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Section 07

Distinctive assets and mental availability

Ehrenberg-Bass Institute · Byron Sharp · Jenni Romaniuk

Mental availability is about one question: does your brand come to mind when a relevant need situation arises? Byron Sharp documented in How Brands Grow (2010) that this is one of the strongest predictors of market share.

Jenni Romaniuk elaborated in Building Distinctive Brand Assets (2018) how specific assets build and maintain the memory structure that creates mental availability over time. Category Entry Points (CEPs) are the specific situations and needs that activate the category in consciousness. A brand linked to many and varied CEPs has high mental availability. Distinctive assets are not merely recognisable. They are brand-specific and can be activated without the logo.

What brandvju assesses

Mental availability
The probability that the brand is activated in relevant need situations.
Category Entry Points
Specific situations and needs that activate the category in consciousness.
Asset distinctiveness
Whether assets are brand-specific – not merely recognisable as category signals.
CEP coverage
Which need situations the brand is visibly coded to – and which it lacks.

What the analysis is based on – and what it points towards

Mental availability is rigorously measured through external consumer research – surveys that ask which brands people recall in specific need situations. brandvju assesses the probability based on communication analysis. Physical recognisability – colour, form and material choices on shop fronts, packaging and vehicle wraps – can only be assessed if you add the material to the material archive yourself. This is a qualified assessment, not a measurement.

How to read the score – scale and business model

Read this score in light of your scale and business model. Some strengths require reach or volume that larger brands simply have more of – broad mental availability, a formalised employer brand, many channels. A low score here is not necessarily a weakness; it may reflect your size or model rather than a lack of effort. Your recommendations take this into account and only suggest what you can meaningfully move.