Marketing Science
Evidence-based principles from decades of empirical research on how brands grow and how buyers actually behave. Primarily drawn from the work of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute.
Marketing science is not marketing theory. It is the empirical study of how brands actually grow, based on decades of rigorous research across hundreds of categories and dozens of countries. The findings often contradict what the marketing industry believes.
The work documented here draws heavily from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, the IPA Effectiveness Awards database, and related academic research. The goal is to translate these findings into operator language, making them useful for people who build and run systems.
Core Concepts
Market Share
Why penetration growth drives brand growth, and why loyalty-focused strategies consistently underperform.
Category Entry Points
The buying situations and needs that trigger category consideration. The cues that bring brands to mind.
Mental Availability
The probability of a brand being noticed or thought of in buying situations. The real goal of marketing.
Distinctive Assets
The non-brand-name elements that trigger the brand in memory. How brands become recognizable.
Why Loyalty Is Misunderstood
The research on what loyalty actually predicts and why loyalty programs rarely deliver growth.