The Last Word on July 2026

A roundup of digital marketing and email marketing articles, posts, and social buzz you might have missed last month…

Must-read articles, posts & reports

Personalisation Is Not a Merge Tag. It’s a Judgement Call. (Holistic Email Marketing)

AI Meets the Wiretap Statutes: Three Class Actions the Email Industry Should Be Watching (Email Expert)

Backlist confusion (Seth’s Blog)

AI-Generated Email Summaries: What We Learned After Analyzing 628 Summaries (With Video) (BuzzStream)

Meta’s AI Ad Tools Are Creating New Risks for Marketers (EMarketer)

Setting the Standard: DMARC’s New Upgrade Explained (Validity)

Test the Email Verification Protocol with an Origin Trial (Chrome for Developers)

Insightful & entertaining social posts

Authenticity (and effort) as a competitive advantage. https://t.co/0oZTwEAgtc

— Paul Roetzer (@paulroetzer) July 16, 2026

Noteworthy subject lines

Macy’s, 7/1 – 50% off inside (’cause it’s our 50th Fireworks show outside)
Goldbelly, 7/1 – Today, It Begins. 250 Dishes That Made America.
Goldbelly, 7/2 – Get $50 for National Restaurant Month! 🇺🇸🍽️⭐️️
IKEA Family, 7/8 – Halloween already? 🫣 You better boo-lieve it! 👻
adidas, 7/19 – WORLD CHAMPIONS. SPAIN 🇪🇸⚽🏆
Pacsun, 7/19 – 4 HRS ONLY! $10 Off $20* Match Day Deal ⚽
IKEA Family, 7/17 – 🎓 From late-nights to early mornings, save on college essentials for it all.*
The North Face, 7/20 – Campus-ready bags built for off-grid adventures
Olive Garden, 7/27 – POV: It’s National Lasagna Day
Huckberry, 7/7 – A Heat Wave Hot-To From Our New Stylist
Eddie Bauer, 7/13 – Too Hot Outside. Too Cold Inside.
ECCO, 7/2 – Your Time Off Is Scheduled. Do You Have The Right Shoes? ✈️
Patagonia, 7/1 – Meet the four-wheel drive of shorts
Crate & Kids, 7/2 – Is your tween asking for a bedroom refresh? Get inspired →
Bed Bath & Beyond, 7/13 – Last call: Win an Everything Home Refresh worth up to $100K
Michaels, 7/20 – The Party Shop at Michaels has everything you need starting at 99¢!
Aéropostale Rewards, 7/13 – Join Aero Rewards ✔️Get A $5 CashPass ✔️
Macy’s, 7/21 – Today only! Extra 20% off designer clearance in the app
Nintendo, 7/15 – Available now: Crocs x Super Mario Collection

New posts on EmailMarketingRules.com

The AI Standing Between You and Your Subscribers

What You Need to Know: The CDP’s New Role in AI-Driven Marketing

Why Your Marketing Benchmarks Don’t Mean What You Think

The Last Word on June 2026