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What does a brand need to grow in today’s market? With rapid technological advancements, product features are easily replicated, and innovative services like next-day delivery mean distribution power is no longer a competitive edge. With countless brands and similar products flooding the market, it’s becoming harder to win consumers’ hearts through sheer advertising spend alone.
In this environment, market winners aren’t just the brands with the biggest reach. Instead, success goes to brands that are top of mind in the consumer’s actual purchase journey, brands that come up first in specific situations, triggers, or emotional moments. This is where the concept of Category Entry Points (CEPs), a rising paradigm in brand marketing, comes in. Today, the key to brand success is being strongly recalled in the precise context of real purchase moments, where specific situations and emotions intersect.
In this post, we’ll dig into the real meaning of CEPs through practical examples, and explore how your brand can build and own them as growth assets. We’ll also examine the distinct and practical roles of brand salience and Distinctive Brand Assets (DBAs), and cover key points marketers need to consider, drawing on both theory and field cases.
Category Entry Points: Practical Triggers That Open the Door to Purchase
Many marketers focus on “target segmentation” or “persona definition,” but consumers rarely make decisions in such logical, linear ways. In reality, countless daily moments, emotions, and small triggers influence brand choice. For instance:
- The first refreshing drink you think of after a sweaty summer workout
- The chocolate bar you crave after working late
- The convenient snack that catches your eye at the corner store
- The canned beer you reach for during a quiet night alone
These are the real “situational doors” that trigger consumer purchases. CEPs are the starting point of these experiences, where a brand naturally comes to mind in context.
Simply getting your name out there isn’t enough. Industry leaders stress that true market dominance comes when brands achieve both mental availability (coming to mind naturally in key buying moments/CEPs) and physical availability (being easy to purchase). The brands that consistently come to mind first in a range of situations are the ones that actually grow, a fact seen time and again with global leaders.
Campaigns like Snickers’ “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” or KitKat’s “Have a Break, Have a KitKat” are classic examples of brands staking a claim to specific CEPs worldwide. Coca-Cola has built ownership across multiple CEPs, not just “refreshment on a hot day,” but also “with pizza and friends,” “at the movies with popcorn,” “for special occasions,” and “for everyday relaxation.”
Interestingly, in the past, Coca-Cola even owned the “energy recharge” CEP, similar to today’s energy drinks like Monster and Red Bull, associating itself with slogans like “Restore your energy” and “The drink that clears your head.” Over time, as consumer needs shifted, this CEP moved toward brands with higher caffeine content, showing that brands can gain and lose different CEPs over time.
When a brand becomes closely linked in consumers’ minds with a specific buying trigger, it sets the stage for sustained growth.
Finding and Owning CEPs: From Discovery to Brand Asset
The first step in brand growth is identifying the diverse CEPs in your market and among your consumers. Traditional methods like focus groups, in-depth interviews, and social listening are useful, but in recent years, data-driven tools (like ListeningMind) that analyze actual search behavior and keyword networks have become much more effective at surfacing real, often overlooked, CEPs. Because search data reflects unfiltered needs and spontaneous moments, it can reveal new entry points that surveys or panels often miss.
But the real challenge is not just discovering CEPs, but owning them, staking out a unique psychological and cultural space for your brand.
Most valuable CEPs are already fiercely contested by strong brands. Take “refreshing drink on a hot day”, that space is occupied globally by Coke, Pepsi, and, in Korea, by Chilsung Cider, Mirinda, etc. For a new brand to claim a CEP, it needs more than exposure or price promotions. It needs to build automatic, reflexive associations between the CEP and the brand, shifting consumer memory structures.
A critical point is the relationship and roles of CEPs, brand salience, and Distinctive Brand Assets (DBAs).
- CEPs are the real-life triggers—situations, needs, or emotions that open the door to purchase.
- Fit is key: The brand’s essence (identity, function, values, promise) must naturally and compellingly align with the CEP’s need.
- When fit is achieved, brand salience becomes the brand’s ability to spring to mind instantly and naturally at a given CEP.
- DBAs—unique colors, logos, shapes, sounds, packaging, etc.—reinforce this salience by repeatedly imprinting the brand in memory.
In short, a CEP is a “doorway to purchase.” When a brand’s essence fits naturally with the situation and emotions that open that door, it truly becomes present in the consumer’s mind. The more the brand’s DBAs are consistently and powerfully imprinted in these situations, the greater its salience—its power to be the brand that comes to mind first in key moments. This dynamic is the real formula for brand growth.
Brand Salience vs. Brand Awareness: The Real Difference
One of the most commonly misunderstood concepts in brand marketing is the distinction between brand awareness and brand salience. Both are about consumers recognizing a brand, but their actual impact is very different.
Brand salience, on the other hand, is about being the first brand that comes to mind in a specific context (“When you’re really thirsty on a hot day, what’s the first drink you think of?”). Awareness is about breadth (“brands you know”); salience is about depth (“the brand you instantly recall when you need something”).
