The Promo Playbook by Cubic Promote

How Many Times Does Someone Need to See a Brand Before They Buy?

• charles-au

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Ever wondered why it takes so many brand moments before a shopper finally buys? In b2c retail seven touchpoints used to be enough and now 20 to 40 is the norm. With Wendy and Catherine, we compare old assumptions to current behavior, tracing how a product moves from a flash on Instagram to a cart at Woolies, and how discounts, reviews, and retail trust work together to shrink buyer hesitation.

We get practical fast: where new brands get noticed (social feeds, review-driven news articles, buses, shelves), why algorithms surface quick-bite claims that hook specific demographics, and how micro-influencers can shortcut the search phase when their lifestyle matches the audience. We also examine the 81% trust threshold, the 19% who still buy on impulse, and the underrated role of retailer credibility in early trials. Expect real stories about bone broth, daily vitamin shots, and the social proof that nudges a curious scroll into a first order.

Design choices matter more than most teams admit. Color can boost recognition by up to 80%, but only if your palette and packaging stay consistent across SKUs and channels. We unpack the line between clever and confusing—like stylized logos that spark “What brand is that?” searches—and why legibility wins on small screens and crowded shelves. Finally, we lay out a multi-channel strategy that respects generational habits: Google for boomers, Instagram for Gen Z, plus promotional products and outdoor placements that add daily, durable impressions. The goal is orchestration, not noise: a sequence of clear, visual, trustworthy moments that compound into memory and conversion.

If this breakdown gave you new ideas for your next campaign, follow the show.

Charles Liu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-liu-042b9124/
Connect with our guests:
  •  Katherine Durham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-durham-772876193/
  •  Wendy Li:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-li-424821161/

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Follow Cubic Promote:
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🔗 LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/cubic-promote
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cubicpromote/
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⭐ Google Business: https://share.google/hskqvOCdVzgckNmYJ
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SPEAKER_03:

Welcome to the next episode of the Promo Playbook by Cubic Promote. Today I've got my lovely guest Wendy, who's a regular on our channel, and we have Catherine, also a regular on our channel. So the topic we're going to talk about today is going to be on marketing. Obviously, this is an area that we are heavily involved in, but specifically we're going to chat about business-to-consumer type marketing. So I've got a range of statistics here, which I'll throw them out to you. So Wendy, take a guess. How many average touch points do you think is needed for a brand to be present in front of a customer in order for them to consume making a purchase order?

SPEAKER_02:

So I know the number. Oh, you know the number, do you? 21, right? 21.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, that's actually the B2B number.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh.

SPEAKER_03:

So B2C is slightly different. We rarely touch on B2C. How about you, Captain? Do you would you like to care to take a guess?

SPEAKER_00:

I think it'll be more than that, maybe. Yeah, I think especially for B2C. That's you'd need constant, ongoing touch points just everywhere. So a number? Oh, I would say maybe about 30 to 40.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, well, 40 is indeed a very, very big number to see. So traditional statistics has been seven. So in the past, businesses have been very, very easy. And when I say past, I'm talking about maybe 20 years ago, 30 years ago. You simply had needed your brand name to be mentioned a couple times, a touchover a half a dozen times, and you're done. Nowadays it can be closer to 20. And there's also research research that shows some of the newer brand names, and there's new brand names popping up all the time in every single consumer category where touch points need to go up to 40 touch points, which is incredibly high. And so some of the touch points would be anywhere from obviously a social media. What would be some of the touch points you see, Wendy? Because you're obviously a shopper. We all are shoppers. You see new brand names. Where do you typically see new brand names pop up? Perhaps on the back of a truck or anywhere else that you can imagine.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, but truck that's one like buses always got new brand names floating around. One interesting place I pick up new brand names is actually review articles on, say news.com.au they constantly say, oh, K-mart drop a rip-off like design. So instead of paying$300, now you pay$30 with a copycat. Or there's a new brand called a beauty brand reduced wrinkle by 50%. And it was improving work and they are doing discount. So I actually get to pick up new brand names through those discount like articles, talk about discount and goods. And also another place is social media, definitely. When I flip through social media, new brand name pops up and they got attractive images and especially food. And I was like, oh, I love it. I want to try that. And I'll actively search that place and go.

SPEAKER_03:

So the first thing that you said was actually quite interesting because you mentioned specifically maybe an article on news.com. It may or may not be a sponsored one because they're quite sneaky nowadays. What draws you into that article as opposed to seeing what the latest news is? Why would you gravitate towards that article?

SPEAKER_02:

Because then the title talks about reduce your wrinkle by 50%. And I'm getting on that age age, like quick bites. And I was like, oh, I do want to see how I can reduce and it's proven work. Reduce your wrinkle by 50%, and it's proven to work. Then I'll be like, okay, click.

SPEAKER_03:

So those are exactly the algorithms in play when they talk about privacy because they know who you are, they know your age, your demographic, and they know from your search behavior your likely intent. It's interesting, okay? So that's where big data comes in.

