Brand recall is a key metric in marketing and advertising. A greater brand presence in the minds of consumers tends to increase the likelihood that they will choose that brand when making a purchase. In recent times, the concept of brand salience, which goes much further, has become more popular. Today we tell you about their differences and how you can measure both metrics in your market research.
What is brand recall?
Brand recall is an indicator that measures the percentage of people who remember a specific brand in relation to a category of products or services. The more people are able to identify or mention a brand when asked about a product category, the more likely they are to consider it when making a purchase.
There are three main levels of brand recall:
- Spontaneous ‘top of mind’ brand recall: This is the first brand that comes to the consumer’s mind when asked about the brands they remember within a category without suggesting brand names and without accompanying the question with any stimuli such as images, logos or sounds. This is the strongest level of recall, as it implies that the brand is very present in the consumer’s mind.
- Spontaneous brand recall: When the consumer mentions a brand without being given any clues or cues by being asked about all the brands he/she remembers when thinking about a product category.
- Suggested or assisted brand recall: In this case, the consumer is given a list of brands to identify. If the consumer recognises the brand when it is mentioned, but did not remember it spontaneously, it is classified as assisted recall.
What is brand salience?
Brand salience and brand recall are related concepts, but they are not the same. Brand salience goes beyond the concept of recall and refers to the ability of a brand to appear in the consumer’s mind at key moments, such as when a purchase decision is being made or when a need arises related to the category of products or services offered by the brand. In other words, it is not enough to remember a brand in the abstract; it must be remembered by associating it with a specific purchase or usage situation. Advocates of brand salience argue that it is not enough to know or remember a brand in order to consider it in the purchase set. It is important that the brand is associated with specific situations, ‘use cases’, because depending on the case, the repertoire of possible choices will be different.
To better understand the concept of brand salience, let’s look at an example.
If we spontaneously ask people for the soft drink brands they remember, it is highly likely that Coca-Cola will be at the top of the list. Let’s imagine that instead of asking about the soft drink brands you know, we ask about the soft drink brands that come to mind when you think of:
- Having a vermouth with friends
- Hydrating after sport
- Having a celebration at home with the family
- Taking a drink with you on transport
Looking at the list, it is possible that in some cases Coca-Cola is at the top of the list, but in other cases it is possible that for many people there are other brands that come to mind much earlier. A brand like Aquarius, for example, might easily come to mind for ‘hydrating after sport’, but might have a harder time being remembered for ‘having a vermouth with friends’.
The more specific situations a brand can be associated with, the more likely it is to be chosen in those situations. That is why one of the most important missions of brand managers is to increase the number of situations in which the brand can be remembered.
How to measure brand recall?
Brand recall is measured through surveys with questions that quantify how many consumers can recall a brand in relation to a category of products or services. Some standard questions that can be included in questionnaires would be:
- Top of Mind brand recall: ‘What is the first brand that comes to mind when you think of [product category]?’ In the case of the soft drink brand example: ‘What is the first soft drink brand you remember?’ Remember that as it is spontaneous brand recall, you must ask the question without giving any clues or indications.
- Multiple spontaneous brand recall: ‘Which brands in [product category] do you know?’ Here the consumer is asked to mention all the brands he/she remembers in a product category, without giving any clues. For example: ‘Which brands of trainers do you know? With this question wording, a ranking of the most remembered brands can be obtained, where the one mentioned first would be the Top of Mind brand.
- Assisted brand recall: ‘Of the following brands in [product category], which ones do you remember?’ This method measures recall when the consumer is presented with clues or a list of brands, and asked if they recognise any. For example: ‘Of the following brands of running shoes (Adidas, Nike, Puma, Hoka, Saucony…) which ones do you remember? This helps to identify brands that the consumer would not remember on their own, but which may have some visibility in their mind.
Generally, in the same questionnaire, different levels of brand recall are asked, as they offer complementary information. Spontaneous salience is asked first and then the list of brands or stimuli is added to collect suggested brand salience.
How is brand salience measured?
Brand salience is measured by assessing a brand’s ability to be remembered by consumers in key purchase or consumption situations. It is also measured through surveys, but the most common purchase and usage situations in which we want to measure the brand’s ability to stand out should be added to the questionnaire. The brand will be stronger if it manages to be in many situations and if it manages to be at the top in each of them. The wider and more varied the network of associations, the greater the salience of the brand.
To measure the salience of the Nike brand, one could ask for the list of trainer brands that come to the consumer’s mind in situations such as:
- For hiking
- For weekend wear
- To wear to work or school
- For going to the gym
- For going out with friends
- For jogging
- …
To do this, a list of these key situations needs to be identified first. The brand may already have a list of these situations that it can use. If not, it is recommended to obtain them through focus groups in order to identify all possible cases. Then, filter this list according to the incidence and the interest they have for your brand, so that you are left with a manageable short list. Finally, ask which brands consumers remember in each of the situations on your list. The more frequently a brand appears, the higher its salience.
Brand recall and brand salience surveys with We are testers
If you want to start measuring recall or salience, strengthen your brand equity and move towards category leadership, we can help. Our research experts can create a questionnaire tailored to your needs and launch it through our research platform. We have a consumer panel of 130,000 members that we can filter to select your target audience. Contact our experts to find out all the details and strengthen your brand today.
