In one line
Mental availability is how likely category buyers are to think of your brand when they are about to buy. Physical availability is how easy it is to find and buy: on shelf, online and in AI assistants' answers.
What it does
- A shopper can only choose a brand that comes to mind and is in front of them. In Countermove's model the two multiply: either one near zero and the brand barely sells.
- Brand media builds mental availability slowly, by keeping a share of voice in the category. It also fades slowly.
- Listings, trade terms and good online content build physical availability. Weighted distribution counts stores by how much of the category they sell.
Business and brand
Impact on the businessP&L, cash, share price
- More stores and more memory both lift volume without cutting price, so margin holds.
- Listing fees and media are costs today; the sales arrive over several quarters.
- Distribution gains lift sales fastest when shoppers already know the brand.
Impact on the brandMemory, loyalty, pricing power
- Memory is an asset: it keeps selling after the spend stops.
- Being on shelf everywhere keeps light buyers in the habit of seeing you.
- A brand people know but cannot find loses them to whatever is on the shelf.
Try it
Build memory and shelf presence
Set how many category buyers think of Brightwater, and how widely it is listed. The engine runs one quarter with everything else held.
60%
55%
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45%
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35%
30%
25%
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15%
10%
51%62%72%81%
↑ Mental availabilityWeighted distribution →
Value share16.9%▲ 0.0 pts
Penetration20.0%of adults, this quarter
Notice: Value share 16.9% against 16.9% at the start. Move one slider at a time, then both: the gains multiply.
Runs Countermove's market engine: the reference soft-drinks market, three brands, rivals holding their plans so only your change moves the result.
Sources
- Sharp (2010), How Brands Grow, Oxford University Press
- Romaniuk & Sharp (2016), How Brands Grow Part 2, Oxford University Press