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Episode 101

How Category Entry Points Shape Buying

When consumers deliberately avoid buying situations to cut costs, brands risk losing their mental connection with shoppers. The key to staying relevant? Defending existing category entry points while creating new ones.

Elena, Angela, and Rob explore what makes category entry points effective and how brands can build them. They discuss different types of CEPs, from needs-based to emotional triggers, and share examples of brands that have mastered them. Plus, learn why broad reach media like TV helps reinforce these crucial mental connections and what it takes to own multiple CEPs without diluting their impact.

Topics Covered

• [01:00] Different types of category entry points and how to identify them

• [03:00] How many CEPs should brands focus on?

• [07:00] Starbucks' strategy for dominating coffee occasions

• [10:00] Using broad-reach media to build mental availability

• [13:00] How Coca-Cola owns multiple CEPs through decades of investment

• [15:00] LEGO's success creating new usage occasions

• [18:00] Examples of brands that own multiple CEPs

Resources:

MarketingWeek Article

Today's Hosts

Elena Jasper

VP Marketing

Rob DeMars

Chief Product Architect

Angela Voss

Chief Executive Officer

Transcript

Angela: Looking at channels that can drive that strong habit formation, looking at broad mental availability channels like TV and CTV, habit-driven CEPs can be formed like a morning coffee ritual.

Elena: Hello and welcome to The Marketing Architects, a research-first podcast dedicated to answering your toughest marketing questions.

I'm Elena Jasper. I run the marketing team here at Marketing Architects, and I'm joined by my co-hosts, Angela Voss, the CEO of Marketing Architects, and Rob DeMars, the Chief Product Architect of Misfits and Machines.

Angela: Hello!

Elena: We are back with our thoughts on some recent marketing news, always trying to root our opinions in data, research, and what drives business results. This is our official Category Entry Points episode, also known as What is a Category Entry Point, why do they matter, and how can advertising help?

We're going to talk about all of that today, but first, I have an article from, no surprise, Marketing Week, written by Lindsay Rapacci and titled "Reinforce Your Category Entry Points If You Want to Stimulate Sales." She starts by defining category entry points, which were coined by the Ehrenberg Bass Institute and championed by Jenny Romanuk.

And those are the mental cues that link a buying situation to a brand. For example, thirst promoting you to reach for Coca-Cola or cold weather calling for some Starbucks. When consumers deliberately avoid these situations to cut costs, brands risk losing sales. The article argues that to stay relevant, brands must defend their existing CEPs with messaging that reinforces why consumers should buy while also creating new CEPs to spark demand.

The author presents a practical framework for identifying CEPs, which she calls the W words, like why, when, where, and with whom. It's a reminder that CEPs are all about the context in which people buy. Coca-Cola's Christmas Association is a masterclass example of this. It's a CEP that they've been reinforcing since the 1920s.

She believes that to really drive sales, brands should pair broad-reaching CEPs with broad-reaching media like TV and out-of-home, which creates strong mental availability when it matters the most. And I like that article because I think it tells a nice story about what category entry points are, and I always appreciate a framework.

Elena: But I also want to mention that category entry points and mental availability are kind of intertwined because mental availability depends on the number of CEPs your brand's linked to and the strength of those links in your consumer's memories. The more relevant CEPs a brand owns, the more likely it is that you're top of mind.

So brands have to find this balance between having broad, diverse category entry points, but also making them strong enough so that you're remembered first. I want us to start with sort of identifying category entry points. Rob, can you walk us through the different categories of CEPs?

Rob: Yeah, I'm going to confess. I thought CEPs was something you get when you eat bad sushi. So I had to do a little bit of research on this one. I wouldn't be winning any barroom trivia off the top of my head. So I dug into it, and they make a lot of sense.

There's the needs-based CEP. So when I need energy, I want some wings, I'm going to get myself a Red Bull. And there's occasion-based CEPs, things like going on a road trip - I might want to drive a Jeep Wrangler, or I need a good breakfast option on the go, I want a McDonald's Egg McMuffin.

So that would be occasion-based. You can have the functional CEP. So I need a camera and I have one on my iPhone, or I need a laptop with long battery life, I might consider a MacBook. Or there is the emotional CEP. So I want to feel powerful, therefore, I'm going to buy a Rolex and show it off when I'm reaching for a beverage.

