engage with content superficially rather than meaningfully. Platforms and marketers must work together to ensure that social cues are used in ways that enhance user experience and drive real value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-vision-for-the-future-of-social-advertising\"><strong>A Vision for the Future of Social Advertising<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This study offers a framework for leveraging likes as a tool for both engagement and action. By recognizing the dual role of likes, marketers and platforms can design campaigns that deliver better results for advertisers while maintaining user trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a world where attention is increasingly scarce, the ability to understand and harness the dynamics of social influence offers a competitive edge. Whether the goal is to drive clicks, increase likes, or boost brand awareness, leveraging the power of social cues is key to creating impactful campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> Song Lin and Shan Huang, \u201c<a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////doi.org//10.1177//00222429241307608/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Do More \u2018Likes\u2019 Lead to More Clicks? Evidence from a Field Experiment on Social Advertising<\/a>,\u201d <em><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Journal of Marketing<\/a><\/em>, 89 (5), 88\u2013110.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Go to the <em><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Journal of Marketing<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","post_title":"Do More Likes Lead to More Clicks? Evidence from a Social Advertising Field Experiment","post_excerpt":"A Journal of Marketing study finds that the first like on an ad has a powerful influence, but as more likes accumulate, their impact on clicks diminishes. Here's what this means for marketers.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"do-more-likes-lead-to-more-clicks-evidence-from-a-social-advertising-field-experiment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-10-21 11:46:19","post_modified_gmt":"2025-10-21 16:46:19","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.ama.org\/?p=209091","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":208399,"post_author":"221465","post_date":"2025-10-15 10:21:56","post_date_gmt":"2025-10-15 15:21:56","post_content":"\n\n\n<p>Shared product consumption is becoming increasingly popular, with examples including communal amenities in hotels and the use of hand sanitizer in restaurants. This approach can help firms reduce costs, and in some cases, it aligns with sustainability policies. However, essential questions remain: How do consumers feel when using shared products, and does it matter with whom the product is shared?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////doi.org//10.1177//00222437231181137/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Journal of Marketing Research<\/em> study<\/a> explores shared product consumption from the consumer\u2019s perspective. The research examines how sharing a product with distant others (sharing-out), compared to sharing with close others (sharing-in) or not sharing, influences consumers\u2019 perceived product efficacy. Using a variety of products (hand sanitizer, shampoo, and a plant growth product), the authors consistently show that in the sharing-out condition, consumers perceived lower product efficacy and used more of the product compared to the sharing-in or no-sharing conditions. This adverse effect of sharing out is driven by a reduced sense of identification with the product in these contexts. However, the strength of the sharing-out effect on perceived product efficacy is not uniform across all consumers. The authors show that the adverse impact of sharing out is attenuated for consumers with low (vs. high) self\u2013brand connection, as these consumers are less likely to use the self as a reference point when evaluating the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-striking-the-right-balance-in-shared-consumption\">Striking the Right Balance in Shared Consumption<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This research highlights a significant challenge in hospitality, restaurant, and related industries as the use of shared products becomes increasingly popular and, in some cases, mandated by policy. Although shared products have clear benefits, they also risk undermining consumers\u2019 perceptions of product efficacy, leading to overconsumption and potentially diminishing the customer experience. How can firms strike the right balance?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the study, strengthening the customer\u2013brand connection and fostering a sense of \u201cin-group\u201d belonging can help. For instance, to encourage acceptance of shared pump bottles for shampoo or body wash, Marriott Hotels could highlight the sense of community built through its Bonvoy membership program, echoing the inclusive spirit of Olive Garden\u2019s former tagline, \u201cWhen you\u2019re here, you\u2019re family.\u201d Similarly, marketers can cultivate perceptions of in-group membership and closeness\u2014whether rooted in geographic location, community, or workplace\u2014so that sharing feels less like \u201csharing out\u201d with strangers and more like \u201csharing in\u201d with trusted others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-grey-100-background-color has-background has-medium-font-size\"><br><strong>We were honored to have a chance to contact the authors to learn more about their study and gain additional insights.<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Q: What motivated you to study how sharing products with strangers affects consumers\u2019 perceptions of product efficacy? Why did this question feel important to explore in light of current industry practices or trends?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A: Several of the coauthors on the paper had worked together before on projects related to product efficacy and so were familiar with the literature. And, as happens when you are immersed in a domain, you begin to process phenomena around you through that lens. We had all started noticing a proliferation of shareable toiletries in hotel rooms, and then, of course, the shared hand sanitizer stations that seemingly sprang up overnight during COVID. We began brainstorming about these shared consumption experiences and how they might differ from experiences with individual containers of the same products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Q: Were there any surprising findings about which consumers were most affected by sharing out? For example, did loyal or brand-connected customers respond differently from casual users?