How people see you, next to your rival
Jean asks category buyers which brands come to mind, which they would consider, and what each one stands for. Then it asks why. You get the funnel, the associations, and the stories behind the gaps.
Brand funnel
Your brand Leading competitor
- Unaided awareness34%vs 52%
- Aided awareness81%vs 88%
- Would consider38%vs 61%Biggest gap: 23 pts
- First choice17%vs 31%
Most people know you. Far fewer would consider you. The associations below show why.
What comes to mind? Share who said each word, unprompted
- Comfortable48%31%
- Good valueYou own this41%You own this12%
- Durable33%27%
- For serious runnersThey own this14%46%They own this
- StylishThey own this18%39%They own this
- Hard to find in stores22%4%
Why people skip you: For serious runners
“Theirs are what the people at my running club wear. Yours feel like a weekend shoe.”
Interview 37, runs 3x a week
Asked first without prompts, then with both brand names shown.
Run it with
Methods
Brand funnel
Unaided awareness, aided awareness, consideration and first choice for you and each rival, so you see the stage where you lose people.
Brand associations
The words people link to each brand, coded and counted, showing what you own, what a rival owns and what is shared.
Category entry points
The moments and needs that start a purchase, such as a first marathon or a sore knee, and which brand comes to mind in each.
Positioning and claim check
Whether a new positioning line feels believable, relevant and different, and what people think it means.
Trust and switching drivers
What makes people trust or doubt a brand, and what would make them leave a rival for you.
Find the stage where you lose people
A brand funnel shows if your problem is that people do not know you, know you but do not consider you, or consider you but pick a rival. Each needs a different fix.
Their words, counted and explained
People describe each brand in their own words first. Jean codes the answers into associations, counts them, and keeps the quotes, so you see how many said 'pricey' and what they meant.
Read the market between tracker waves
A tracker reports once a quarter and rarely says why. Run a check after a campaign or a rival's launch: minutes with digital twins, overnight with real interviews.
How you run it
- 1Minutes
Screen
A thousand digital twins answer first, so the weak options drop out.
- 2Overnight
Interview
The AI interviewer talks to real people and follows up on what they say.
- 3By morning
Decide
The number, the reasons behind it and the quotes that carry it.
Questions
What is the difference between unaided and aided awareness?
Unaided asks people to name brands in a category with no prompt. Aided shows a list and asks which they know. Jean asks unaided first so the list does not shape the answers, then aided.
What are category entry points?
They are the situations and needs that lead someone to shop a category, such as training for a race or replacing worn shoes. Brands that come to mind in more of these moments tend to get chosen more. Jean asks about each moment and which brand people think of.
How is brand perception research different from a brand tracker?
A tracker repeats the same survey to show a trend line. Perception research digs into why the numbers sit where they do. Keep the tracker, and use Jean between waves to explain a move or test a new positioning.
How many interviews do I need for a brand perception study?
Around 100 category buyers per brand gives stable counts for the main associations and funnel stages. Add more if you need to compare segments, such as heavy and light buyers.
Do digital twins know about my brand?
Twins reflect what people said in the interviews they were built from. For a well-known category they give a fast first read. For a niche or new brand, interview real people, which Jean runs overnight.
Which brand questions work best in an AI interview?
Open questions that need a reason: what comes to mind, why you chose them over us, what would make you switch, and what you trust or doubt. The interviewer follows up on each answer.