Evolution Beyond the Funnel: What Modern Brand Tracking Should Be Measuring
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Evolution Beyond the Funnel: What Modern Brand Tracking Should Be Measuring
If your brand tracker still prioritises the funnel alone, you're likely to already be behind.
Funnels have a clear place. They’re easy to plot onto a slide and offer a shared language.
But they also rely on an element of predictability and the way people interact with brands today often doesn’t look predictable.
They bounce between formats, messages, moods, needs. They swipe past your ad in seconds, then search you three days later on a different device. They see your product in a TikTok, read reviews while walking to work, and choose in a split-second while standing in an aisle.
No awareness-consideration-intent loop.
Just chaos. Beautiful, messy, real-world chaos.
And yet, too many trackers still ask questions like it’s 2011.
If your tracker still maps a linear funnel, you’re not measuring how brands actually grow.
Funnels Tell You Where People Drop Off
They don't tell you why they’d choose you.
A funnel shows you awareness, consideration, preference and (sometimes) purchase. It gives you percentages. Tells you where you're strong, where you're leaking. Useful, sure - but only if you’re treating people like rational machines moving through a pipeline.
Here’s the truth your tracker might be missing:
- People don’t buy in steps. They buy in moments.
- They don't always consider multiple brands. Often, they just default to what’s top-of-mind.
- Emotion, context, memory and associations matter more than funnel progression.
So, if you're still measuring just movement through a path, you're missing the levers that actually create that movement in the first place.
What Should You Be Measuring Instead?
Let’s talk about what separates passive trackers from powerful ones:
They focus on memory, emotion and context - not just attention.
Here are three dimensions that define modern brand tracking:
Three dimensions that define modern brand tracking
1. Mental Availability – Are You Easy to Think of in the Right Moment?
This is about brand salience with purpose.
Not just “have you heard of it?” but:
- “Which brand comes to mind when you’re in a hurry?”
- “When you’re buying a treat, who do you turn to?”
- “When [insert life context], who feels like the obvious choice?”
Mental availability isn’t about shouting louder. It’s about being the right memory at the right time.
Tracking this helps you measure whether your brand is occupying buying space, not just ad space.
2. Category Entry Points – Where Does Your Brand Show Up Emotionally?
CEPs are the real-world situations, needs or motivations that trigger brand recall.
Think “after the gym”, “hosting friends”, “trying something new”, “feeling low”. Every category has these, but not every brand is present in them.
The best brands identify their strongest CEPs and build mental real estate around them.
Your tracker should ask:
- Which scenarios cue your brand?
- Where are you missing out?
- Which emotional drivers do you actually own?
This kind of tracking guides media strategy, message targeting and even product development. It’s insight gold, and yet most brands aren’t tapping it.
3. Emotional Salience – What Feelings Stick to Your Brand?
Don’t just track whether people like you.
Track how they feel about you, and whether those feelings match what you want to stand for.
Are you comforting? Clever? Disruptive? Luxurious? Are people remembering the right things?
It’s not enough to say “Our ad had high enjoyment.” That’s surface-level.
You should want to know:
- What do people feel when they think about us?
- Are we memorable for the right reasons?
- Are those feelings influencing behaviour?
This is what makes brand-building sticky, and what separates short-term performance from long-term preference.
Real Brand Growth Happens Outside the Tracker Template
The template was built to serve the boardroom.
But if it’s not helping your team make sharper decisions, it’s not earning its keep.
Imagine a tracker that actually unlocks strategy:
- Creative teams know which messages emotionally cut through.
- Product leads get clarity on which moments to design for.
- Channel planners see which entry points deserve budget.
- Leadership sees where to double down, and where to pivot.
That’s what tracking should look like in 2025.
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