At the top of the pyramid is the brand that exists at the top of the customer’s mind. This is the happy and the most desired condition that any marketer seeks.
Example: Say when we think of online search engines what is the first brand that comes into your mind? This is “Top of The Mind” This the the place that always stays deep within you and you always tend to stick to the brands that are top of the mind. You may hesitate shifting the brands as they are now very much part of your desire.
So for me when i think of it its “GOOGLE”, So is for you !
The next level is of all the other brands that are recalled by the customer in an unaided form.(brand awareness) The customer is asked to recall as many brands as he or she is able to whenever one thinks of a product.
Example: Now i ask you what other brands that you can think when it comes to Search Engines?
So the brands that you can name first now is due to the awareness that it has created.
Say “Yahoo !” , This is one brand that comes next after “GOOGLE” , so the possibility of “Yahoo !” one day becoming your top of the mind brand is high !
Brand recognition is the third level and perhaps the lowest level. And also known as brand recall.
Here customers are aided in recalling or recognizing brands or associating brands with a product class. This is important at the point of purchase. The contribution of awareness to building up equity for the brand can be gauged by the fact that high awareness creates associations in the customers mind. He or she is able to associate different images with the brand and this in turn can help generate a customers liking for it. It can also lead to a large base of committed customers, and all these benefits in turn will help the firm have more leverage in the market place.