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A: We found that the negative effect of sharing with strangers on perceived efficacy is more pronounced for consumers with high self\u2013brand connection, which is consistent with our theorizing. What we were surprised by was the extent of the heterogeneity in responses among the 77 managers surveyed. Almost all of them believed that the decision to offer a shared product was essential and would impact customers, but beyond that, they had no clear consensus on how it would affect customers. This reinforced our decision to tackle this research question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Q: Do you believe these effects might extend beyond toiletries or hand sanitizers to other shared products (e.g., rental equipment, coworking tools)? How might businesses in those categories address similar challenges?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A: The focus of the work is on judgment of product efficacy. We test the theory in categories, like pain relievers and hand sanitizers, that are used specifically for their efficacious outcomes. There is already extensive literature on the sharing of other \u201cnon-efficacy\u201d products, like rental cars, that shows that these products suffer from the potential contagion or disgust that arises from shared touch. By contrast, in our work, there is not necessarily a shared touch component, and therefore, the underlying process is entirely different. We do think that there is room for future work to extend our theory to other consumer contexts that lead to reduced product identification and lower efficacy. That would be a nice contribution to the literature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Q: Your research suggests that shared product usage may lower perceived efficacy, potentially leading to overuse and declining brand loyalty. At the same time, providing single-use products (like toiletries in hotels) raises sustainability concerns. What advice would you offer hospitality businesses trying to balance guest experience with environmental goals?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A: It is crucial for companies to think of the environmental impact of their policies and products. Companies should consider investing in technologies and using materials that are consistent with both societal and environmental goals and individual customer experience. For example, most restaurants now only offer compostable paper straws in place of plastic ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Q: Do digital or virtual product-sharing experiences (e.g., co-watching, app demos) show similar psychological effects?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A: We focused our investigation on physical goods; however, it would be interesting for future research to explore whether the same effect holds for digital or virtual experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Q: How can brands apply your findings in designing product sampling or trial experiences? For example, in stores like Sephora, where trial products are typically shared, what should marketers consider to preserve or enhance perceived product efficacy?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A: To address the negative effects of sharing, businesses might consider strengthening social bonds among users. For stores like Sephora, this could be achieved by organizing community events or by adopting messaging that fosters a sense of belonging, such as Olive Garden\u2019s tagline: \u201cWe\u2019re all family here.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> Lama Lteif, Lauren Block, Thomas Kramer, and Mahima Hada (2024), \"<a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////doi.org//10.1177//00222437231181137/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Influence of Shared Consumption on Product Efficacy Perceptions: The Detrimental Effect of Sharing with Strangers<\/a>,\" <em><em><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing-research///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Journal of Marketing Research<\/a><\/em><\/em>, 61 (3), 536\u201351. doi:<a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////doi.org//10.1177//00222437231181137/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">10.1177\/00222437231181137<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Go to the\u00a0<em><a href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//journal-of-marketing-research///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Journal of Marketing Research<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n","post_title":"Sharing Makes Us Wasteful: How Shared Products Drive Overuse\u2014And What Businesses Can Do","post_excerpt":"A Journal of Marketing Research study shows how consumers perceive shared products like communal hand sanitizer as less effective, leading them to use more\u2014especially when sharing with strangers rather than close others.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"sharing-makes-us-wasteful-how-shared-products-drive-overuse-and-what-businesses-can-do","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-10-15 10:21:59","post_modified_gmt":"2025-10-15 15:21:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.ama.org\/?p=208399","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":208411,"post_author":"146335","post_date":"2025-10-14 08:25:53","post_date_gmt":"2025-10-14 13:25:53","post_content":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-your-cheat-code-for-navigating-ai-disruption-and-roi-pressure\">Your cheat code for navigating AI disruption and ROI pressure<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The rules of marketing are changing. AI-driven zero-click searches, fragmented touchpoints, and shrinking ROI are redefining how CMOs plan for growth. The 2026 CMO Growth Playbook, created by Flowcode featuring research from Gartner and Harris Poll delivers the insights you need to turn disruption into opportunity in the Experience Economy. \u2028\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside, you\u2019ll discover: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The 3 biggest challenges facing CMOs in 2026 and how to solve them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why 81% of growth will be won in the Experience Economy, not digital clicks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proven strategies to unify customer identity, capture first-party data, and build memorable brand moments that drive measureable