When studying the field of memory science and the way humans remember ideas and brands: there is two fundamental truths about memory:

1) No memory exists in isolation - they are connected to other ideas and memories and,

2) Memories are recreated when they are recalled - not played back in there"true form that is congruent with reality"

This is important to understand in marketing.

That when people are trying to remember your brand, they will first decide if they are interested. After that they will try to find a slot in their mind - where they place your brand is dependent on what it reminds them of, maybe what their friends have said in the past and what other brands are like compared to you out there. These connections can be from anything in that persons life experience and they are just as important, if not more important then the very brand itself.

After that they will recall your brand experience in their mind. Each time forgetting, adding and reinforcing different ideas of their brand that stood about to them in relation to the connections that they had in their mind. This is where a concept of narrative and story enters from in marketing - since humans don't recall but recreate memories in their mind - stories is a way of understanding how dynamic and flawed this process can be.

The reason why we have brands is because of connections and categories.

Don't always just think about your brand - think in connections.