Understanding category drivers: What qualities in brands drive the most purchasing intent?

Something we see a lot of at Tracksuit is brands doing a good job at driving fame, but sometimes lacking in the right messaging and intentional activity to convert all the attention they’ve captured at the top of the funnel.

Marketers are all too familiar with the all-mighty funnel: a visualization of the customer journey that makes it easier for us to picture how to capture customers and shuffle them down into our hot little hands.

No matter what shape and format of this funnel you subscribe to, brands have to be considered by consumers on the path to purchase to collect a pay cheque.

There are an endless amount of different ways and methods in which you may try and increase awareness, but it means nothing unless you also move consumers through the various buyer stages and drive purchase intent.

At Tracksuit, we call the attributes that move people through the different buyer stages category drivers.

Category drivers are a valuable research tool – they are one of the clearest indicators of purchasing intent. Knowing what converts consumers from awareness to consideration, then consideration to preference, can be complicated to measure, but these category drivers help brands understand human behavior in their respective categories and connect brand building activity to commercial outcomes. It’s particularly important because what drives consideration may be different to what drives preferences. People are tricky!

We see two category drivers popping up as the top drivers across most industries – which means that nearly all kinds of brand marketing activity should evoke these drivers in order to get audiences to convert.

Here, we’re lifting the veil on some of the insights we hold from tracking thousands of brands globally. We dive into how to use these insights in your own marketing, breaking down and tearing the category drivers apart to get the heart of what they mean.

In the US, the most common category drivers are ‘Is for people like me’ and ‘Is a brand I trust’

The biggest category drivers, both for Awareness to Consideration and Consideration to Preference, are ‘Is for people like me’ and ‘Is a brand I trust’.

This holds true from streaming services to new cars, from luxury handbags to investment apps, and from bottled water to mortgage loans. Even packaged nuts! All these categories consistently have relevancy and trust as top two drivers, with its first place and second place positions swapping around.

What is the main difference?

Generally, rational markets such as financial services have ‘Is a brand I trust’ above ‘Is for people like me’. We see that in the Personal Banking and Mortgage and Home Loans categories, as well as for higher-end purchases like Large Household Appliances, Accommodation Services and Luxury Handbags.

But we see relevancy (‘Is for people like me’) resonating with categories that spend the big bucks (including New Cars and New Electric Cars) as well as other smaller lifestyle purchases.

This shows that it doesn’t really matter whether or not you’re selling luxury handbags or bottles of water in the grocery aisle: you’ll still want to focus on connecting with your audience and talking to them in a way that fosters relevancy and trust.

Category drivers are tracked through the Statements feature in Tracksuit's dashboard.

But how do I get consumers to think our brand ‘Is for people like me’ or ‘Is a brand I trust’?

“Rather than being singular, clearly defined attributes, these statements are best understood as families of feelings that shape a consumer’s relationship with a brand,” Tracksuit’s UK & US Head of Insights, Leanne Tomasevic, says.

“Is for people like me” is essentially a reflection of that elusive concept of “relevancy”: how well a brand aligns with a consumer’s identity, values and lifestyle. It can all be wrapped up in a sense of belonging – I want to support this brand, because this brand understands me.

Honestly, that could mean a whole raft of different things, from:

• Inclusivity: The brand makes diverse consumers feel seen and valued.
• Personalisation: It offers tailored experiences or products that address individual needs.
• Broad appeal: It caters to a wide audience while maintaining relevance for specific segments.
• Culturally attuned: It feels up to date with how cultural and consumer lifestyles, as well as attitudes and behaviors, have evolved i.e. reflects audience aspiration

It’s more about being aspirational in lifestyle and values for a customer, rather than purely about surface-level aesthetic or physical attributes. For example, if your brand features Gen Z talent in its ads, it could still resonate with the older generation – if the values align. It also helps if your brand reflects a sense of contemporary times; if a brand’s identity looks or feels out of date, then it's likely consumers will view the brand as out of touch or disconnected.

