One Size Fits None: brand tracking across 18 categories

The challenge: Brand trackers that measure every category the same way

Most brand trackers apply one model to every category. Awareness, consideration, NPS, the same funnel whether you’re selling a car or a bag of chips. But categories don’t behave the same way. 51% of snack purchases are spontaneous. For cars, it’s 5%.

When a tracker can’t see that difference, it can’t tell you what’s actually driving choice. Teams end up with dashboards full of metrics and no clear direction on what to do next. We set out to prove the difference with data.

The solution: Proof across 18 categories

Basis ran the 2026 Brand Tracking Study, an online survey of 4,000 buyers across 18 consumer categories in the US and UK. We paired it with Organic Intelligence, our analysis of unprompted online conversation, to see how people actually talk about the brands they choose.

The categories clustered into five psychological mechanisms that drive brand choice:

1. Cognitive shortcutting (snacks, soft drinks, fast food)
2. Identity signalling (fashion, beauty, spirits)
3. Considered evaluation (cars, technology, B2B)
4. Risk reduction (insurance, credit cards, healthcare)
5. Habit reinforcement (broadband, streaming, laundry)

Each mechanism needs different metrics. That’s the foundation of ACT, our approach to building trackers that are Actionable, Customized, and Timely.

The impact: A tracker built for the category, not the agency

The data showed how far categories diverge:

1. 51% of snack purchases are spontaneous vs 5% for cars
2. 70% of spirits purchases are positive experiences vs 23% for insurance
3. 69% of laundry buyers consider just one brand vs 36% for broadband
4. 71% of fast food buyers choose the first brand that comes to mind, while 74% of tech buyers choose the most trusted

These findings now shape every tracker Basis builds. Each one is designed from scratch around the mechanism that drives choice in that category, and every wave delivers an ACTion Brief: one clear call for the quarter, three plays underneath it, and the data behind both. The result is tracking that tells teams what to do next.