The power of market research: How McCain conquered the market with CEPs
Appinio Research · 14.10.2025 · 8min read
Content
Did you also attend the OMR Masterclass held by our Director Research Louise Leitsch? Then you already know how fascinating McCain's story is. For anyone who missed it: Louise used frozen fries to show us how market research really makes brands successful. And that's no exaggeration - McCain changed something radical and went from a brand in crisis to a real heavyweight in ten years!
The initial situation: A French fry in distress
Imagine it's 2014, frozen fries are frozen fries, people are buying more and more from discounters like Aldi and Lidl - where you won't find McCain. And even in the supermarket, they prefer to buy private labels. The result? Massive price pressure and falling margins. McCain reacts with discount battles, which only exacerbates the situation. It was clear that things could not go on like this.
The turnaround: Marketing as a game changer
Ten years later, McCain is the most successful frozen fries brand ever. Price elasticity has been radically reduced - this means that McCain can increase prices without losing massive numbers of customers. On average, people pay almost 50 % more per kilo of McCain frozen fries. Sales when there are no discount promotions (base sales) increased by 44% and the company's profit increased by an impressive 32%. The crazy thing? The product didn't change fundamentally. It was clever marketing and branding.
The secret ingredient: marrying two powerful approaches
So what did McCain do? They married two powerful approaches in marketing science:
- Mental Availability & Category Entry Points (CEPs)
- Psychographics (Motives & Attitudes)
Let's take a closer look at these two ingredients.
Category Entry Points (CEPs): The doors to the consumer's head
Category entry points are all the occasions, situations and needs that make us think about a certain product category. They are independent of brands and act as triggers. Imagine you are at the OMR and have no need for frozen fries right now. But in the next two months you will probably enter the "market" for fries at some point. And that's when we need to have the brand in mind.
Some typical CEPs for frozen fries are, for example:
- Places: At home, at work, on the go
- Feelings/needs: Sad, tired, relaxed, reward, hunger pangs
- People: With family, friends, partner, children, or alone
- Co-activities: Gaming, movie night, watching sports, knitting night
- Time: Lunch, dinner, late night snack
- Combinations: As a side dish with a burger
McCain understands that they need to be behind each of these "doors". For example, if you're thinking about a kid's birthday party, planning a date night or need a hangover snack, McCain should come to mind.
If you want to understand the CEPs for your category, be sure to check out our current offer to create Mental Availability Monitors.
McCain's strategy: omnipresence in people's minds
McCain has geared its communications to cover all relevant CEPs for frozen fries. Their advertising shows family dinners, friends snacking, couples in the kitchen - situations that directly target the "Who", "When" and "Where" CEPs. They show how their fries fit in with gaming nights, movie sessions, and even as part of a "Family Snow Day." On their website, they even call it "moments of indulgence" sorted by target groups and occasions.
The goal: high mental penetration (how many potential buyers associate the brand with at least one CEP?) and a broad network (how many CEPs is the brand associated with?). The more connections, the higher the mental market share, which in turn predicts the real market share extremely well. This strategy has made McCain virtually unavoidable in people's minds.
Psychographics: How do we actually communicate?
In addition to the "what" of communication, the "how" is crucial. This is where psychography comes into play, which deals with people's basic motivations and attitudes. It explains why people choose certain brands and not others.
There are three basic motives:
- Power motive: striving for influence, control, status
- Performance motive: striving for success, efficiency, optimization
- Connection motive: Striving for affiliation, community, community
And three levels of attitudes:
- Emotional/affective: gut decisions, feelings
- Rational/cognitive: numbers, data, facts, reason
- Habitual/habitual: tried and tested, routine
McCain's psychographic bull's eye
Frozen fries as a product category inherently attract primarily followers. And this is exactly where McCain started: they went all in on the connection motive, especially the harmonizers (emotional connection people) and the ritualizers (habitual connection people).
Their advertising is full of emotion: always at least two people interacting, at eye level, claims like "Together is golden" or "Delightful on your fries for you". It's about the feeling of community and inclusivity, not rational facts about the fries. Routines and traditions are also catered for, with slogans such as "Times change, family meals together don't". Even if they emphasize rational advantages such as quick preparation, the social aspect (handing someone the product) is still present.
The lessons for your brand
The McCain story is a prime example of what you can take away from Louise's masterclass for your own marketing:
- Read marketing science literature: the principles are often the same: mental availability, psychological relevance, consistency and distinction.
- Understand your CEPs: Find out which category entry points are important for your category and address them systematically. Brand health tracking is worth its weight in gold here!
- Know your psychographics: Understand which motives and attitudes drive your target group. Where is the competition positioned? Are there unoccupied psychographic niches? A target group analysis can show you the way here.
- Be consistent: Consistent messaging, for example through a distinct psychographic approach, has the greatest effect. Don't constantly change slogans, packaging or campaigns - consistency is more important than creative excellence.
- Think long term: brand building takes time. It took McCain 10 years to reach this position. But the result speaks for itself: a strong brand that can command premium prices and is firmly anchored in the minds of consumers.
McCain has shown the way: with the right understanding of market research, CEPs and psychographics, you can make your brand unstoppable. And Appinio helps you gain these insights quickly and effectively - so you can make better decisions and grow your business sustainably.
Curious about how you and your team can use market research? Then talk to us!
Get facts and figures 🧠
Want to see more data insights? Our free reports are just the right thing for you!
