Better Brand Health Tracking Based on The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Category Entry Points (CEPs) are the cues—such as situations, needs, or emotions—that prompt a consumer to think of a product category (e.g. 'going on a vacation' could be a CEP for sunscreen). 

CEPs are crucial because they act as mental triggers for purchase decisions. After all, if a consumer isn't shopping in your category, it's very unlikely they'll be shopping for your brand. By mapping and building strong links to relevant CEPs, brands can ensure they come to mind in the moments that matter most. 

Mental Availability is the likelihood that a brand will come to mind in a particular buying situation. It's measured by assessing the quality and quantity of a brand's memory structure in consumers' minds, specifically by tracking how strongly and broadly the brand is linked to different Category Entry Points.

A brand with high Mental Availability is often top-of-mind for category shoppers and has a strong/broad network of associations, making it a likely choice when a category buying need arises.

Better Brand Health Tracking (BBHT) measures four key metrics to gauge Mental Availability: Mental Market Share (MMS), which shows how present a brand is in consumers' minds; Mental Penetration (MPen), which measures how many consumers have at least one mental connection to the brand; Network Size (NS), which indicates the breadth of associations across a brand; and Share of Mind (SoM), which tracks the brand's share of all links made to Category Entry Points, among those with MPen.

quantilope automates the calculation of each of these Mental Availability metrics, so you can spend your valuable time on strategic implementation, not on tedious number crunching. 

BBHT helps convert non-buyers into buyers by providing actionable insights into consumers' minds and thought processes. It helps brands identify what's bringing consumers to shop in their category in the first place, so they can target the right message, to the right consumer, at the right time, and in the right place. 

BBHT captures this valuable information by pinpointing specific Category Entry Points (CEPs) that non-buyers associate with the category as a whole (aka, key growth opportunities and a guide for future messaging tactics). 

Traditional brand tracking software typically focuses on brand funnel metrics: brand awareness, brand consideration, and brand usage.

While valuable, brand funnel metrics sometimes lack actionability and may not fully explain the "why" behind consumer behavior or provide clear direction on how to grow your brand.
Better Brand Health Tracking (BBHT) explores these insights in more detail by incorporating concepts known as Category Entry Points (the situations that prompt consumers to think about a category), Mental Availability (how easily a brand comes to mind in those buying situations), and Mental Advantage analysis (how brands perform relative to expectations based on their size).

BBHT provides more actionable brand insights by focusing on how consumers actually make purchase decisions and identifying specific opportunities for brand growth. 

Any business seeking to understand the deeper reasons behind consumer behavior and drive sustainable growth should use BBHT. It's particularly useful for brands that want to move beyond surface-level funnel metrics like brand awareness and brand consideration. 

BBHT helps brands uncover actionable insights related to their brand associations, competitive standing, and future growth opportunities among both current buyers and current non-buyers (the group with the most growth potential). It provides a more holistic view of brand health by focusing on the mental structures that predict future sales and market share.