Marketing

How Brands Grow: 8 key ideas

by Byron Sharp

The core ideas of How Brands Grow, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 8

   Marketing should follow evidence

   Sharp, a marketing professor, argues that many common marketing beliefs are not supported by evidence.

   Drawing on large studies of buying behaviour, he describes patterns that hold across many brands and countries.

2. IDEA 2 OF 8

   Brands grow when easy to recall

   Sharp argues that brands grow by building mental availability, being easy to remember in buying situations.

   Advertising should help people notice and recall the brand. A brand that comes to mind first is more likely to be picked.

3. IDEA 3 OF 8

   Easy buying helps brands grow

   Physical availability means being easy to find and buy.

   Wide distribution matters. If shoppers cannot find a brand nearby, or have to search hard for it, they will buy something else. Being in many places gives the brand more chances to be bought.

4. IDEA 4 OF 8

   Big brands have more loyal buyers

   Sharp describes the double jeopardy law: smaller brands have fewer buyers, and those buyers are slightly less loyal.

   Growth comes mainly from more buyers. So a small brand cannot easily win by hoping its few buyers become far more devoted.

5. IDEA 5 OF 8

   Light buyers matter

   Sharp argues that most of a brand's buyers purchase it rarely.

   Reaching these light buyers is key to growth. Because there are so many of them, ignoring them means ignoring most of a brand's buyers.

6. IDEA 6 OF 8

   Use distinctive assets

   Sharp recommends building distinctive brand assets, such as colours, logos and sounds.

   These help people recognise brands. When people see the same colour or sound again and again, they connect it to the brand quickly.

7. IDEA 7 OF 8

   Reach widely

   Sharp argues that reaching all category buyers works better than narrow targeting.

   Broad reach builds growth. A brand that talks only to a small group misses the many other people who might buy it. Reaching everyone who could buy keeps the brand easy to remember.

8. IDEA 8 OF 8

   Loyalty is overrated

   Sharp challenges the idea that brands grow mainly by increasing loyalty.

   Loyalty grows with size. Seen this way, big brands have more loyal buyers because they are big, not the other way around. Chasing loyalty alone is therefore a weak plan for growth.