I joined Collage Group 's webinar, “America Now: The Consumer Reset Brands Can't
By Sparkleinsights · November 14, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I joined Collage Group's webinar, “America Now: The Consumer Reset Brands Can't Afford to Ignore,” which explored how shifting consumer priorities are changing expectations of brands. What's becoming clear is that consumers aren't simply spending less; they're becoming more selective about which brands, messages, and experiences deserve their time, attention, money, and trust.
Nearly 70% of Americans identify as skeptical, 62% say they have become significantly more intentional about their media consumption, and two-thirds believe social media has become one giant advertisement. Collage Group calls this behavior "pruning": intentionally removing low-value noise to make room for what matters. Consumers are reassessing what deserves their attention, time, and money to regain a sense of control.
Three implications stood out:
• Study disengagement. Low engagement is not always a creative problem. It can reflect fatigue, distrust, or a lack of perceived value. Research needs to examine why consumers ignore, unsubscribe, and abandon brands.
• Evaluate consumer value. AI makes it easier to produce content and personalize interactions. More output does not automatically mean better experiences. The real test is whether consumers find those interactions helpful, simple, and worth their attention.
• Understand how expectations differ across audiences. An interaction that feels convenient to one audience can feel intrusive to another. Cultural context, motivations, and lived experiences are essential to understanding that difference.
My main takeaway is that brands need to understand more which experiences consumers welcome, which add friction, and which they actively remove from their lives. In a crowded marketplace, growth depends on giving people reasons to stay, not simply more reasons to notice.
Thank you Jack Mackinnon, M.Ed. and Natalie Griffith for a great session.
#ConsumerInsights #BrandStrategy #MarketResearch #ConsumerBehavior #CulturalInsights