SPEAKER_02:

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_03:

Kathleen, how about yourself? What type what are some of the touch points that you typically see in order for you to go, oh, that's a brand name that I like to try? I think a couple of days ago we talked about bone broth, and you saw you found that as a good brand name. What were the steps leading up to you thinking, okay, that bone broth brand, I think I want to give it a try to see if it's any good.

SPEAKER_00:

You know what? I think it was through social media, through an insta Instagrammer, and she posted about it, and I was like, oh, that sounds like right up my alley. Organic bone broth, yes, tick-tick, discount tick. And I ordered my first lot just purely because I saw it on Instagram and it aligned with what I needed and wanted, and then now it's in Woolies, so you can get it there much, much more easily.

SPEAKER_03:

This is getting more intriguing. So you find it out of Instagram. So let's move it one needle, one further notch down the track. This Instagram person, someone you follow, I'm uh assuming.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

What made this Instagram person appeal to you compared to any other influencer?

SPEAKER_00:

I think similar sort of lifestyle in the fact of health and wellness. So I'm gonna try it because it's easier than me searching. I've just seen it. Plus, there's a discount, you're in. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So it's got a captive audience right there because it got uh appeals to you. I'm gonna throw out some stats out here and I'm gonna throw them out in the form of questions as a pop quiz. So I guess one point for the first right answer. Um, what is the percentage of consumers needed to trust the brand before buying? What is the percentage of consumers that say that they need to touch, uh trust the brand before they would consider making a purchase?

SPEAKER_02:

I would say 99% people, over 90% will trust the brand before buying it.

SPEAKER_03:

It's surprisingly surprisingly quite low. It's actually 81%. So 81% of consumers need to trust the brand before considering buying it. Yeah, and I thought, okay, so what makes the 19% or remaining 20%? So they would buy a product knowing that it may or may not be fake, it may or may or may not be effective. I'm quite surprised how low it is.

SPEAKER_02:

Coincide with my experience yesterday. I saw a new a shot, like a little bottle shot in coals, and it's a vitamin drink daily, and I never buy it, and they were on reduced discount from six dollars to three dollar or two dollars.

SPEAKER_03:

So also that your trust levels are going right down. I never seen it before.

SPEAKER_02:

But then it says apple cider, so it helps you cleanse your uh apple cider digested health, and I was like, Well, I'm only drinking once a day and it's only two dollars short. Why not buy and try? And I did both fold the bottle, by the way. Even though I never know whether it works, it's never and and you don't trust the brand, obviously, because you've never seen the brand. Yeah, never trust for the deep of faith, and it's reduced to clear. And I was like, it's from Coals, like it can't go wrong, right? Coals got their standard of stocking stuff.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh-huh. So maybe that's that's where the uh brand trust is. You trusted the still as opposed to the brand that they were selling.

SPEAKER_02:

Ah, true. So and it's reduced to a price that's I think it's great value of product. So that may be a lesson there. And then I just pick it up and why not try it. And my husband keeps saying I got poor gut health. There you go, once a day, poor bottle. Let's see what's happening.

SPEAKER_03:

There you go. The remaining 20% answered.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So the next question is the consumers who shop on social media, what are the number of consumers that indicate that they prefer shopping with these? Oh, this is so hard. I can't do this. I'm just gonna list it out. Please edit this out. All right, all right. I I've got some interesting um B2C marketing stats here, and I'm just gonna list them out. Yeah, so 77% of consumers prefer shopping with brands that they follow on social media. 65% of consumers, a brand CEO and employees influence the decision to buy. 55% of brand first impressions are visual. There are over 10,000 branding and positioning agencies worldwide. Gen Zs mainly use Instagram, baby boomers mainly use Google. So, how how do you feel about those stats? Specifically, the last two, uh say Catherine. Gen Z mainly use Instagram, baby boomers use Google. Truth in that, we we're kind of not in neither of those categories.

SPEAKER_00:

But I definitely know like my mum, she's gonna jump on Google and spend her time just googling and researching and printing off stuff and assessing everything. Whereas like I would be more inclined, even though not to jump on and go click the links direct. It's like fast-paced, I don't have time to if I need to, you know, click on the link, see the website. I already know the product I think that I'm gonna be buying. Like if it's an organic bone broth or something, I'm gonna know what I'm looking for and one. And if it ticks my boxes, then I'm just gonna go ahead and purchase and jump on in. And and and if if it's not good when I get it, then I probably won't obviously buy again. Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_03:

It is. Then the next topic on the B2C journey is colours, the power of colours. So I've got a stat here, and and maybe you would like to take a guess, Wendy. Color increases brand recognition by up to what percentage? Color increases brand recognition by up to 10%. Not quite, no?

SPEAKER_02:

No, 30%, 80%. Wow.

SPEAKER_03:

So the presence of a color makes a very, very big difference. So mono-colored logos, beware because you run the risk of falling behind and being in the 20% category. That's for a bit of fun. So McDonald's color, what's that one?

SPEAKER_01:

Red. Yellow.

