Key Takeaways
- • quantilope launched Mental Availability Norms, the first benchmarking solution enabling brands to measure how easily they come to mind in consumer buying situations across four major regions (North America, Europe, APAC, LATAM) and six key industries (CPG non-food, Food & Beverages, Fashion, Durables, Retail, Services).
- • Top 20% of brands achieve Mental Market Share of 12-14% depending on category, with leading performers reaching 30-50%, establishing clear performance thresholds for competitive positioning.
- • The Norms track three core metrics: Mental Market Share (percentage of Category Entry Point associations versus competitors), Mental Penetration (percentage of category buyers recognizing brand), and Network Size (average Category Entry Points linked to a brand).
- • The benchmarking framework draws from approximately 8,000 data points across thousands of brands in 35 countries, built on the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science methodology, providing statistically robust performance standards.
- • Brands scoring in the bottom 40% on Mental Penetration are flagged as struggling to reach non-buyers, translating tracking metrics directly into actionable growth diagnostics and marketing planning guidance.
Summary
quantilope, a provider of automated research technology, unveiled Mental Availability Norms on October 6, 2026, introducing standardized benchmarks for measuring brand recall and consideration in consumer purchasing decisions. Mental Availability measures how readily a brand comes to mind when consumers are in an active buying situation—a metric distinct from traditional brand awareness that focuses on actionable consideration at the point of purchase.
The Norms cover four major geographic regions (North America, Europe, APAC, and LATAM) and span six industry sectors critical to consumer spending: CPG (non-food), Food & Beverages, Fashion, Durables, Retail, and Services. The benchmarking system tracks three interdependent metrics: Mental Market Share, which captures the percentage of Category Entry Point (CEP) associations a brand holds relative to competitors; Mental Penetration, measuring the percentage of category buyers who link a brand to at least one CEP; and Network Size, reflecting the average number of CEPs connected to a brand.
Performance data from the Norms reveals a clear stratification: the top 20% of brands in any category typically achieve Mental Market Share between 12-14%, with elite performers securing 30-50%. These thresholds provide marketers with concrete targets for competitive positioning. The solution identifies a critical vulnerability: any brand with Mental Penetration in the bottom 40% of its category is failing to reach non-buyers, signaling untapped growth potential.
The Norms infrastructure rests on approximately 8,000 data points collected from thousands of brands across 35 countries, employing the established methodology of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science. This foundation lends statistical rigor and category-specific context to the benchmarks, enabling brands to translate tracking insights directly into marketing planning, goal-setting, and growth activation strategies. By linking performance metrics to defined category norms, the solution addresses a persistent gap between consumer research outputs and actionable strategic direction.
The Norms cover four major geographic regions (North America, Europe, APAC, and LATAM) and span six industry sectors critical to consumer spending: CPG (non-food), Food & Beverages, Fashion, Durables, Retail, and Services. The benchmarking system tracks three interdependent metrics: Mental Market Share, which captures the percentage of Category Entry Point (CEP) associations a brand holds relative to competitors; Mental Penetration, measuring the percentage of category buyers who link a brand to at least one CEP; and Network Size, reflecting the average number of CEPs connected to a brand.
Performance data from the Norms reveals a clear stratification: the top 20% of brands in any category typically achieve Mental Market Share between 12-14%, with elite performers securing 30-50%. These thresholds provide marketers with concrete targets for competitive positioning. The solution identifies a critical vulnerability: any brand with Mental Penetration in the bottom 40% of its category is failing to reach non-buyers, signaling untapped growth potential.
The Norms infrastructure rests on approximately 8,000 data points collected from thousands of brands across 35 countries, employing the established methodology of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science. This foundation lends statistical rigor and category-specific context to the benchmarks, enabling brands to translate tracking insights directly into marketing planning, goal-setting, and growth activation strategies. By linking performance metrics to defined category norms, the solution addresses a persistent gap between consumer research outputs and actionable strategic direction.
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