So all my friends can see I'm wearing a Rolex. And I'll feel really good about myself. Or the social or tribal CEP. So I want to be seen as successful, I might buy a Mercedes, or I want to signal that I'm creative, use an Apple computer in the meeting. Or there might be location-based CEPs. So I'm on a beach, and I'm thinking about a Corona.

A really interesting way to think about how a product can relate with a consumer's life and state of mind.

Elena: That is quite thorough. That's great. Now I feel really overwhelmed with the number of CEPs. How can a brand decide which category entry points to focus on first?

Rob: Yeah, there's a lot of things to consider. I mean, one is to evaluate market position. Right. So really understand where your brand stands in the marketplace and where it has the strongest associations. And some of the ways you can find that out is just by analyzing your consumer behavior. Conduct research and understand which relevant triggers seem the most meaningful for your particular audience. And then as you look through all of the different potential CEPs, really prioritize.

Prioritize which ones are easiest for you to execute against and most relevant. And what are others that might just be a bit of a stretch for your brand? Just continuing to test and learn about implementing different strategies and see which resonate the most. But it really is about deeply reflecting on your own brand and then marrying that with the research to see which ones really rise to the top for you.

Elena: So once we've done that, like we have all the possibilities, we're working on prioritizing them. I wanted to talk about this idea of broad, but strong category entry points, because that's always one of my first questions when someone brings up this topic. How should a brand decide just how many category entry points to focus on? It seems like it would be the more the merrier until they start to become more diluted. But Ange, what do you think?

Angela: Yeah, I think it's a good question and no perfect answer for all brands, I wouldn't say, but I think to your point, Elena, Rob gives us many different ways to think about CEPs and you can look at that as either being overwhelmed or seeing a lot of opportunity.

And I think it's easy to slip into, well, I want consumers to think of my brand in every possible situation where my product or service can solve their need. But I think a better approach is to focus on a strategic number of really strong category entry points first, at least, rather than trying to cover too many in a weak fashion.

CEPs work best when they're really deeply embedded in consumer memory and consistently reinforced over time. Spreading CEPs will dilute mental availability. So it kind of starts to work against you a little bit, making it harder for consumers to recall that brand in those key buy moments.

So what you want to think about is prioritizing first, high frequency, high reach that occur often and across a broad audience. So a good starting point might be 3 to 5 well-established CEPs where the brand already has a strong recall. Once those are dominant, the brand can expand into another, maybe two to three emerging CEPs that align with consumer behaviors or category shifts.

So if we were to think about a brand like Starbucks, for example, they built their dominance by reinforcing coffee as the morning wake-up ritual and the afternoon pick-me-up, which are both high frequency, high reach, very broad across audiences. And then once those were deeply established, Starbucks has expanded into location.

It can be a place to work. It can be a cozy place to socialize. During the holiday season, it's a great way to kick off the festive feel with a pumpkin spice latte or something like that. So starting with low frequency events wouldn't be a good move. Rather, establish yourself as the wake up and the pick me up first from Starbucks. And then once you get that routine down, then you can expand.

Elena: Yeah, that was a great move by them to make "it's fall, I need Starbucks" as a category entry point. 'Cause I definitely have that, or "it's Christmas time, I need a Starbucks Christmas cup."

Rob: And really remember to have a communication strategy and then think through all of the relevant content that you could be creating to support those key elements. So your social ads, your sponsorships and partnerships to really help double down on the energy behind those CEPs.

Angela: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, messaging would be unique in a lot of those situations, right? Versus just, well, we've got kind of one brand message or brand promise that we put out there and we're going to do it no matter what the category entry point is.

Elena: I think another fun topic is - I agree with you, and I think that's the best way to do it, like, map out the possibilities and then prioritize those with the highest reach, most frequent purchases.

But I think it's also fun to think about in my category who currently owns the category entry points and how easy might it be to take them over? Because maybe there's one that has less opportunity there, however, it's easier to steal. So maybe like being aware, if I'm Caribou Coffee and you're looking at the coffee category, you're trying to think, all right, should I go after what Starbucks already has? Or should I try to create a different occasion for me?

So speaking of that, let's get into the how. So if you have an idea of the category entry points you want to build up, how can a brand do that? How can they build them or invest in category entry points?

Angela: Yeah, I can take that one. I think what we're talking about here is once you have your CEP strategy, how are you going to deploy it and what marketing channels might make sense. So maybe just continuing the conversation about Starbucks, for an example, you know, we're focused on broad and strong category entry points. And we should be thinking that way then from a media standpoint as well.

