Our CEP Generator for different product categories
Category entry points (CEPs) are specific situations that represent the entry point into a category. They are the moments, occasions, places, motivations and needs at which a brand could enter the consumer's consciousness. Imagine this: It's Friday afternoon, you're thinking about what to eat for dinner - this thought is a CEP for the "quick dinner" category.
Or you want to cook something healthy quickly and need ideas for vegetables. A brand that gets stuck in the consumer's head as a solution at this moment has a decisive advantage.
How does the CEP Generator work?
It's very simple! Just choose your preferred product category and fill out the form. If you accept our double opt-in you will receive a nicely structured template per mail, listing the product's CEPs. Our Appinio CEP generator uses CEPs from our Mental Availability Monitors. The CEPs were selected, using framework workshops and pre-studies for mental penetration.
CEP templates based on Appinio's Mental Availability tracker
Your questions about CEPs
This is a collaborative process with our client. We use the W-questions (i.e., who, where, when etc.) as a framework and workshop CEPs for each “W”. We also use a GPT prompt to add-on to the list. Then we run a pre-study in which we measure penetration and frequency of each CEP, also including open-ended questions to capture any CEPs we might have missed. Based on the results of the pre-study, we decide on a final CEP set for the actual brand health study.
This strongly depends on the category. Some categories such as fashion or breakfast cereal have over 35 CEPs; in the banking & finance space it is more 15-25. We would not recommend including more than 40 CEPs in general to avoid respondent fatigue!
Checking if there are completely new CEPs (because the category and / or the consumers changed) can be done every two years. Huge category-leading brands (e.g. Coca Cola, Red Bull) might also want to consider building new CEPs through communication to expand the category by themselves. As for focusing on CEPs: In an ideal world, brands should communicate across all CEPs that they can credibly own. If that is not possible due to budget or capacity constraints, brands should use the Mental Advantage map from the brand health study and focus on the CEPs that are a) important but that we b) underperform on. This needs to be re-evaluated regularly by turning the brand-health study into a tracking.
Yes, there are. If you want the deep-dive, I can strongly recommend reading How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp; and Distinctive Brand Assets by Jenni Romaniuk. In a nutshell:
Identify Relevant Category Entry Points (CEPs): This can be done based on a first wave of a Mental Availability study! In an ideal world, we would communicate across all relevant CEPs (like RBI does), but if we have limited budgets and capacities, we can use the Mental Advantage map to start with those that are a) highly important and that we b) underperform on.
Build Distinctive Brand Assets and connect them to CEPs: When communicating about a CEP, the ad / communication needs to be clearly branded using a famous and unique distinctive brand asset (e.g. brand name or logo; a mascot). If we do not do that, people won’t connect the CEP to our brand.
Consistency Across Touchpoints and Time: To maximize mental availability, a brand should use consistent messaging and assets across different touchpoints. Every time consumers encounter the brand, it reinforces the mental link to specific CEPs, making the brand easier to recall in the relevant situations.
Achieve Broad Reach and Repetition: Frequent, widespread exposure through varied marketing channels reinforces the brand-CEP link and broadens its reach. This approach increases the likelihood that the brand will be top-of-mind for more people when they experience a specific CEP. They also highlight that it is important to be always “on” and consistently advertise - instead of having peak phases.
Build Emotional Connections with CEPs: Associating a brand with the emotions or values relevant to a CEP, such as "comfort" with coffee or "escape" with travel, can strengthen the connection. While Sharp and Romaniuk focus more on salience and less on emotion, they recognize that meaningful associations tied to CEPs can enhance mental availability.
Simplify for Easy Recall: Brands should aim for simplicity in messaging and brand assets, which helps with recall. Complexity can dilute the connection to a CEP, while simple, clear assets make it easier for consumers to associate the brand with relevant scenarios. This seems like a no-brainer, but oftentimes, brands want to create this elaborate, creative messaging - and then completely lose the customer AND the connection of the CEP to the brand.
Understanding your relevant CEPs is the first step. The next and crucial one is to turn these insights into actionable marketing strategies.
Strategic alignment of communication: Analyze which CEPs are most important for your brand and your goals. Then adapt your advertising messages and campaigns specifically to these situations.
For example, if you're promoting a frozen pizza, focus not just on the product benefits, but on how it makes a "quick dinner after a long day at work" or a "cozy movie night with friends" perfect. Your message should speak directly to these specific occasions.
Product development and placement: CEP insights can even help you develop new products. Are there unmet needs in certain buying situations? Or how can existing products be optimally placed to appeal to precisely these CEPs - whether on the supermarket shelf or prominently in the online store?
If consumers are looking for a "supermarket with the cheapest prices" or want to "buy ready meals", your brand needs to be present and relevant here.
Channel-specific adaptation: Not all CEPs are equally relevant for every channel. A brand that is active in e-commerce must occupy different CEPs digitally (e.g. "I want to shop online", "quickly manage a subscription") than a brand that relies heavily on stationary retail ("I'm looking for offers", "need something for a spontaneous picnic"). Adapt your approach and your channel strategy accordingly to the identified CEPs.
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