What is brand recall? (And why you should care.)

Imagine you're parched. You can pick any store-bought beverage in the world. Which brand springs to mind?

Whichever product you chose has made connections in your brain so strong that you think of it when you're thirsty. That's a pretty powerful endorsement—and the holy grail when it comes to brand or product marketing. In the industry, this is what we call brand recall.

Brand recall is vital for businesses trying to make a name for themselves in a crowded market. Here's why.

What is brand recall?

Put simply, brand recall measures how easily a person recalls your company or product name. A brand with high recall will come to someone's mind quickly with only broad hints, like the scenario of being thirsty detailed above. A brand with extremely low recall won't come to a consumer's mind no matter how many prompts they're given.

Brand recall can be a quantifiable percentage, and it's often used as a main Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for businesses.

Why brand recall is important in 2023

Just think about how many social media ads for different clothing labels, sporting goods, or travel products you've seen in the past year—including brands you'd never heard of before. With so much competition cropping up every day, it's difficult to stand out in people's minds. That's why striving for high brand recall in 2023 is not only strategic, it's critical.

Brands with high recall—the most famous ones—are also more likely to have a large market share. Brand recall doesn't always translate to a purchase, but it very well might. It might also inspire word-of-mouth recommendations and brand loyalty, and help you measure the success of a marketing campaign.

Brand recall vs. brand recognition

Brand recall refers to when a consumer naturally remembers a product based on subtle cues that don't refer directly to the brand. Brand recognition, on the other hand, involves the ability to recognize a brand with the help of aids. Asking someone, "Which sports fashion lines are you familiar with?" can highlight instances of brand recall. Asking them to recognize the brand based on a logo or color palette is brand recognition.

Tips for building (and measuring) brand recall

It's challenging for businesses to achieve high recall without a strong brand identity. In other words, every element of your brand should be aligned on mission, voice, and customer service—all the way from packaging to social media. If your brand stands for something or has a strong mission/ vision and values, be sure to infuse that ethos into all your marketing collateral. Make bold, timely choices, and tell your brand story through compelling advertising so that people will remember it.

To measure your business's brand recall, you can send out a customer survey with prompt questions. These questions should not refer directly to your brand, but instead allude to wider, relatable experiences. So, instead of "Do you wear [brand name] jewelry to cocktail parties?" you may want to ask, "What brands of jewelry come to mind when you think of cocktail parties?" Divide the number of people who recalled your brand into the total amount of respondents, then multiply this amount by 100. This is a business's brand recall percentage.

Level up your brand recall with Spotify Ad Studio

Brands with the highest recall usually have highly effective campaigns to meet their advertising objectives. In fact, advertising recall is its own art form. This means that customers recognize not only your brand, but also specific elements of your ad and marketing campaigns—like a slogan, sound, or even specific voice actor.

With Spotify Ad Studio, you can easily customize your business's ad creative, tailor your campaign with clear objectives, and reach your audience with precision targeting. Make memorable ads, boost your brand recall, and stay ahead of the competition. Get started today.