ROI<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This playbook is your strategic guide to navigating one of the most disruptive years in marketing. If you\u2019re ready to move from flat performance to breakthrough growth, download your copy today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-ama-download button button-solid button-red\" href=https://www.ama.org/"https:////ama.tradepub.com//c//pubRD.mpl?secure=1&sr=pp&_t=pp:&qf=w_defa9646&ch=\%22 download>Download<\/a>\n","post_title":"The 2026 CMO Growth Playbook","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-2026-cmo-growth-playbook","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-10-17 10:06:58","post_modified_gmt":"2025-10-17 15:06:58","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.ama.org\/?p=208411","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":209787,"post_author":"73287","post_date":"2025-10-24 09:48:09","post_date_gmt":"2025-10-24 14:48:09","post_content":"\n<p>Findings from surveys of marketers and their respective organizations by the American Marketing Association (AMA) and Kantar about segmentation<a href=https://www.ama.org/"#_ftn1\" id=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a> reveal that segmentations are often underutilized and therefore don\u2019t have the organizational impact they could have. Ensuring representation from across the organization and looking beyond the current market are what is needed to turn segmentation from an insights project into something that truly drives customer-centric change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marketers appear to be facing a crisis of confidence. In the AMA and Kantar\u2019s recent survey of marketers,<a href=https://www.ama.org/"#_ftn2\" id=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a> respondents\u2019 confidence that their marketing team is doing the right things to drive growth is at its lowest point in the last five years (see Exhibit 1), and only half believe their organization has a clear strategy in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//image.png/" alt=\"Exhibit 1: How confident are you that your organization\u2019s marketing team is doing the right\nthings to drive growth? 61% in 2022, 49% in 2023, 54% in 2024, 43% in 2025\" class=\"wp-image-209789\" style=\"width:641px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Many marketers and strategists consider segmentation to be the foundation of customer-driven (marketing) strategy, and it is often seen as one of the key tools to build a more customer-centric organization. However, while 72% of marketers agree segmentation is pivotal for truly understanding customers, the use of segmentation is often limited to the <em>execution<\/em> of strategy (messaging\/communications, media planning) rather than being a key driver of the strategy itself (see Exhibit 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At their best, segmentations provide a single source of truth about the customer, what demand looks like, what customers need, and which needs are not being met. It should drive strategy through coordinated and synchronized execution across the entire organization. Without this unified view of the customer, organizations run the risk that personal biases distort decision making and that decisions across different parts of the organization are not aligned or, worse, conflict with one another. This misalignment will result in poor prioritization and inefficient investment across the organization, further eroding institutional trust in the marketing function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what should organizations do to ensure their investment in segmentation delivers broad impact? Our research identified three key principles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Clarify the use cases<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look beyond the market today<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Create new behaviors, not just new learnings<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//image_dd5447.png?resize=1024,584\%22 alt=\"Exhibit 2: Bar graph showing segmentation was used primarily to enable execution such as communications, audience identification, and media targeting, rather than to set strategy\" class=\"wp-image-209790\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-clarify-the-use-cases\">Clarify the Use Cases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Best-in-class segmentations are designed to inform specific use cases and specific commercial objectives so that their impact can be targeted and measured. These use cases can and should go further than solely marketing, powering decisions across product, sales, innovation, and M&A. Similarly, setting clear commercial objectives for the segmentation to feed into is a vital but often overlooked part of the project: When rushed, expectations can be misaligned, leading to the wrong program. Without complete clarity on its intended purpose, the design of the program is often muddled and generic, leading to disappointment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>37% of respondents indicate that specific design choices were made to answer precisely the intended use cases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>36% of respondents indicate that they are using the segmentation for all its intended purposes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To solve this, it\u2019s essential to get the input of a broader set of functions beyond just marketing (and especially insights\/market research teams) before the program even starts. Understanding the needs of other teams and various levels in the organization is essential: Knowing how they make decisions and how the segmentation will be used is essential to creating the right tool and elevating it from a marketing execution tool to something driving broader organizational strategy and execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In those collaborative, multifunctional design discussions, however, it is crucial to be transparent about what the segmentation will and will not do. The best segmentations are deep, rich, multifaceted views of the marketplace rather than shallow catch-all datasets. Few respondents (23%; see Exhibit 3) indicate that stakeholders across teams were aware of what the segmentation would answer. Ensuring clarity from the start means expectations will be aligned, making it easier to embed the framework in the organization\u2019s ways of working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//image_24f3f1.png?resize=1024,468\%22 alt=\"Exhibit 3: Bar graph showing less than 50% agree that stakeholders were aware of segmentation's goals and that segmentation design choices aligned with use cases\" class=\"wp-image-209793\" style=\"width:724px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-look-beyond-the-market-today\">Look Beyond the Market Today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Businesses need to think beyond the current state of the market with their segmentations or risk missing huge opportunities to leverage them as a central strategic tool in future planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many organizations are not using their segmentation to plan further than a year ahead (41% are only using them for short-term planning). The key pitfalls of this are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The segmentation is not future-proofed in any way.