What makes a brand truly stick?
In this episode of The Unified Brand Podcast, Chris welcomes back brand strategist, author and founder of First The Trousers, Then The Shoes, Ulli Appelbaum, to unpack the science behind brand associations and why they play such a powerful role in growth.
Udi explains how brands are built in memory, why emotion and relevance matter more than most marketers realise, and how strong association networks influence what customers choose in the moment of purchase.
They explore:
- what brand associations actually are
- why memory, emotion and personal relevance drive brand choice
- how positioning connects to associations
- the role of distinctive brand assets like packaging, sound and shape
- why consistency beats constant reinvention
- how brands like Coke, Nutella, Red Bull, Snickers and Ferrero Rocher create lasting mental availability
- why some newer brands hook attention but struggle to sustain loyalty
This is a practical conversation for founders, marketers and business leaders who want to build brands that are not just seen, but remembered.
Connect with Ulli Appelbaum
- Website: https://first-the-trousers.com/ulli-appelbaum/
- Consultancy: https://first-the-trousers.com/
- LinkedIn (Ulli Appelbaum): https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulliappelbaum
- LinkedIn (First The Trousers Then The Shoes): https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-the-trousers-then-the-shoes
Explore Ulli’s Books
- Amazon Author Page (UK): https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B09RMLG5BK
- Amazon Author Page (US): https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B09RMLG5BK
What Are Brand Associations? Why Memory — Not Messaging — Drives Brand Growth
There’s a quiet truth most businesses overlook.
Your brand is not what you say it is.
It’s what people remember when you’re not there.
That memory — often formed in seconds, reinforced over time, and triggered in moments of decision — is what we call brand associations.
And if you want to grow, this is where the real work sits.
As brand strategist Ulli Appelbaum puts it:
“A brand association is the sum of all the memories you have about a specific offering.”
That’s not just perception. It’s not just awareness. It’s not even just reputation.
It’s everything.
The meaning. The feeling. The experience. The mental shortcut.
And in a world where buyers don’t have time to analyse every decision, those shortcuts are what determine who gets chosen — and who gets ignored.
What are brand associations?
At its simplest, brand associations are the mental connections people hold about your brand.
They include:
- What you’re known for
- What category you belong to
- What benefit you deliver
- How you make people feel
- What experiences people have had with you
- What your brand looks, sounds and behaves like
- What stories or memories people attach to you
They are built over time — through marketing, product experience, word of mouth, culture, and consistency.
And crucially, they live in the buyer’s mind, not in your brand guidelines.
Ulli frames it clearly:
“It includes what it stands for, the benefit it communicates, the advertising it creates, the experiences you have with the brand — and the emotions associated with it.”
That last part matters more than most realise.
Because memory is not neutral. It’s emotional.
Why brand associations matter more than awareness
Many businesses still operate on an outdated assumption:
“If more people know about us, we’ll grow.”
Awareness helps. But awareness alone is weak.
Because being known is not the same as being remembered for something meaningful.
The brands that win are not just visible — they are mentally available in the right moment, with the right meaning attached.
Ulli puts it bluntly:
“The brand that comes to mind first, with the right associations for that category, is the one that wins.”
This is where growth actually happens.
Not in the campaign.
Not in the click.
But in the moment of choice.
Standing in a supermarket.
Choosing a supplier.
Selecting a partner.
Shortlisting an agency.
The decision is rarely rational and exhaustive.
It’s fast. Familiar. Emotional. Efficient.
Which means your brand is either:
- Easy to recall
- Easy to understand
- Easy to trust
…or it’s not chosen.
Positioning vs brand associations: the critical distinction
This is where many businesses get stuck.
They invest heavily in positioning — workshops, statements, messaging frameworks — but never translate that into market memory.
Here’s the distinction:
- Positioning is the strategy you define internally
- Brand associations are what customers actually remember externally
Ulli describes positioning as:
“A tool and a framework… but not a consumer-facing one.”
Whereas brand associations are:
“What traits you want to leave in the memory of your consumers.”
At Elements, we see this gap constantly.
A business has a well-articulated positioning document… but the market doesn’t reflect it back.
Why?
Because positioning isn’t the outcome.
It’s the starting point.
The real work is translating that strategy into consistent, distinctive, emotionally resonant signals that build memory over time.
The four ingredients of strong brand associations
Not all associations are equal.
Strong brands don’t rely on one idea — they build a network of associations that reinforce each other.
Ulli breaks this down into a set of simple but powerful principles.
1. Category clarity
Before anything else, people need to understand what you are.
It sounds obvious — but it’s often where brands fail.
“You need an association that makes it very clear what category you’re playing in.”
Without this, your brand floats.
There’s no mental anchor. No place to store you.
And if people don’t know where to put you, they won’t recall you when it matters.
Clarity doesn’t make you generic.
It makes you findable.
2. Personal relevance
The second ingredient is often misunderstood.
Brands tend to communicate what they care about — not what the customer actually values.
Ulli shares a perfect example:
“You ask consumers why they buy eco-friendly detergent… they don’t say ‘to save the planet’. They say ‘because it’s gentler on my skin’.”
