Mindshare What it is How it Works Comparisons
Contents
Mindshare is a marketing term that describes consumer awareness or popularity surrounding a product, idea, or company. Practically, it is the consumer perception of a brand or product compared to rivals as measured by talk or mentions generated by the public or media.
Mindshare, also written as "mind share," is an abstract notion akin to market share, another measurement regarding the popularity or penetration of a product or brand.
Key Takeaways
- Mindshare is the amount of consumer awareness around a product or idea.
- Some experts contend that mindshare can be a better gauge of a small company’s long-term health than market share because it signifies quality customer impressions.
- Brand names like Google that have entered the lexicon for associated actions indicate high mindshare.
The primary goal of advertising and promotion is to make consumers think of certain brand names more than others. Advertisers measure success based on whether the products and services they promote are top of mind. Accordingly, mindshare is a gauge of popularity or consumer awareness due to advertising and promotion.
For example, when a consumer wants to buy a hybrid vehicle, they may first think of Toyota’s Prius even though there are alternatives. This exemplifies the Prius having greater mindshare than other brands or models. Similarly, when asked to name an athletic shoe company or fast food restaurant, many consumers think of Nike or McDonald’s—indicating high mindshare. To become mindshare, the association of all fast food as McDonald’s or all sneakers as Nikes must occur.
A good way to gauge mindshare is to think about popular consumer products or services that have become synonymous with their verb. When brand names enter the lexicon as the exemplar of a product, this indicates high mindshare.
Q-tip, Kleenex, Advil, Coke, and Google refer to specific trademarked products but also identify a class of products or activities. For example, when someone says to "Google it," they are referring to searching for a term, meaning Google has high mindshare. Another example is when someone says to Uber to a specific restaurant or destination, meaning to take a taxi or call a ride-sharing service.
Mindshare is difficult to quantify, even with advanced advertising and social media marketing tools and metrics. Market share is more easily quantified; it is the percentage of the market that an item holds compared to a competing item. While increasing market share is the ultimate goal of any business, building mindshare may be part of a means to achieve that objective. Some advertising experts contend that mindshare can be a better gauge of a small company’s long-term health than market share because it signifies availability, quality, and quality customer impressions.
Similar to mindshare, "heart share" or "share of heart" is the message-driven focus on creating emotional engagement with consumers rather than solely focusing on market share.