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The focus is too narrow, aimed only at where the business plays today.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Segmentations are often unfairly maligned as a static snapshot in time. Great segmentation programs are dynamic, adaptable, and forward-looking. They are smartly designed to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Embed key customer and category trends into the program to arm teams with a better understanding of where change could be most profound.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Integrate into other insight tools (such as tracker studies, social data, or panel data) to ensure an ongoing understanding of what is changing in the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Ensuring that the segmentation covers a market that is not too narrowly defined is equally critical. Too often, the segmentation captures a narrow scope, limited to the current (sub)categories the organization operates in, with the belief that a narrower focus means greater efficacy. Additionally, some teams take shortcuts by leveraging approaches that lack credible market sizing, essential for broader business buy-in. Not surprisingly, a mere 8% of respondents say their segmentation improved decisions on expansion opportunities. Broadening the aperture with provocative thinking about adjacent categories and shared consumer needs is critical to avoid missing the potential stretch and white-space opportunities the organization could go after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-create-new-behaviors-not-just-new-learnings\">Create New Behaviors, Not Just New Learnings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Segmentations are a key tool to drive consumer-centricity across businesses, but a tool alone won\u2019t make change happen. To have an entire organization embrace it, extensive efforts need to be made to properly embed it within each team and integrate it into their ways of working. Many programs fall short on delivering this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason is that embedding is often an afterthought: Only 1 in 3 give embedding significant thought during the design phase. One-off briefing meetings are by far the most common medium for sharing the results of the segmentation. Not surprisingly, only 15% of teams feel more motivated and energized by this approach. This reveals a telling misalignment in how organizations think of segmentations, treating them as a research project aimed at uncovering new insight, not an organizational change project where the goal is establishing powerful new behaviors. The outcome is then very predictable and disappointing, with a lack of understanding and use (see Exhibit 4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img src=https://www.ama.org/"https:////www.ama.org//wp-content//uploads//2025//10//image_c94bc9.png/" alt=\"Exhibit 4: Pie charts showing only 37% agree that all functions in their organization understand the segmentation and only 46% agree that all functions use the segmentation\" class=\"wp-image-209794\" style=\"width:399px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Providing learning programs and inspiration tailored to each use case and reinforced with multiple touchpoints can help teams adopt meaningful changes in their ways of working and unlock significant value for organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With turbulent market conditions and uncertainty likely to remain a key challenge in times ahead, joined-up thinking across teams and clear strategy has never been more important. Segmentations are uniquely placed to meet this challenge, but to do so, there needs to be a shift. They should no longer by viewed solely as an insights project but should be considered an organizational transformation initiative where a consistent and compelling view of the customer is fully ingrained across teams and functions, from business planning to execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To deliver this, segmentation must be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Forward-looking in terms of both the decisions it needs to drive and the market it will cover.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More clearly tied to business outcomes rather than research outcomes, integrated as part of key KPIs and commercial objectives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Supported beyond the completion of the initial project with an engaging learning plan guiding teams to integrate it as a crucial part of their planning cycle and day-to-day processes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Segmentations can unlock strategic clarity and drive growth\u2014they just need to evolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=https://www.ama.org/"#_ftnref1\" id=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> Segmentation here includes any demand or segmentation framework. For example, it can feature people, occasions, needs, or demand spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=https://www.ama.org/"#_ftnref2\" id=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> Survey among members of the American Marketing Association in May\u2013June 2025; sample size N = 182.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Reinventing Segmentation: Moving Beyond Communications to Driving Impactful Strategy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"reinventing-segmentation-moving-beyond-communications-to-driving-impactful-strategy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-10-24 09:48:11","post_modified_gmt":"2025-10-24 14:48:11","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.ama.org\/?post_type=ama_marketing_news&p=209787","menu_order":0,"post_type":"ama_marketing_news","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]" />

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