Amazon has spent a reported $1billion-plus to acquire video doorbell maker Ring, whose technology could help drop packages inside of shoppers’ homes. Now we know why Amazon has rejected calls to #BoycottNRA: it wants to sell Ring to home security-obsessed NRA members. Or at least prevent them from taking potshots at Amazon couriers.

Is it morally reprehensible to treat gun control as a business case study? Probably. But marketers have a long tradition of seeking private gain from public problems. Here’s one now: a study from IBM iX, the company’s “next-generation experience design and digital consultancy”, explaining how brands can take advantage of the “belonging deficit” plaguing modern society. Conveniently, they found “what’s good for people is also good for brands.” Two thumbs up.

Just over half of consumers (54%) like to receive personalized messages because they show the consumers are known to the brand, plus they can be time savers. The rest (46%) find it at best unimportant, at worst creepy. Relevance far outstrips personalization when it comes to driving email opens (54% vs. 19%). Takeaway: treat each customer the way they prefer.