April 14, 2026 | 12:00 - 12:30 pm ET 

Webinars

Navigating Brand Preference Polarization in a Politically Charged Marketplace

In today’s deeply polarized environment, consumers are no longer separating politics from purchasing. Research shows that 80% of consumers perceive brands as political, and many actively buy or boycott based on alignment with their values. 

Join Professor Oded Netzer for an insightful discussion on brand-preference polarization, the growing influence of political identity on consumer behavior. Drawing on eight years of social media data and real-world brand cases, including Tesla, Nike, Patagonia, and Bud Light, this webinar will explore: 

  • How political identity shapes brand choice 
  • Why misalignment can trigger backlash and revenue loss 
  • How brands can assess their perceived political alignment 
  • Practical strategies to navigate polarization authentically and strategically 

In a marketplace where staying neutral may no longer be an option, this webinar will equip leaders with data-driven insights and actionable frameworks to strengthen brand loyalty while managing risk. 

speaker

Oded Netzer

Columbia University

Professor Netzer is a Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, an Executive Committee Member of the Columbia Data Science Institute, and the author of the book Decisions over Decimals. His research focuses on data-driven decision-making and extracting meaningful insights from data, particularly unstructured data. He wrote dozens of papers published in the top-tier academic journals. His research won multiple awards and he serves on the editorial board of several leading journals. He is an award-winning teacher at Columbia Business School's MBA, Executive MBA, and Executive Education programs. Professor Netzer is also an Amazon Scholar at Amazon’s Advertising Sales AI team.

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