In an era when consumers are exposed to thousands of marketing messages every day, awareness has become an overrated metric. The real battle isn’t whether people recognize your logo – it’s whether they remember your brand when it matters, said CMO Doug Zarkin in a TedTalk.
That distinction sits at the heart of a growing conversation among marketers: the difference between brands people know and brands people choose, explained Zarkin.
For decades, marketers have measured success through reach, impressions and share of voice. Those metrics still matter, but they don’t explain why two equally recognizable brands can produce dramatically different business results. One becomes part of consumers’ lives. The other fades into the background.
The gap often comes down to meaning. Consumers don’t simply buy products. They buy confidence, convenience, belonging and identity. The brands that consistently win aren’t always those with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones that make a promise—and repeatedly deliver on it.
Marketing can spark interest, but experience creates memory.
That’s especially true as consumers navigate economic uncertainty and an endless stream of options. Every purchase is a decision to reduce risk. Familiarity helps, but trust closes the sale.
“Brand value equals experience divided by price,” said Zarkin. “The better the outcome of that, the more likely you are to trust that brand.And when the experience isn’t good and all we’re left to do is evaluate that purchase based on price, brands run a very, very big risk.”
The most resilient brands understand that every customer interaction functions as media. A customer service conversation, an app notification, product packaging and post-purchase support all reinforce – or undermine – the brand story advertising begins.
That represents a shift from traditional campaign thinking.
Instead of asking, “How do we create the next great commercial?” marketers increasingly ask, “How do we create the next great customer experience?”
The answer requires organizations to think beyond marketing departments. Brand isn’t owned exclusively by the CMO. It’s expressed through operations, product design, logistics, retail execution and employee behavior.
When those pieces align, customers notice.
When they don’t, no amount of creative excellence can compensate.
This is where emotional relevance becomes a competitive advantage. Consumers rarely develop loyalty because a brand offers one more feature or one more discount. They return because the experience consistently reflects what the brand says about itself.
That consistency creates what many marketers strive for but few achieve: preference.
Preference is different from awareness.
Awareness says, “I’ve heard of you.”
Preference says, “I’d miss you if you disappeared.”
That’s an increasingly important distinction as artificial intelligence, retail media and algorithm-driven discovery make products easier than ever to find. Distribution is becoming commoditized. Meaning is becoming scarce.
For marketers, the implication is profound.
The future of brand building won’t be won solely through louder campaigns or larger media budgets. It will belong to organizations capable of translating purpose into everyday actions customers can see and feel.
Because forgotten brands aren’t always bad brands.
Often, they’re simply brands that stopped giving consumers a compelling reason to care.
And in today’s marketplace, indifference is a far greater threat than competition.
