The Brand Discovery Index: Navigating the shift to the discovery era
The way people discover brands has completely changed. Users search through Google, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and Amazon. For many, LLMs are their go-to search platforms.
We’ve seen this shift in recent years slowly disintegrate the idea of the traditional marketing funnel. Today, Google’s AI Overviews now appear in 48% of searches. While this change may have been happening gradually, the emergence of AI has truly shone a light on the broken pieces of the traditional funnel.
So, how are marketers navigating this new world? Are they ripping up the playbook and adopting a discovery mindset? Or are they doubling down on existing systems and processes?
We engaged 400 senior brand marketers across the USA and the UK and asked them 30 questions about brand discoverability. They work in a number of different sectors including retail, travel, and financial services, while all the brands they represent have an annual media spend of at least £1M (or $1M in the US). We wanted to know about their approach to AI search, their current structures and the accuracy of their attribution and reporting.
This new research shows how marketers and brands are responding to the way customers actually find, understand and choose brands.
From our research, we can see that too many CMOs and marketers are stuck in a discovery confidence gap. Many are confident in their existing structures, processes and traditional funnels. Yet their results are lagging behind.
While they may understand that they are operating in a fragmented space, they still have confidence in traditional marketing funnels and believe they accurately describe how their customers buy from them. Almost every marketer backs their brand and believes they are present where their customers discover them. They are optimising their existing assets for AI search and creating AI search strategies.
But when they scratch below the surface, it’s their own data that shows plateauing results and diminishing returns. We’re talking high media attention failing to lift preference or demand. Algorithmic interpretation is a huge challenge for most brands too.
While many brands are initially engaging with high reach customers, ultimately they’re losing out to a competitor. Or they may secure high initial sales, yet follow up with zero repeat loyalty. Some enjoy high reach, but are let down by their inconsistent messaging causing a lack of understanding amongst consumers.
If results drop, how do marketers respond? What does their attribution tell them? Is a holistic approach bearing fruit? And where does AI search rank amongst their list of priorities in the next 12 months?
We dive into all the detail in our Brand Discovery Index.
Alongside our data, the index features a discovery diagnostic blueprint to help you understand what your main constraint is and start to build the systems to break out of a linear world. It’s based around three key principles.
It is the first step in helping your customers find, understand and choose your brand.
Download the Brand Discovery Index to see first-hand how brands and marketers are responding to the discovery era.
We’ve seen this shift in recent years slowly disintegrate the idea of the traditional marketing funnel. Today, Google’s AI Overviews now appear in 48% of searches. While this change may have been happening gradually, the emergence of AI has truly shone a light on the broken pieces of the traditional funnel.
So, how are marketers navigating this new world? Are they ripping up the playbook and adopting a discovery mindset? Or are they doubling down on existing systems and processes?
The research underpinning the index
We engaged 400 senior brand marketers across the USA and the UK and asked them 30 questions about brand discoverability. They work in a number of different sectors including retail, travel, and financial services, while all the brands they represent have an annual media spend of at least £1M (or $1M in the US). We wanted to know about their approach to AI search, their current structures and the accuracy of their attribution and reporting.
This new research shows how marketers and brands are responding to the way customers actually find, understand and choose brands.
Understanding the discovery confidence gap
From our research, we can see that too many CMOs and marketers are stuck in a discovery confidence gap. Many are confident in their existing structures, processes and traditional funnels. Yet their results are lagging behind.
While they may understand that they are operating in a fragmented space, they still have confidence in traditional marketing funnels and believe they accurately describe how their customers buy from them. Almost every marketer backs their brand and believes they are present where their customers discover them. They are optimising their existing assets for AI search and creating AI search strategies.
But when they scratch below the surface, it’s their own data that shows plateauing results and diminishing returns. We’re talking high media attention failing to lift preference or demand. Algorithmic interpretation is a huge challenge for most brands too.
While many brands are initially engaging with high reach customers, ultimately they’re losing out to a competitor. Or they may secure high initial sales, yet follow up with zero repeat loyalty. Some enjoy high reach, but are let down by their inconsistent messaging causing a lack of understanding amongst consumers.
How are brands responding?
If results drop, how do marketers respond? What does their attribution tell them? Is a holistic approach bearing fruit? And where does AI search rank amongst their list of priorities in the next 12 months?
We dive into all the detail in our Brand Discovery Index.
Overcome your discovery constraint
Alongside our data, the index features a discovery diagnostic blueprint to help you understand what your main constraint is and start to build the systems to break out of a linear world. It’s based around three key principles.
- PRESENCE. Are you visible?
- INTERPRETATION. Are you understood?
- MOMENTUM. Are you chosen?
It is the first step in helping your customers find, understand and choose your brand.
Download the report
Download the Brand Discovery Index to see first-hand how brands and marketers are responding to the discovery era.
Get your copy
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