THE SIGNAGE FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNICATION EXCELLENCE, INC.

A primary goal of advertising, and a main reason for buying/selling exposures, is to develop top of the mind awareness, which involves both recall and recognition. Most retailers operate under the marketing concept that "share of mind" equals share of market, e.g., if a consumer is asked, "what product first comes to mind when you think of [hot dogs]", the answer is thought to be a good indicator of market share. The consumer is believed to have top of mind awareness for the product most often purchased or used. Many companies base advertising strategies on the answer to the "what first comes to mind" question.

With respect to introducing new or improved products, it is generally believed that if the advertising campaign cannot achieve significant unaided recall in the first 48 hours after the listener or viewer has been exposed to the advertisement or message, the campaign is judged to be of limited or no success. Of course, there are exceptions where even excellent recall will not improve product/service purchase patterns or, in the case of a political campaign, increase votes.

To illustrate the above concept: recent studies show that when American buyers are asked which car company first comes to mind, 30% will say General Motors; this percentage shows a decrease of 22% since 1977. The decline in top of mind awareness does not indicate that GM is selling fewer cars -- because the market itself has expanded during the last 20 years (due to population and income increases); instead, the figure indicates that GM's market share has declined. (GM will use this decreased recall/recognition percentage to decide the future course of its commercial communication expenditures.)^[38]