StudioNorth launches TOM Index showing which B2B brands make the shortlist before the shortlist exists
The TOM Index: Top of Mind + Top of Model.
New editorially independent index measures which brands are Top of Mind with B2B buyers and Top of Model in AI systems
NORTH CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, July 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In B2B markets, the shortlist increasingly forms before a single sales conversation starts: inside an AI model's summary, an answer panel, or a category comparison. A brand that is unclear to buyers or misread by AI can be filtered out before anyone knows the opportunity existed. Today StudioNorth launched the TOM Index to measure that new reality: the first editorially independent ranking of B2B brand visibility across both human memory and AI understanding.
TOM stands for Top of Mind (how clearly buyers remember and trust a brand) and Top of Model (how accurately AI systems surface, describe, and compare it when buyers ask). The two have become a single competitive question, and most brands have no way to see how they score on either.
"Brand visibility has become a two-front challenge," said Mark Mohr, CEO of StudioNorth. "You have to earn a place in buyer memory, and you have to be represented accurately by the systems buyers now use to make sense of a market. The TOM Index gives leaders a category-level read on that reality."
Published monthly, the TOM Index ranks the TOM 100: the 100 most visible brands in each category, ordered by TOM Score. It launches across technology, starting with Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Networking, and Solutions Providers, with healthcare and manufacturing categories to follow.
No brand can pay to be included, ranked higher, or removed. Client and non-client brands are scored by the identical method, drawn entirely from public market signals and AI model analysis rather than any commercial relationship. That independence is the point: the TOM Index shows leaders how the market and the models are already interpreting their brand, so they can see what’s working, what’s missing, and where to move next.
A TOM Score combines the two halves of the brand visibility framework: Top of Mind measures how clearly a brand is recognized, understood, trusted, and chosen by people; Top of Model measures how accurately AI systems place, surface, summarize, and compare it in real buying-context prompts. Each month, the Index runs hundreds of buying-context prompts across the three leading AI platforms, Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, and measures how every brand shows up.
The TOM Index is the category signal. StudioNorth's Brand Visibility Audit is the brand-specific next step. The Audit applies the same Top of Mind and Top of Model lens to one brand, its named competitive set, and a 12-month path to improve visibility. Together, the two offerings help leaders see how a category is being interpreted and what their own brand can do about it.
"The most valuable moment is when a leader sees exactly how the models describe their brand, sometimes confirming what they hoped, sometimes revealing a gap they couldn't have known was there," said Caroline DeVore, Executive Director of Growth & Innovation at StudioNorth. "Either way, for the first time it's measurable. And what you can measure, you can move."
The TOM Index is editorial, public, and free to read. It is designed for marketing, sales, and growth leaders in B2B categories where shortlists form early and the cost of being left off is high.
The TOM Index is available now at www.TheTOMIndex.com.
About StudioNorth
StudioNorth is an insight-led, impact-obsessed strategic partner for brands that move what matters. We bring imagination applied, AI with purpose, and partnership that performs to help teams create clarity, momentum, and shared wins.
Harvey Morris
StudioNorth
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