“Trust is a fundamental pillar of brand equity, but it can stem from various sources and is often a reflection of the totality of a brand and its business from how a brand delivers, or structures its product or services; to how it prices its offer; treats colleagues and customers; and respects the environment,” Leanne says.

So the statement “Is a brand I trust” focuses more on:

• Reliability: Consistent quality and performance in products or services.
• Longevity & familiarity: Being an established, well-known brand with a proven track record.
• Transparency & authenticity: Clear, honest communication about business practices, from sourcing to pricing.
• Safety & security: Confidence that the brand will protect their personal data or physical well-being.
• Ethical practices: Acting responsibly, whether through sustainability initiatives or fair labor practices.

Essentially, both of these drivers are heavy on brand building – on cultivating a relationship between your brand and your audience.

How do I make consumers trust and relate to my brand?

Although this research makes it clear that brands should be trying to embed feelings of belonging and trust in their marketing material and brand, this is easier said than done.

Here are some ways you can approach building trust and relevancy:

Using influencers: 69% of consumers trust influencers’ recommendationsOpens in new tab over information straight from a brand, with 84.8% of marketers finding influencer content effective. It can be a powerful way to tap into cultural relevancy, if you find the right creators to be aligned with from a value perspective, and it also increases trust.

TVC campaigns: Television commercials can still be extremely effective, and if you’re aiming for broad appeal, or looking to target one particular attribute (say, inclusivity) this could be a good way of distributing that message. As a repeatable storytelling medium, it also can project a sense of familiarity.

PR: Sometimes brands can command more authority and trust if the information comes from an objective party – which is why securing press coverage to build credibility can work really well. For example, line up an interview with a relevant publication and your CEO to talk transparently about your business practices.

Social media: Alongside a creator strategy, investing in your brand’s own social media platforms is an accessible way to build relevancy, as long as you know who your audience is. Having direct access to your consumers is a powerful way to foster community and make people feel seen and valued.

Surely there are some nuances?

Yes! It’s important to note that other drivers are still important, even though they aren’t in the top two, and this can differ from category to category.

For example, the idea that a brand “Is really on the way up” is a big one for New Electric Cars, whereas “Is a premium brand” is what drives conversion in the New Cars category.

Meanwhile, “Is a brand I use everyday”, or “Is easy to find” is a recurring one in the FMCG category (that makes sense, considering we use those products on the regular) whereas consumers tend to prioritize “Is innovative” when it comes to services.

Occasionally we see more practical drivers – like has great tasting products, or makes great quality wines – emerge as the very top driver (above relevancy and trust) in bottom-of-funnel conversion (that is, from consideration to preference) as opposed to top of funnel. That basically shows that we care about those attributes when we’re already in the funnel, but it takes more than product features to get us into the funnel in the first place.

There are always exceptions to the rule. Some FMCG categories, like Premium Butter & Spreads, or Better for You sodas, for example, have value and taste as the top drivers.

How category drivers are tracked in Tracksuit’s dashboard

Category drivers are tracked through Statements in the Tracksuit dashboard – attributes that show what surveyed consumers associate with your brand. Clients can craft their Statements with our expert research team, to best understand what their drivers are.

You can filter the Statements to just capture people who are aware, consider, use, or prefer your brand. Since you can segment it down to see what kind of groups are resonating with what Statement, that helps us to understand how the drivers shift and change as consumers move from awareness to consideration, and consideration to preference (and calculate which drivers are most likely to make someone move down).

The dashboard also allows you to filter demographically, which is helpful when trying to understand what demographics your messaging is working with.

For example, we can see below that more men than women think that Liquid Death “is for people like me” (19% vs 16%).

In addition, people aged 18-44 years old trust Liquid Death more than those 45+ (22% vs 10%).

It’s valuable to track your brand to get a more accurate understanding of your specific category. If you want to add Statements to an existing Tracksuit dashboard or are new to Tracksuit and want more insights for you or your client’s category, it’s likely we’re tracking it already. Get in touch with us here!