Observed Signal · Jul 8, 2026 · Opinion / Analysis · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Brands Should Design for Memory, Not Just Attention
Kristy Castleton argues that the Cannes consensus — led by Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp — that mental availability matters is only the start; the more important question is how brands actually build durable memory. Drawing on Rebel & Soul’s neuroscience-informed experiential research, Castleton says common biometric metrics (EEG, GSR, eye-tracking, facial coding) predict in-the-moment attention but poorly forecast long-term recall. Her team found timing and depth of emotional peaks, purposeful surprise, and sensory-message coherence dramatically improve six-month memory (up to 52%), and she warns that many brand investments generate impressive immediate attention and photography but fail to encode memories, producing a multi-trillion-dollar recovery gap. Rebel & Soul published a whitepaper, The Three Trillion Dollar Question, this month outlining the problem and recommended design principles for memorability.
Highlights evidence that common attention metrics can mislead marketers and presents neuroscience-backed design principles for building durable brand memory — relevant to agencies, brands and measurement practice but not a platform policy or major industry-shifting announcement.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp publicly aligned at Cannes on the importance of mental availability for brands.
- Rebel & Soul research found biometric measures (EEG, galvanic skin response, eye tracking, facial coding) were weaker predictors of long-term recall than other factors.
- Experiences designed around emotional peaks, surprise and sensory coherence were up to 52% more memorable at six months versus those built primarily for visual impact.
- Rebel & Soul published a whitepaper titled 'The Three Trillion Dollar Question' estimating a large gap between what brands invest in experiences globally and the value they recover.
- Kristy Castleton is the founder of Rebel & Soul, a brand experience agency built on neuroscience.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“Nishma Robb wrote in her Switched On newsletter that the most radical document of the week was The Creator Effectiveness Playbook by System1...”
“Nishma Robb wrote in her Switched On newsletter that the most radical document of the week was The Creator Effectiveness Playbook by System1...”
“Nishma Robb wrote in her Switched On newsletter that the most radical document of the week was The Creator Effectiveness Playbook by System1...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Neuroscience Behind Memorable Brand Content
This article explains how neuroscience and storytelling principles create highly memorable brand content, using Cadbury’s “Gorilla” ad, Adobe’s “Mean Streets,” and MrBeast’s videos as examples. It describes Neuro-Insight’s Steady State Topography (SST) measurement of “long-term memory encoding” and the concept of a “branding moment” — an instant when viewers’ brains decode a narrative and memory encoding peaks. Placing brand cues at that moment increases recall and can drive measurable outcomes (Cadbury’s spot is in Neuro-Insight’s top 1% and reportedly led to a 10% sales lift). The piece outlines five creative principles supported by neuromarketing: prioritize story over overt selling, show real people/emotion, introduce a compelling narrative early, and strategically place brand cues at branding moments. It argues these principles apply across formats (video, audio, written) and can improve audience retention and conversion for creators and brands.
Ritson and Sharp Find Common Ground at Cannes
At Cannes Lions, Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp presented a joint session stressing mental availability and the role of distinctive brand assets in brand growth. Ritson publicly announced he is retiring his own term 'brand codes', credited Jenni Romaniuk for the definitive book on the topic, and urged industry consolidation around the Ehrenberg‑Bass term 'distinctive brand assets' rather than synonyms like 'fluent assets' or 'well‑branded'. The pair outlined five points of agreement—mental availability, distinctive assets, mass marketing, consistency, and skepticism about brand purpose—and highlighted practical implications: WARC data (David Tiltman) shows average campaign lengths for large brands are 30–40 days, while Sharp noted half of an FMCG’s annual sales come from buyers who last purchased more than 12 months earlier. The session reinforced existing research rather than introducing new theory, but offered a public call for a shared vocabulary to reduce operational confusion across brands and agencies.
Brands Relearn: Entertain First, Advertise Second
Brands including SharkNinja, Gap, Mattel, LVMH and Arsenal are shifting from short-term performance advertising toward entertainment-led content, building episodic series, in-house studios, and longer creator relationships. The piece cites Sprout Social’s 2026 content strategy report showing episodic series as marketers’ top social priority, influencer data indicating most brand-creator deals are short-lived (many one-offs), and measurement studies from Dentsu and others that stress voluntary attention and diminishing returns after ~20 seconds. Contributors and consultants quoted warn that decades of optimization for clicks has devalued creative work and that sustained, owned content approaches compound brand effects over time.
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