The first article from McKinsey Quarterly talks about how the consumer decision making process has changed.
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/The_consumer_decision_journey_2373
The following talk predates the article by 6 years but seems to talk about how to ensure that your brand figures in the active evaluation phase and ultimately is the winner at the moment of purchase.
http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_sliced_bread.html
