In brand and communication research, traditional methods yield plenty of data on customer perceptions of brand attributes. Yet, these findings don’t always translate into concrete shifts in brand health metrics like awareness, favorability, consideration and use.

Marketers are spending significant resources to track these metrics, yet we’ve observed that results often stagnate or revert to the mean. Additionally, conventional brand metrics rely on assumptions that may not always reflect recent developments in our understanding of neuroscience and buyer behavior.

We believe that brand research should move the needle, providing marketers with insights that foster real, measurable brand growth. Here’s how.

Gaps in Brand and Communications Research

Some of the common gaps that can undermine the effectiveness of conventional brand and communications research include the following:

1. Focusing on attribute associations rather than associations with buying situations. Much brand research focuses on understanding how a brand (and competitors) is associated with specific attributes like “leadership” or “innovation” or “trust”. While this research shows marketers what consumers think of their brand, it doesn’t tell them when consumers think of it. Recent research shows that brands that are top-of-mind for consumers when they are in a situation to think about purchasing from a category have higher levels of consideration and purchase.
   
   
2. Limited Use of Longitudinal Data – Brand research is often conducted as a one-time snapshot as opposed to ongoing tracking of brand perceptions and communications effectiveness. As such, brands may miss trends or shifts in consumer attitudes over time and the impact of seasonality, potentially leading to missed opportunities for brand evolution.
   
   
3. Ignoring non-buyers or infrequent buyers - Much brand research only includes recent buyers from the brand’s category. While category buyers should be emphasized, brands looking to grow need to understand the needs and perceptions of non-purchasers or infrequent purchasers as well. Just because a young adult has not purchased a car in the past 24 months, does not mean that she won’t do so this year. A similar concern arises when brands define their category too narrowly, potentially missing out on potential buyers.
   
   
4. Inadequate Measurement of Brand Health – If research focuses on immediate campaign results (e.g., short-term sales or click-through rates) without measuring long-term brand health metrics (e.g., brand awareness, mental availability), the brand may struggle to understand the impact of their communications on overall brand strength and future growth.
   
   
5. Failure to Update Research Methodologies - Using outdated methodologies or tools can lead to inaccurate or irrelevant brand strategy insights, as the research may not capture new insights on consumer behavior.

An Innovative Research Framework to Improve Brand Strategy

To address the real challenges faced by today’s brand managers and marketing and communications professionals, an innovative research framework is essential. Instead of focusing on differentiation, we recommend prioritizing distinctiveness and mental availability.

Extensive research from Ehrenberg-Bass Institute on consumer behavior has shown that people rarely choose brands based on perceived uniqueness; instead, they are drawn to brands that stand out and are easily recognizable and that they associate with buying situations.

This is a key shift in marketing thinking that offers a more sustainable path to long-term brand success because:

• The brand doesn’t have to be completely different, which is difficult, particularly in crowded industry sectors; rather, when a brand is distinctive, it’s more likely to be recalled at the moment of purchase, even if consumers aren’t actively trying to differentiate it.
• You can keep your brand positioning simple rather than overcomplicating it by emphasizing unique features or qualities; and instead focus on making the brand easier to remember and identify with.
• You aren’t chasing the next new differentiator; instead, the brand can focus on consistent and identifiable branding elements that reinforce recognition every time a consumer comes across them.
• Distinctiveness taps into visual and emotional memory more effectively as it’s more focused on feelings than a list of product features, which helps consumers create a strong connection to the brand.

Traditional brand health metrics often fall short when it comes to distinctiveness, which is why we propose an innovative research framework in which measuring mental availability is a cornerstone using simple, actionable methods for your brand and competitors.

Mental availability is the likelihood that a brand will come to mind during purchase decisions. Essentially, the more prominent and accessible a brand is in a consumer’s memory, the higher its mental availability. Key components to measure include brand recognition, brand recall, and contextual triggers, or the extent to which your brand is connected to a customer need in a buying situation

Driving Your Brand Forward

To ensure your brand stands out and stays top of mind, we held a webinar on March 4, 2025, for Heraldry, Badges, and Town Criers: What Medieval Communications Can Teach Us About Brand Building. In this live webinar, Michael Dolenko, Phase 5 Brand Practice lead, and Stephan Sigaud, Phase 5 CMO, shared strategies for measuring and growing your brand’s mental availability and how timeless medieval techniques can inspire your approach today.

If you’re a brand manager, marketing leader, CX professional, consumer insights specialist, or are simply interested in better understanding how to build mental availability and create stronger, more memorable brands, in this free 45-minute webinar, you’ll learn more about:

• Why traditional brand metrics may not capture mental availability.
• Simple, actionable methods to measure mental availability for your brand and competitors.
• How to apply lessons from medieval communication techniques to help grow your brand’s presence.

Webinar Replay!