Brand awareness is simply “Have you heard of this brand?” or “Do you recognize this logo?” It means knowing the brand exists. Advertising, PR, and sponsorships all build awareness. It’s the minimum requirement for being chosen.
Even a highly aware brand won’t convert to sales if it isn’t top of mind at the moment of purchase. Salience is about the brand automatically occupying that crucial mental real estate in a relevant CEP.
For example, when you sit down with a hot pizza and someone says, “Let’s order some soft drinks, what should we get?”, brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are likely to spring to mind within seconds. That’s salience in action, not just awareness.
Market data shows that while many brands achieve high awareness, only a few are consistently “top of mind” in actual purchase moments. This top-of-mind status is what drives sales and growth, as seen in numerous global case studies. For instance, both Colgate and Crest are well known in the US toothpaste market, but depending on the specific CEP (“worried about bad breath,” “preventing cavities,” “toothpaste for kids”), a different brand might be first in mind. Only those who win “first recall” across multiple CEPs maintain market share leadership.
Brands that focus solely on awareness might be “well known” but lose out at the final moment of choice. In contrast, brands that put salience at the center of their strategy, ensuring they’re first in mind for key CEPs, achieve higher conversions, stronger loyalty, and lasting market leadership.
Building Top-of-Mind Status: How Brand Salience Really Works
Brand salience is deeply tied to how human memory works. We don’t just remember brand names, we store whole networks of sensations, feelings, situations, and experiences. For example, after drinking a Coke on a hot day: the heat, thirst relief, the shape and color of the bottle, the sound of fizz, these are all stored together. When we encounter similar cues in daily life, our brains automatically trace these memory links and recall the brand. This reflexive association is the core of salience.
To build this kind of association, a few strategies are essential:
- Segment CEPs and focus on high-potential triggers. Target the situations where your brand can be strongest.
- Consistently repeat your brand message and DBAs for each CEP. Reinforce emotional connections through repeated, relevant experiences.
- Monitor and optimize with real data. Use metrics like top-of-mind recall, association, conversion rates, and social mentions to track progress and adjust.
Coca-Cola’s consistency is a classic case: for every key CEP, “need refreshment on a hot day,” “pizza with friends,” “movie night drinks”, they reinforce the same distinctive assets (red, curvy bottle, the word “Coke,” a universal campaign message). If Coke springs to mind within a couple of seconds in these situations, that’s the power of salience, built through relentless consistency and sensory cues.
Salience means a brand stands strong even against price promotions or fleeting trends, staying top-of-mind in both stable and turbulent times. Brands with only high awareness, by contrast, risk being forgotten or losing out to competitors at the crucial moment.
The Power of DBAs in Building Salience
The most powerful tool for creating real brand salience is Distinctive Brand Assets (DBAs). DBAs go beyond logos and colors, they’re all the sensory and symbolic cues that instantly call the brand to mind, even without a name. Strong DBAs mean the brand can be recognized by a color, a sound, a slogan, or even a shape.
When a brand’s DBAs are tightly linked to a specific CEP, salience peaks. This is made real at every consumer touchpoint:
- A cold Coke on a billboard during a heat wave
- A red, curvy bottle next to popcorn at the movie counter
- Ads emphasizing “refreshment” and “enjoyment”
- The Apple logo sparking “innovation” and “premium design”
Brands like Tiffany (blue), Nike (Swoosh), McDonald’s (Golden Arches), Burberry (check), Oreo (shape), KitKat (red pack), and Apple (logo) all use distinctive assets to dominate key CEPs and embed themselves in memory through repeated, tangible encounters.
Making Salience and DBAs Work: The Three-Step Strategy for Market Leadership
To truly achieve salience, brands must go beyond awareness and design strategies that powerfully connect their DBAs to target CEPs. This can be broken down into three key steps:
1. Select key CEPs and identify white space.
Use research and data (including search data) to uncover a range of potential CEPs, then choose 2–5 where your brand can focus, especially those with weak competition or unmet needs.
2. Execute consistent DBA strategy for each CEP.
For each target CEP, deploy your DBAs, color, logo, story, package, messaging, consistently across all touchpoints (ads, in-store, digital, pop-ups, etc.). Ottogi’s consistent use of yellow packaging and emotional stories for “easy pasta at home” is a great example.
3. Monitor and optimize relentlessly.
Track salience and DBA performance by CEP with consumer surveys, sales data, social media, and trend analysis. Strengthen weak areas, react quickly to new trends, and keep your brand guidelines tight for a unified experience across every touchpoint.
By following these steps, brands can become the reflexive first choice in key moments. Three practical points to remember:
- Flexibility and adaptation: As society and trends change, brands must expand or shift their CEPs. For example, Starbucks and Ottogi adapted to the rise of “home café” and “home-cooked meals” after the pandemic, applying their DBAs to new products and experiences.
- Consistency and repetition across CEPs: It’s not enough to run an ad or two using a given CEP as background. Real memory is built by repeated, consistent brand experiences at every relevant moment—at the shelf, online, in packaging, in ads, in promotions.