That insight changes everything.
Because relevance isn’t theoretical.
It’s practical, emotional and personal.
If your brand doesn’t connect to something the buyer genuinely cares about, it won’t stick.
3. Distinctive brand assets
Memory needs cues.
Your brand doesn’t live in isolation — it’s triggered by signals.
“Your knowledge doesn’t float in your brain randomly. It’s connected to cues.”
Those cues are your distinctive brand assets:
- Logo
- Colour
- Shape
- Packaging
- Sound
- Typography
- Language
- Taglines
- Characters
Think:
- The Coca-Cola bottle
- The Toblerone triangle
- The Red Bull identity
- The Intel sound
These assets act as shortcuts.
They allow people to recognise you instantly — without thinking.
And the more consistently you use them, the stronger the association becomes.
4. Emotional resonance
Emotion is the amplifier.
It strengthens memory. It speeds up recall. It increases preference.
Ulli explains:
“Emotion strengthens memory… if something is personally relevant, you’re more likely to remember it.”
This is why storytelling matters. Why experience matters. Why tone matters.
It’s not about being sentimental.
It’s about being felt.
Because brands that make people feel something are far more likely to be remembered than those that simply inform.
The hidden layer: experience
Here’s where many brands quietly lose.
They build strong expectations… then fail to deliver.
Ulli shares a simple but revealing story:
A new ramen brand catches attention through its name and packaging. It looks exciting. Different. Promising.
But when the product is tried?
It disappoints.
And immediately, the existing brand — familiar, consistent, reliable — becomes the default again.
That’s brand association in action.
Because associations are not just built through marketing.
They are reinforced (or broken) through experience.
If your experience doesn’t match your promise, your brand weakens.
If it consistently delivers, your brand compounds.
Why consistency beats constant reinvention
There’s a persistent myth in marketing:
To stay relevant, you must constantly change.
In reality, the opposite is often true.
“If you have a TV spot that works, you should use it year after year… it reinforces the same associations.”
Memory is built through repetition.
Consistency strengthens associations. Inconsistency resets them.
This doesn’t mean brands should become stale.
It means they should refresh expression while protecting meaning.
Look at brands like:
- Snickers
- Red Bull
- Ferrero
They evolve creatively — but their core associations remain intact.
That’s discipline.
And discipline builds memory.
Multi-sensory branding: the overlooked advantage
One of the most underused levers in brand building is sensory experience.
“If you can create sensory experiences, you should — because that strengthens memory.”
Think beyond visual identity.
Consider:
- Sound (the ice cream van jingle)
- Smell (fresh bread in a supermarket)
- Texture (premium packaging)
- Taste (product experience)
These cues create deeper, richer associations.
They anchor your brand in more than one dimension.
And that makes you harder to forget.
The growth mistake: focusing on existing customers
This is where many modern brands go wrong.
They focus heavily on retention — loyalty programmes, remarketing, repeat purchases.
But growth doesn’t come from only talking to people who already know you.
Ulli is clear:
“Focus on new potential customers to grow your business.”
Because brand associations aren’t just about deepening existing memory.
They’re about expanding memory into new audiences.
If you’re only reinforcing associations among current customers, you’re maintaining — not growing.
Internal alignment: the silent killer of brand clarity
One of the most overlooked issues in brand building isn’t external.
It’s internal.
“I’m surprised how often different people in a company have a different idea of what the brand is.”
If your leadership team, sales team, marketing team and product team all describe the brand differently…
…your audience will feel that inconsistency.
And inconsistency weakens memory.
Strong brands are aligned brands.
Simple. Clear. Shared.
A practical framework: building your brand association network
If you strip this back, the process becomes simple — not easy, but simple.
Step 1: Define your desired associations
Limit yourself to 4–5 core ideas.
If you can’t summarise your brand in a handful of associations:
“You don’t have a brand strategy.”
Step 2: Map current reality
What do people actually associate with you today?
The gap between current and desired is your strategic focus.
Step 3: Build distinctive cues
Ensure your brand is recognisable — visually, verbally and experientially.
Step 4: Reinforce consistently
Repeat. Refine. Repeat again.
Step 5: Deliver through experience
Your product, service and delivery must reinforce the same associations.
Final thought: memory is your market share
Brand growth isn’t just about reaching more people.
It’s about occupying more meaningful space in people’s minds.
Because when the moment of choice arrives, people don’t evaluate everything.
They recall.
And the brands that win are the ones that are:
- Easy to remember
- Easy to understand
- Easy to trust
As Ulli summarises:
“These strong memory networks guide your behaviour at the moment of purchase.”
That’s the game.
Not just visibility.
Not just messaging.
But memory.
Where to go next
If you’re unsure what your brand is currently known for — or whether your positioning is actually translating into market memory — that’s where clarity begins.
At Elements, we help businesses move from internal strategy to external impact, using our Unified Brand Framework to align positioning, identity and demand generation.
You can start by exploring more insights on brand strategy, or take the Brand Power Assessment to understand where your brand stands today.
Because once you understand what people remember about you…
You can start to shape it.
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