In marketing, "top-of-mind awareness" refers to a brand or specific product being first in customers' minds when thinking of a particular industry or category.
[1] Top-of-mind awareness is defined in Marketing Metrics: "The first brand that comes to mind when a customer is asked an unprompted question about a category.
"[3] At the market level, top-of-mind awareness is more often defined as the "most remembered" or "most recalled" brand names.
Top-of-mind awareness is generally measured by asking consumers open-ended questions about the brand that first comes to mind in a particular category, like a fast-food restaurant (McDonald’s).
Market researchers are then able to take this data and turn it into a percentage to figure out who is leading the way in top-of-mind awareness.