If you work in marketing, chances are you’ve heard of Category Entry Points (CEPs) or Category Use Occasions (CUOs) – but maybe not both. These two behavioural marketing tools come from different schools of thought, yet together they form one of the most powerful ways to build stronger, more effective brand strategies.

At Leopard Co, we use both to help clients unlock new demand, win market share, and make their brand the natural choice in more moments that matter. Here’s everything you need to know about CEPs and CUOs – what they are, how they differ, and why the smartest marketers are combining them.

What Are Category Entry Points (CEPs)?

CEPs were popularised by Byron Sharp and the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute in the marketing classic How Brands Grow. They refer to the mental cues that bring a brand or category to mind in a buying situation. Think of them as the “triggers” that prompt people to think of you.

A CEP could be:

  • A time: “It’s Friday night”

  • A feeling: “I deserve a treat”

  • A situation: “Out with friends”

  • A need state: “I need to entertain the kids”

Strong brands work hard to link themselves to as many CEPs as possible, so they’re mentally available when people are ready to buy. That means building distinct assets and consistent messaging around these cues – so when the moment comes, your brand is top of mind.

What Are Category Use Occasions (CUOs)?

CUOs come from the world of R.E.D. Marketing by Greg Creed and Ken Muench, former marketing leaders at Yum! Brands. They refer to the real-world moments and motivations when someone chooses to use your category – and ideally, your brand.

For example:

  • Going to a theme park as a birthday treat

  • Choosing a pub for a Sunday roast

  • Booking a restaurant for a midweek date night

CUOs help brands understand what jobs they are doing in people’s lives – and where there might be new opportunities to stretch into adjacent moments, without jumping too far from their core identity.

 

What’s the Difference?

While both concepts are context-driven and customer-focused, they work at different points in the decision-making journey.

CEPs help you win attention. CUOs help you increase usage. 

How Marketers (Including Leopard Co) Are Using Them

At Leopard Co, we work with hospitality, leisure, and lifestyle brands to identify which CEPs they currently own, and which ones they should own, and to expand their CUOs in small, brand-aligned ways to increase frequency and wallet share.

For example:

  • A restaurant brand might target the “work lunch” CUO and link it to the CEP “busy day at the office”

  • A zoo might extend into evening events to capture the CUO “date night” while building mental cues like “something different to do after work”

It’s all about owning more occasions – both in people’s minds and in their calendars.

Want to Learn More?

To go deeper into these concepts, we recommend:

  • How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp: a must-read for CEP strategy and building mental availability

  • R.E.D.Marketing by Greg Creed & Ken Muench: great for practical CUO expansion thinking

  • The Choice Factory by Richard Shotton: for applying behavioural science to real marketing challenges

Or talk to us. At Leopard Co, we blend these behavioural tools with creative thinking, digital know-how and commercial focus to help brands grow in moments that matter.