- Emotional consistency: If a brand sends mixed or contradictory emotional signals across CEPs, its associations will be weak. McDonald’s, for example, always reinforces “happy family time” through every channel and experience.
Finally, keep a close eye on competitors’ moves and consumer perceptions. If a rival launches a more compelling DBA in your target CEP, your brand position can quickly erode. Regularly monitor campaigns, packaging, social buzz, and sales data. If trouble appears, act fast to reinforce your assets or identify new CEPs.
By following these three strategic steps, a brand can achieve true, reflexive top-of-mind presence in the marketplace. As you turn your CEPs into strategic assets, there are three practical points every brand should keep in mind:
First, your brand’s DBAs must be consistent and repeatedly experienced across a variety of CEPs. Simply running a few ads that reference a CEP isn’t enough to make your brand truly stick in consumers’ minds. What matters is that, when a consumer actually faces a specific buying trigger, choosing a cold drink at a convenience store on a hot summer day, craving a late-night snack alone, or waiting at the counter before a movie with friends, they encounter your brand’s distinctive assets and messaging again and again.
o achieve this, you need to ensure your brand’s signature assets, packaging, logo, color, sound, message, are present consistently at every touchpoint: in-store displays, online shops, packaging design, promotions, ads, and service experiences. For example, for Coca-Cola, the CEPs of heat and thirst are always paired with its red bottle, curvy packaging, the sound of fizz, and messaging about cool refreshment, whether it’s in offline displays, outdoor ads, TV/digital ads, packaging, or even promotional merchandise. When consumers encounter the same stimulus over and over, in every situation, the bond between brand and CEP becomes firmly embedded in memory.
Ultimately, consistency and repetition are the foundations of brand salience. For every CEP you want to own, true brand growth starts with repeated, concrete experiences that continually reinforce your distinctive assets, not just with exposure, but with meaningful repetition.
Second, emotional consistency is absolutely crucial. If a brand delivers completely different, or even contradictory, emotional experiences across various CEPs, the associative network in the consumer’s memory inevitably weakens. For example, if you build a warm, positive image in the “family dining” CEP but repeatedly deliver indifferent or negative experiences in the “quick solo meal” context, consumers will struggle to form a consistent emotional impression of your brand. The more inconsistent or unstable the emotional experience, the weaker the brand association becomes.
A real-world example is McDonald’s, which has built a consistent emotional association of “happy family dining” worldwide. Beyond just “what, where, and with whom” you eat, McDonald’s reinforces the value of shared moments, happy memories with children, and a welcoming space. Every touchpoint, TV commercials, store interiors, kids’ menus, family events, and even the global “I’m lovin’ it” slogan, repeats the same message and signature assets (golden arches, bright colors, friendly service), firmly establishing the idea that “McDonald’s is a place for families to enjoy good times together.”
When a brand delivers emotionally consistent experiences for each CEP, its salience is further strengthened.
Third, brands must continuously expand, or sometimes let go of, their CEPs in response to market changes and trends. Just as trends like “at-home relaxation,” “convenience meals,” and “home café” surged after the pandemic, CEPs can shift rapidly in response to social change. For example, after COVID-19, Starbucks didn’t cling solely to the “bustling café” CEP, but instead embraced the “home café” trend by launching ready-to-drink coffees, drip bags, capsules, and online merchandise. Through this process, Starbucks maintained its signature cup design, logo, and brand colors, while introducing new touchpoints and messages that made “Starbucks” top of mind even for a coffee break at home.
Similarly, Ottogi, traditionally focused on instant rice and pasta sauces, responded to the rise of “home cooking” by introducing pouch sauces, single-serve packaging for solo diners, and recipe content on YouTube and Instagram. Even as it expanded into new CEPs, Ottogi consistently used its yellow packaging, round logo, and “real home-cooked meal” messaging to tie all experiences back to its core assets.
It’s essential to maintain the strengths of your existing DBAs, while flexibly combining new touchpoints, messaging, and products to adapt to newly emerging CEPs.
Finally, brands must monitor competitors’ moves and continually assess the relative strength of their salience and DBAs in each CEP using data-driven methods.
This is where tracking changes in consumer search paths or keyword network trends becomes invaluable.
For example, if a competitor claims a CEP with a more unique and powerful DBA, or creates a more reflexive association in consumers’ minds, your brand’s position can weaken rapidly. Sudden drops in market share or the loss of long-term loyal customers often result from a weakened CEP–salience–DBA triangle compared to competitors.
Regularly monitoring competitor campaigns, advertising messages, product displays, social mentions, and packaging changes ensures that your salience and DBAs are strong and consistent across all targeted CEPs, and helps you spot new threats early. If warning signs emerge, immediately reassess the consistency of your message and experience, strengthen your DBAs as needed, or proactively identify new CEPs to target.
In summary:
Closely reading shifts in the competitive landscape and consumer perceptions—and relentlessly checking and improving the competitive strength of your salience and DBAs for each CEP—is the final gateway to securing brand leadership in the market.
