Top-of-mind awareness is an important concept in Consumer Behaviour, marketing research and marketing communications. Top of mind awareness is one measure of how well brands rank in the minds of consumers.
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Definitions of Top-of-Mind Awareness
In marketing, top-of-mind awareness (TOMA) refers to a brand or specific product being first in customers' minds when thinking of a particular industry or category.
Top-of-mind awareness is defined in Marketing Metrics: "The first brand that comes to mind when a customer is asked an unprompted question about a category. The percentage of customers for whom a given brand is top of mind can be measured."
TOMA has also been defined as "the percent of respondents who, without prompting, name a specific brand or product first when asked to list all the advertisements they recall seeing in a general product category over the past 30 days."
At the market level, top-of-mind awareness is more often defined as the "most remembered" or "most recalled" brand names.
Top-of-Mind Awareness:Uses and Applications
Top-of-mind awareness is a special form of brand awareness. Companies attempt to build brand awareness through media exposure on channels such as internet, radio, newspapers, television, magazines, and social media.
In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 50% responded that they found the "top-of-mind" metric very useful.