Trial, preference and upmarket value proposition

From: Achieving Brand Preference

Before a brand can join any consumer preference set it needs to attain trial. Awareness, perceived quality and an upmarket identity that reflects the values of your chosen consumers are the brand assets that move consumers to trial. Continued and consistent branding initiatives that reinforce the consumer’s purchase decision will, over time, land you in consumer preference sets.

To move consumers from trial to preference, brands need to deliver on their value proposition, as well as dislodge someone else from the consumer's existing preference set. The V8 marketers were successful at dislodging Sacramento from enough consumer preference sets to gain significant market share in their chosen product category. While gaining entry onto a consumer’s upmarket preference set is what every brand vies for, it is very tenuous, at best.