SPEAKER_03:

Actually, yeah, that's a tricky one, isn't it? Is it red or yellow?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, the actual McDonald's itself isn't the M is red, right?

SPEAKER_03:

No, it's yellow. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh.

SPEAKER_03:

So they didn't get it right. Coca-Cola.

SPEAKER_02:

Red.

SPEAKER_03:

Apple?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh. White? White, yeah. Because the packaging, they all come. I know the actual logo is black, right? Or black, but then the packaging, all their item packaging, it's always majority, it's white.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, packaging is white, but the logo means it has to be black or dark in color, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, but they don't emphasize it enough because you you buy everything from them, even the plastic bag is white. So and you go into the store, the majority color you see is white. So the impression of Apple is white.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm just gonna randomly throw out a brand, an Aussie brand, say storage king.

SPEAKER_02:

Orange. Orange or blue, blue, red. I'm getting mixed up with the other storage and blue, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

No, I just remember orange the other colour.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. So okay, so there's a common theme there. What are some other famous Aussie brands? Smith chips.

SPEAKER_00:

Blue. Blue, like a like a royal blue. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Is it blue?

SPEAKER_00:

Yellow.

SPEAKER_03:

I I'm beginning to doubt these stats now because these stats say that color increases brand recognition by 80%. Clearly, it's not hitting with us.

SPEAKER_02:

Because the the brand that you uh now, they are especially Smith's chips, they all get different packaging. And they those color, the packaging color, actually take your attention away from the actual logo. You don't you're merely staring at the logo, you're staring at the oh, food chips. Oh, that's that resonated with CISO. I I realize that it's so hard to do marketing right now to target older generation with the Gen Z together because color is different. Gen Z favors different color. Older marketing, like older generation, they go to Google search. Again, it's different content, different marketing strategy altogether. So you can't have a product that pleasing both generations. And it means that for us to do marketing, we have to pick our game. So who are we focusing on? And then do the color and everything associated with that chart.

SPEAKER_03:

Did you know that back running back to the 1940s? Apparently, you didn't need to do any marketing. You simply needed to have a good product and it sells itself. So things like I assume the big pens, for example, that were invented back in the day, or even back in the day, Coca-Cola. The moment it was a good product, it sells itself. I think those days are long gone.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, that's not called sells itself, it's called word of mouth, which is still a very powerful tool right now in marketing. Not many people mention it, but I think back in the day that's called word of mouth. People don't need to do marketing, they do a good product and they rely on friends, tell friends.

SPEAKER_03:

That or the fact that it's the only product sitting on a shelf shop. Yes, there simply is no other competition. Guess how much money Pepsi spent on the designing their logo?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh,$20.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh no, we're talking about Pepsi.

SPEAKER_02:

No, that was back in the day, right? Their logo didn't change.

SPEAKER_03:

Apparently, it has changed a lot, apparently. I haven't noticed true before.

SPEAKER_02:

No, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

But take a guess, how much money do you think they spent on you know, a few lines and a few color splashes here and there with the word Pepsi on it? Yeah, a million dollars. Yeah, which is incredible because if you compare that with Nike, then that was the cost of someone's napkin and someone sitting in a bar with a pen throughout the Nike logo, and they still use it to this day.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, you should say then what's the where is this where has the$1 million gone? Because we only remember that old logo and it's somewhat the same to all of us. And we are the consumer. Where are the one million dollars gone?

SPEAKER_03:

And uh Pepsi, if you're working in Pepsi right now, please drop us a message. We'd like to find out. We'd like to hear from you. Here's another interesting one. Catherine O'Wendy, maybe Katherine, you can start. Try spelling the word Hyundai.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh no. H-Y-Y-U-N-D AI.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. So Hyundai is statistically the world's most misspelled brand name. Really? Another amusing one, and also to do with Korean cars, is back I think a year ago, the number one searched brand term on Google relating to cars was KN. And could you take a step as to as to why?

SPEAKER_02:

Because I actually struggled that a lot because they launched a new logo in Australia, Kia.

SPEAKER_03:

Correct.

SPEAKER_02:

Because I've been watching that logo for the whole Australian open. I go, isn't that K? Yeah, and then I actually do Google search and I realized it was Kia. And I go, Oh, where's that resonate? Key isn't that K.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, the designer had one job to do, to put a dot at the top of the eye, which they feel to do so. So, yeah, for a brief moment, don't know if it was intentional or not. If it was intentional, it was brilliant because it made the whole world search. What is a KN car?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that's really sad. I did I'm one of them that's doing the search. Because I just can't realize why what's K and that takes away my attention from Australian over.

SPEAKER_03:

So it sounds like that as uh as a wrap-up, the key takeaway is that multiple channels is needed for marketing nowadays. So everything from Google for Boomers to social media for a younger person through to, well, in our case, promotional products for daily, continuously visible brand name in order to hit those numbers. Because right now it seems to me it's a numbers game. It's the more numbers you hit, the more brand recognition. Brilliant Well, ladies, thank you so much for joining me on this podcast for those listening out there. Uh please stay tuned for the next next episode.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you.

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Charles Liu

Host