Looking at channels that can drive that strong habit formation, looking at broad mental availability channels like TV and CTV, habit-driven CEPs can be formed like a morning coffee ritual. Beyond that, trying to get yourself embedded in those daily routines, you could also be looking at channels like out of home. Why?

Because advertising physically is placed in high traffic areas where potentially for a Starbucks coffee buying moments might happen, be it a billboard or something on a sidewalk display. Then I think beyond that it's trying to identify what are these micro moment opportunities, where do those exist across streaming, across digital, potentially on YouTube.

So like a Starbucks can insert itself into moments where consumers are already thinking about food and beverage. It could be pre-roll ads before your morning exercise routine or work from home content that you're reviewing in the morning, whatever that morning ritual might be. A YouTube ad featuring a person grabbing a Starbucks before a big presentation, reinforcing like coffee for confidence, something like that.

And then I think additionally, assuming that pricing is competitive, investing in media channels that align with when and where that category entry point naturally occurs can also be a good move. If we're Doritos and we know an identified category entry point is snacking during NFL football, then it might make sense to communicate that during NFL football to consumers.

Rob: Those are all really good. And then how do you continue to monitor and adapt, right? Just continue to listen, get the signals - okay, we're making progress on this one, or this is resonating.

Elena: We covered a study on a nerd alert a couple of weeks ago about Super Bowl ads. And I think category entry points, the importance of them is clear in the study. 'Cause remember Rob, they were saying that the best performing Super Bowl ads were ones that were really linked to the relevance of the Super Bowl. So there's a lot of beer commercials and they associated themselves like, "Hey, when you think of sports, think of our brand." And so a lot of beer brands did well, some sodas, snacks, which makes sense because it's easier for them to be associated with that category entry point.

I thought that some examples would be fun to bring during this episode and we all came prepared with one brand that we think does a really nice job with category entry points. And I'm going to kick us off with one that I think we had to mention, which is Coca-Cola.

I know that they're like the typical category entry point example, but I think they might be the best example. They've spent decades linking Coke to refreshment. So they own that, you know, I'm thirsty on a hot day category entry point. They also own celebrations. They started their iconic Christmas campaigns with Santa Claus back in the 1920s, linking themselves to the holidays and they continue to invest in that category entry point every year. They've also tied themselves to meals. Have you noticed how McDonald's, they always offer a Coke with your burger?

And let's not forget about entertainment and sports like the Super Bowl. You know, if you're at the movies, a sporting event, what drink do you think of? It might just be a Coke. I found that they even have a category entry point in endurance events like triathlons - they offer that Coke as a drink during like the full or half marathon to keep you going until the end.

So in conclusion, they own category entry points like thirst, meals, holidays, celebrations, sports, and it's all because of their commitment to reinforcing them through their iconic brand assets on broad reach media and sponsorship over decades. You might wonder, why does Coca-Cola keep advertising? Doesn't almost every person in the United States know about Coca-Cola? It's because they're trying to protect those category entry points. And if they don't, somebody else is gonna take them.

Rob: I like this. This is fun because that's a good one, Elena, but this is kind of a CEP SmackDown right now. We're bringing the bigs and you're saying Coca-Cola's the best, but I've got a pretty darn good one here.

Lego. All right. Now think about the magic of Legos. You want a toy that fosters creativity and problem solving, right? There's your Legos. You're looking for that perfect gift for a child's birthday party, right? Everyone can have more Legos. You think about "I need a screen-free activity for my kid." Great. I want a relaxing hobby for myself - I'm an adult and I could use Legos, right? You think about wanting something that can impress your friends, right? You want to be able to build that, stroke your ego. There's Legos right there.

So they just do such a good job with product diversification. You think about all the different properties and versions they have of Legos or advanced Legos or science Legos all the way down to just those really simple toys. There's just goodness for everybody, right? Except when you step on them!

Angela: I was gonna say...

Elena: Yeah. Have you, Rob, heard of like the Lego art that they have now?

Rob: No.

Elena: So, my mom got all three of her adult children for Christmas this year Lego art, and Sam and I already made ours. It's like a really big art piece. It takes a long time to build, but we have like the Milky Way. And now it's up on our wall. They literally are selling art. Yeah, new category entry point - you need new art piece for your wall.

