We start with the category. Footwear. Skin care. Search.
But categories are mostly supply-side constructs. Consumers do not wake up thinking in categories. They have problems to solve, things to accomplish, situations to navigate.
That matters because the place where demand is shaped can move.
Nike had enormous awareness, penetration and distribution. So did Nivea. So does Google.
None of that guarantees control over what happens next.
Nike mistook the transaction for the control point. In pulling back from wholesale, it underestimated how much retailers shaped discovery, comparison, and demand. Nivea shows what can happen when control points shift, when consumers begin with a problem, ingredient or expert rather than a familiar mass-market brand. Google now faces a similar question as AI becomes the place where people increasingly start with an intent.
This is why mental and physical availability, while important, are not enough.
A brand can be very easy to think of and very easy to buy—and still lose influence over the interaction that determines choice.
The better question is:
Where is demand actually being formed, and do we still matter there?
That is the idea behind my new article on demand spaces, interaction fields and control points.