The Habit-Intent Spectrum
Where your category sits should determine your marketing mix
So how based on the modern marketing model, does a brand know which channels it will be most successful in?
The science says where your category sits should determine your marketing mix
The evidence shows us that not every purchase works the same way.
Buying your morning coffee and buying a car use completely different parts of the decision-making process and this spectrum plots that on one line.
Here on the Habit-Intent spectrum, at the pink end, you've got pure habit: coffee, groceries, petrol, fast food. People aren't weighing up options each time, they're repeating a pattern built up over months or years.
At the purple end, you've got pure intent: fashion, electronics, financial products, cars. These are the moments where someone's genuinely thinking it through, comparing, deciding.
The point that matters for planning: no category sits fully at either end, and where your category sits should decide how you spend the budget, not the channel or format you happen to be using.
If a category leans habit-heavy, brand marketing does the heavy lifting. You're reinforcing the cue that triggers the behaviour, so reach and turning up consistently in the right context beat precision targeting.
Performance ads mostly waste their budget here, except, the evidence tells us, at the rare moments something disrupts the routine, like moving house.
If a category leans intent-heavy, it flips. Performance marketing earns its keep because the person is actively evaluating, so messaging and proof points carry real weight.
Comparison ads convert well, and social proof, reviews, ratings, what other people chose, speeds the decision along.
Brand still matters here too. It's what tips the final decision once someone's narrowed things down to a shortlist.
The takeaway for marketers is: stop planning by channel first. Plan by where the category sits on this spectrum, then choose the channel and message to match.
Source on structural patterns: Anna Sampson Consulting (2025) · Shotton (2018) · Thaler & Sunstein, Nudge