Google Gives Political Email a Go-Ahead on Spam, Big Brands Rethink Pricing, Amazon and Nike Win the Gen Alpha Household, and Target Credits AI Platforms for a Traffic Jump

Aug 20

Four stories this week cover political email getting a pass around spam filters, big brands rethinking price increases, new research on Gen Alpha brand loyalty, and Target crediting AI platforms for a traffic bump.

Today's stories:

1. Google gives political email a lane around Gmail's spam filters

2. Big brands are rethinking their bet on price increases to drive growth

3. Amazon and Nike win the Gen Alpha household, new research finds

4. Target credits AI platforms for a jump in digital traffic

Google Gives Political Email a Lane Around Spam Filters

Google is giving political campaigns a way around Gmail's spam filters, starting September 8. Qualifying candidates, parties, and PACs can join Gmail's new Verified Sender Program, and their policy-compliant messages can reach personal Gmail accounts without standard spam filtering deciding whether they land in the inbox or the spam folder. The catch is that senders have to verify their identity through a program called Campaign Verify and keep their spam complaint rate below 0.3% over any 14-day period, or they lose the exemption.

This isn't Google's first attempt here. The Republican National Committee sued Google in 2022 over how it handled GOP fundraising emails, a case that was later dismissed, and Google tested a similar exemption program that quietly ended in early 2023. The part worth watching if you're not in politics is the 0.3% complaint threshold itself, since it's a clean example of Gmail using verified sender identity and ongoing recipient feedback together to decide who gets preferential inbox treatment.

Big Brands Are Rethinking the Bet on Price Increases

For the past few years, big consumer brands leaned on price increases to drive growth, and it worked, mostly, even as plenty of shoppers traded down to private label. Recent earnings calls from Nestle, Coca-Cola, and McDonald's all pointed the same direction, with Nestle telling investors to expect "less pricing" going forward and McDonald's leadership stressing that guest count matters just as much as how much each customer spends.

Part of the shift is plain fatigue. UK inflation has risen a cumulative 28% over the past five years according to the Office for National Statistics, meaning a £100 grocery basket now costs £128. Brands that raised prices without losing many customers during the worst of it are discovering some of those customers made a permanent switch to private label rather than a temporary one.

Unilever leaned hard into promotions, tying a lot of its activity to World Cup activations, and posted its best volume growth in 15 years at 5.5%, crediting "stronger brands" rather than the promotional push itself. P&G took the opposite approach. CFO Andre Schulten said promotion "is not a way to build the business...on a sustainable basis," even as the company's own promotional activity rose five points in Europe.

Marketing Week's own research backs up how common the promotional route has become regardless, with 40.4% of marketers saying it's now the focus of their pricing strategy.

Amazon and Nike Win the Gen Alpha Household

Amazon and Nike are the top brands in households with Gen Alpha teens, according to early data from HarrisX and Allison Worldwide's new Gen Alpha Household Influence Study shared with Marketing Dive. McDonald's is the top food brand, and Walmart ranks fourth overall but first with parents, especially moms. The bigger finding is how much parents still shape what their teens like. 80% of teens say their parents influence their brand preferences, and moms specifically get cited by 73% of teens compared to 58% for dads.

The influence runs both directions too. 91% of surveyed parents say their teen shapes what brands they personally like, more than any other influence measured, and Allison Worldwide's Anne Colaiacovo said mom is more influential on Gen Alpha brand preferences than any social platform, creator, or celebrity. Nearly three-quarters of parent purchases at Sephora and E.l.f. Cosmetics started with the teen asking for it, and 60% of girls said they would specifically request E.l.f. products.

Reaching this household takes more than one channel too. TikTok and Pinterest lead with teen girls, YouTube wins with teen boys and dads, and Facebook is still the top platform with moms, according to the study. As HarrisX CEO Dritan Nesho put it, reaching both parents "requires a completely different approach," and that's a media strategy question, not a footnote.

Target Credits AI Platforms for a Jump in Traffic

Target's Q2 2026 earnings showed guest traffic up 3.6% and comparable sales up 3.8%, and CEO Michael Fiddelke made a point of crediting AI platforms for part of that lift. Digital traffic coming from external AI platforms like OpenAI is still small in absolute terms, but it's growing more than three and a half times faster than the industry average compared to a year ago.

Target is also putting AI to work internally. AI-powered teacher and college wish lists saw creations jump more than 50% ahead of back-to-school season, and a tool called Proxima, a digital twin of its supply chain, is helping teams make faster inventory calls between warehouses and stores. Food and beverage got a real boost too, with snack sales surging more than 15% during what Target called its largest center-store transition in a decade.

Digital comparable sales climbed 8.7% and same-day delivery orders were up 25%. To keep pushing on all of this, Target just named Chandu Nair, a Lowe's veteran, as its first chief AI officer, and he starts August 24.

That's it for today.

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FAQs

Does Google let political emails skip the spam folder?

Starting September 8, 2026, qualifying political campaigns, parties, and PACs can join Gmail's Verified Sender Program to send policy-compliant email without standard spam filtering deciding placement. Senders must verify their identity through Campaign Verify and keep spam complaints below 0.3% over any 14-day period.

Why are big brands raising prices less than they used to?

After years of price increases during high inflation, brands like Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Unilever are shifting focus back to volume, since many consumers who traded down to private label during the cost-of-living crisis have not switched back. Recent earnings calls show a broad industry shift toward driving more sales rather than higher prices.

Which brands are most popular with Gen Alpha teens?

According to early data from HarrisX and Allison Worldwide's Gen Alpha Household Influence Study, Amazon and Nike are the top overall brands in households with Gen Alpha teens, with McDonald's leading in food and Walmart ranking first with parents, particularly moms.

Is Target seeing traffic from AI platforms like ChatGPT?

Yes. Target CEO Michael Fiddelke said during the company's Q2 2026 earnings call that digital traffic from external AI platforms, while still small overall, is growing more than three and a half times faster than the industry average compared to a year earlier.

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Greg Zakowicz