Angela: Yeah, they also are doing flowers, like bouquets of flowers and stuff. My teenager has bought those several times.

Rob: Yeah, my wife has those. They're really cool. And you just think about all of the community building that they've done, even like the robotics leagues that have been created around Legos, and all the partnerships. Just so many ways for one to enjoy Lego. So Coke though, don't get me wrong. I love me a good Coca-Cola. I'm just saying it's got some competition there with our plastic little block friends in Legos.

Angela: Well, and I think it's just a good reminder, you know, how many potential relevant applications there are for your product? Because I think we go to how do I expand products going back to Lego? I mean, they've got a lot of new products now, so they're trying to grow that way. But what I love about this is really trying to think through one single product here - what's the application.

And I love the example with Coke because there are so many. Another one that I thought of is Febreze. So, freshening up after cooking is one category entry point. Do you have some stinky pets? Are you worried about how your house smells? 'Cause you have a cat, you have a dog, you have whatever Rob has roaming around his house.

Maybe bathroom freshness is an area of concern for you. Refreshing your car interior, make your car smell like new again. And even eliminating just musty odors. Did you buy a new cabin or something like that? And you're wanting to kind of refresh the fabric and the furniture. So I think they've done a really good job of going like, you need freshness? We've got you covered. Doesn't matter what it is - all of these different examples.

Rob: I love that one. I remember hearing a case study, I can't remember what book it was, about Febreze and they were talking about how it also got associated with the smell of done. So it's that cue of just being able to feel like you clean the house, you spray the Febreze now you're finished.

Angela: Febreze and done. Yep. I remember that now that you say it.

Elena: Febreze also has those commercials where they put people blindfolded in a really gross place. Remember that? And then they spray... those are so good.

Great. All good examples. Well, to wrap us up here, and this might be a hard question, and I realized how hard it was when I started trying to answer it, but what brand do you believe owns the most category entry points in your life? So, what brand do you find yourself reaching for or purchasing the most during like a bunch of different occasions or situations? And Rob, you get to start us off here.

Rob: I love the Jeep Wrangler. I love it for a lot of reasons. I live in Minnesota. We were just talking about how we're going to get a snow storm. So when you need a winter car, you need an amazing winter car, you need yourself a Wrangler. Or the sense of freedom, or at least the illusion of freedom. Like I don't actually drive off road, but I like the idea that I could if I wanted to, but I can't, so I won't. Or I'm just a very lonely person.

So the idea of buying into a community of people and, you know, you're kind of part of a club, they've even branded the wave, which is their loyalty program. And that's what everybody in a Jeep Wrangler does is wave. So many different connections there with that brand for me. How about you, Ange?

Angela: Yeah. So I guess a glimpse into my personal life. I have three girls of which the youngest is 10 and the oldest is 16. And so we've been out of the diapering phase for at least seven years, I would say, and yet I am still buying baby wipes. I use them for everything. And whether or not it was marketed this way, I can't remember back in those days I was obviously very busy at that time, but like cleaning in my office, just, I always have them in my purse, like just to wipe up or clean a table or whatever. I have them in my kitchen. Like I have them everywhere. They're great. They're just so practical and useful. That's a great example.

Elena: I use baby wipes a lot too. And I've never had a baby.

Angela: They're doing a great job.

Rob: Our kids are all grown up too, but we have a dog that wears a diaper. So...

Angela: Oh!

Elena: Still in the diapering phase.

Rob: We're still in the diaper phase with our old dog.

Elena: Mine is my Garmin watch. Because I use my Garmin watch all the time. I use it not just for the time, though. I use it, obviously, checking the time. I also use it for all my workouts. So, like, swimming, biking, running, I'm using it for that. I even use it for like how I'm feeling because it gives you recovery times.

You can go in there and see like, "Oh, am I feeling tired?" Or maybe I have longer to recover from a workout. It can say how your training's going. So it balances your stress over time. So yeah, just a lot more than a watch. I think I find myself reaching to it when I'm bored. I go on my Garmin watch sometimes. So just a lot of different occasions for it.

Rob: Nice.

Elena: Great examples. All right. Well, that was our category entry points episode. Kind of fun. Was it everything you hoped for, Rob? I know you're very excited. Ang loves a category entry point.

Angela: I really do. Could be one of the most under-leveraged marketing effectiveness principles in marketing. I don't know. We should debate that.