Kevin Keller’s idea of brand salience since 1993 was broad. Great brands become mentally accessible across life—not just when people are about to buy.
Byron Sharp narrowed the idea to Category Entry Points: the situations that trigger a category purchase. Brilliant for explaining how brands compete within an existing category. But not for explaining how brands grow.
Great brands become mentally accessible across life
Think about it. People didn’t suddenly have a Category Entry Point for SUVs. They first wanted safer family travel, adventure, and freedom. The demand space came first. The category followed. People didn’t wake up wanting a smartwatch. They wanted better health, fitness, and self-improvement. The demand space came first. The category followed.
The biggest growth opportunities don’t begin with category entry. They begin long before—in the aspirations, tensions, habits, and contexts that eventually create new buying situations. CEPs explain how brands capture existing demand. They don’t fully explain how brands create future demand. That’s the distinction our industry needs to make.