A Demonstration Of Top-Of-Mind Brand Awareness…

Don’t read any further just yet, but think of a single brand name for:

1. Blue jeans; and
2. A soft drink.

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If you are like 95% of people who get asked this question, you would have likely guessed the following: Levi’s and Coke.

Both own top positions in consumers’ minds for those categories.

And this simple guessing game, illustrate the concept of top-of-mind brand awareness.

Top-of-mind brand awareness occurs when a cohort can name a brand (specifically, list all the advertisements they recall seeing in a general product category over the past 30 days), without prompting.

Recognition occurs when a consumer is shown a brand and they can name the category.

Yet, recall occurs when a consumer can name a brand in a category without prompt.

In other words, which brands was the most recalled or most remembered.

And given that definition, top-of-mind brand awareness is not just for brands like Levi’s and Coke, it’s open to you and I, if we go niche enough in our “categories”, no matter what it is.

People start off:

1. Unaware of brands; then
2. Recognise brands (brand awareness); then
3. Recall brands; then have
4. Top-of-mind brand awareness.

Top-of-mind brand awareness becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If a brand owns the top position in consumers mind:

1. They get more sales; thus
2. They get more revenue; thus
3. They can outspend other brands for awareness; so
4. They stay top-of-mind; and
5. 1–4 repeats itself (ideally) indefinitely.

Brands can make consumers aware, by baiting their attention.

And brands can make consumer recognise and recall the brand through constant advertising (one form of attention).

There are many others…

And they always change, but what stays consistent is attention is always present via channels that are:

1. Physical or digital; and
2. Paid, earned, or owned.

You just have to find them and leverage them for the attention that have to create awareness.