Brand awareness
What is brand awareness?
Brand awareness is the ability of a specific brand to remain in the minds of consumers, as well as the level of knowledge the consumer has about it (product offerings, history, values, etc.).
In other words, brand awareness is the feeling a specific brand evokes in a consumer’s mind. It’s not just about whether they remember it, but also whether it triggers any positive or negative associations and what they know about it.
1. Levels of brand awareness
There are four levels used to classify brands based on their awareness, providing a straightforward way to identify where both our own brand and our clients stand:
Dominant brand
This is the only brand that comes to mind when we think of a specific product category. It even causes the product category itself to take on the brand’s name in the consumer’s mind.
For example, this happens with Kleenex. Despite being a brand of facial tissues, it has positioned itself as the generic term for them. The same goes for the company Bimbo; we use the term “Bimbo bread” to refer to sliced bread, making it the default name for that product category.
Top of mind
This refers to the first brand that pops into our heads when a specific product or product category is mentioned.
Some examples of top-of-mind brands include Coca-Cola for soft drinks, Nike for sneakers, Pascual for milk, Titleist for golf balls, etc.
Unaided recall
This level includes brands that consumers can remember from a specific product or service category without any effort.
For example, when thinking about airlines, you can easily recall several (Iberia, Ryanair, British Airways, EasyJet, etc.), or mobile phone manufacturers (Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc.).
Aided recall
This is the lowest level of awareness. The consumer knows the brand, but prior exposure—like hearing or seeing its name—is necessary for them to remember it.
For instance, a computer user might name several brands without much effort, such as HP, Apple, Lenovo, Dell, or Sony. But if they later saw a broader list including brands like Acer or Asus, they would immediately remember and recognize them, even if they hadn’t recalled them initially.
2. How to improve brand awareness
Improving brand awareness is crucial for any business, and you must take specific steps to achieve it. While every business and industry has its own quirks, these points generally apply to improving awareness:
- Choose the right name and logo. To stick in users’ minds, pay special attention to both your name and logo (shape, typography, and colors), as these are two aspects that can help position you against the competition.
- Tell engaging stories. We all love hearing stories, but they have to be good ones. That’s why you should analyze your buyer persona and offer them stories they can relate to.
- Focus on content marketing. It’s vital for brand awareness, and there are many ways to execute it. Some of the most common include collaborating with industry or general blogs, generating buzz on social media, publishing interesting content on your corporate blog, sending newsletters, etc.
- Simple and attractive website. Your website is your business’s calling card. Ensure it’s easy to navigate, and if you allow online purchases, make the checkout process quick and easy. A good initial experience lasts over time and keeps customers coming back.
- Participate in events. Whether they are online or in-person, whenever you have the chance to attend fairs and events, do it. The awareness you gain through face-to-face contact is highly valuable, allowing you to build a lasting relationship based on trust and closeness.
3. Tools to measure brand awareness
There are various ways and tools to objectively measure brand awareness. Some of the most widely used tools are:
- Google Insights for Search. One of the best tools for measuring brand awareness, as it allows you to compare search patterns in specific areas and timeframes, as well as filter by category.
- Google Trends. This lets us see the search frequency for a specific timeframe, as well as compare multiple terms. It also allows filtering by language, country, etc.
- HowSociable. This allows you to measure a brand’s visibility on social media by providing a numerical score. It’s often used as a benchmark against competitors.
- Google Keyword Planner. While this tool is designed for selecting keywords for an SEO strategy, it also helps us gauge brand awareness by providing information such as local search volume, term suggestions, and match types.