Brand Awareness Definition

Brand awareness is the degree to which people are cognizant of a particular company in the sense that they can recognize brand imagery, such as a logo, slogan, a certain color scheme, and so on. To have brand awareness, a consumer must mentally link these images with the company’s products or services.

Brand awareness is particularly important for new businesses and/or high-competition industries, and is cultivated through inbound and outbound marketing efforts. Brand awareness is so effective because shoppers are more likely to go to a company that they’re familiar with—even if they’re first-time customers—rather than researching other companies with similar products or services.

Brand Awareness Example

It’s likely that you can already name at least a handful of examples of brand awareness just by thinking about your favorite soft drink, car manufacturer, or clothing line.

An example of how a business owner might cultivate brand awareness for their company through online marketing might include increasing customer engagement on their blog by producing value-heavy content and encouraging readers to share it on social media. Another method to increase brand awareness might be to ramp up earned media efforts, i.e., to garner positive press articles and mentions about products or services.

Why is Brand Awareness Important in Strategic Marketing?

Lead Generation

Increased brand awareness is a way to yield new leads and sales as well. Arguably as important as customer retention is the ability of brand awareness to bring in new customers who haven’t worked with you before but have heard of you.

Closing Sales

Brand awareness is a vital component of increasing overall customer loyalty; when a buyer needs the products or service you offer and you’re the first thought that comes to their mind, it acts as a powerful motivator.