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GumGum has published research showing strong support among Australian marketers for mindset-based advertising, with Australia ahead of the UK and the US on this measure.
The study surveyed more than 2,000 marketers across Australia, the US and the UK. Among Australian respondents, 87% said ads aligned with a consumer's mindset outperform ads matched only to surrounding content, compared with 84.2% in the UK and 81.5% in the US.
The report also found a gap between support for the concept and current campaign choices. While 36% of Australian marketers said they would prioritise a mindset approach if they were launching a campaign next week, 64% said they would still prioritise identity-based advertising.
It also pointed to a belief that mindset alignment can improve brand measures. Among Australian respondents, 67% said it has a positive effect on brand favourability, while 49.7% said it helps brand recall.
Australian marketers also expressed confidence in their own execution, with 81.8% saying their brand aligns advertising with consumer mindset effectively or very effectively.
That confidence was not matched by consistent use in planning. Only 34% of Australian respondents said they always factor mindset into campaign planning, while just 35% said an ad reaching the right audience in an unreceptive mindset would still be very effective.
Local signals
The findings suggest Australian marketers are relatively clear on which factors shape consumer mindset. Time of day was cited by 60.4% of local respondents as a useful signal, while 48% pointed to the device or channel being used.
Marketers also see the approach extending beyond tightly defined audiences. A total of 96.3% of Australian respondents said someone outside a brand's target audience is at least somewhat likely to engage with an ad that matches their mindset.
Even so, respondents identified practical barriers to wider adoption. Proper understanding of the audience was cited in 17.6% of Australian responses, followed by data access, quality or integration at 17%, and resources, budget or time at 13.7%.
Some respondents described caution about changing existing media practice. One Australian retail marketer said: "With a limited budget, I dare not try new models that have not yet been proven."
Another pointed to execution as a challenge, saying one of the biggest hurdles is "connecting mindset insights to actual media decisions".
Matt Coote, Managing Director, JAPAC at GumGum, said the results showed interest in the idea was not yet fully translating into media planning and buying.
"Australian marketers have clearly embraced mindset as a concept. The challenge now is moving it from something teams consider to something they actually plan and buy against. Reaching the right person is only part of the job, but reaching them when they're genuinely receptive is what really drives conversions," said Coote.
The findings indicate Australian marketers are more convinced than peers in the other surveyed markets that receptiveness at the moment of exposure matters to ad performance. At the same time, many teams still rely primarily on identity-based methods when making campaign decisions.
Coote said the next step was to make the concept easier for marketers to apply in practice.
He said: "The appetite in Australia is clear, so our focus now is on demystifying mindset so marketers can put it into practice and start reaping the rewards. We are laser-focused on giving brands a clear definition of mindset advertising, a straightforward way to plan with it, and proof of the phenomenal results it can deliver. Greater adoption will follow when the upside is easy to see."