Examining children's preference for phonetically manipulated brand names across two English accent groups

Replicating Shrum et al. (2012), we demonstrate that individuals display a preference for brand names that contain vowel sounds that connote product attributes. We also illustrate the impact of accent and phonological development on the nature and presence of phonetic symbolism respectively. With no known studies examining the role of accent, it is suggested that this research makes a unique contribution, offering an alternative perspective on current global phonetic symbolism research.     

Implicit and explicit preferences for brand name sounds

This research shows that people implicitly and explicitly prefer sounds that are more common among top brand names (e.g., “S,” “M,” “L,” and “E”). Implicit preferences correlate with explicit willingness to pay more for hypothetical brands with preferred sounds. This suggests that the prevalence of certain sounds among top brands may be a reflection of people’s phonetic preferences. We examine possible processes underlying phonetic preferences, and offer evidence excluding phonetic embodiment, pronunciation-based fluency, and familiarity-based fluency. The results suggest a phonetic frequency process account. Substantively, these findings indicate that certain sounds should be given priority when crafting brand names.     

Harsh voices,sound branding: How voiced consonants in a brand's name can alter its perceived attributes

This paper examines the sound-symbolic link between voiced obstruents (speech sounds created by obstructing the airflow) present in a brand name and the perceived product/brand attributes. In three studies (two using self-reported measures and one using an implicit reaction time paradigm), we tested the effect of voiced (b, d, g, z, v) versus voiceless obstruents (p, t, k, s, f) across 25 hypothetical brand names, on the perceived product attributes of harshness (vs. softness). Brand names with voiced (vs. voiceless) obstruents are perceived as harsh (vs. soft/mild). Results are described across two different product categories (e.g., toilet cleaner and skin conditioner), and also within the same product category (e.g., strong vs. light beer and strong vs. mild toilet cleaner). Since sound symbolism is culturally agnostic, brands expanding into international and linguistically different markets can use these insights to create brand names that will have international appeal, and can match the product and/or brand attributes that brands wish to convey to consumers.     

The role of position,type, and combination of sound symbolism imbeds in brand names

Sound symbolism research provides considerable support for the relationship between sound and meaning. What is not well understood is how best to imbed sound symbolism to create meaningful brand names. This research investigates three basic decisions or issues that marketers face when embedding sound symbolism in brand names—i.e., (a) where to position the imbed, (b) what type of imbed to use, and (c) what is the effect of combining imbeds. Results of study 1 indicate that imbeds placed after the first syllable of a brand name communicate branding meaning. Also, brand meaning is better conveyed by vowels than consonants in a brand name. Combining consistent vowel and consonant imbeds in a brand name provides an additive effect with respect to communicating brand meaning. Results of study 2 show that combining consistent imbeds in a brand name can have a favorable impact on product choice.     

Creating ethical brands: the role of brand name on consumer perceived ethicality

A critical component of brand equity is consumer perceived ethicality (CPE) of the brand. Yet, little is known about how to create positive brand CPE. We offer that the starting point for creating brand CPE is with the brand-naming decision. Drawing on sound symbolism theory, we propose that certain brand name characteristics better convey ethicality. Two studies are conducted. Study 1 finds that higher frequency sounds in brand names better convey ethicality than lower frequency sounds. Study 2 finds that brand names can positively impact brand CPE in the presence of additional information, in particular, information that reflects negatively on the brand’s ethical behavior. These results suggest that marketers be more involved at the onset of creating an ethical brand image.     

Revisiting the automaticity of phonetic symbolism effects

This research extends our understanding of the automaticity of phonetic symbolism judgments for adults and children. Replicating Study 2 from Yorkston and Menon (2004), we demonstrate that phonetic-based inferences are automatic and relatively effortless for adults, but not for children. Phonetic symbolism effects have a developmental grounding, with initial phonetic-based judgments not present in younger children (6 to 9 years). Older children (10 to 13 years), however, demonstrate phonetic-based effects only when cognitive constraints are not imposed.     

Creating Brand Names With Meaning: The Use of Sound Symbolism

The staggering level and rate of growth of brands being introduced to the marketplace suggests a heightened need to understand how to create effective new brand names. Limited academic research, however, has been conducted in this area. This paper investigates the use of linguistics, specifically sound symbolism, in order to create brand names with inherent meaning. Results of two studies indicate that the sound of a brand name can communicate information about the product, e.g. its size, speed, strength, weight, etc. Brand name sounds can convey product-related information either in the presence or absence of supporting marketing communications.     

Mixed messages in brand names: Separating the impacts of letter shape from sound symbolism

Recent work suggests that sound symbolism in brand names conveys marketing‐relevant messages. However, if the customer sees a brand name rather than hears it, visual characteristics of the letters may convey messages of their own. These may conflict with or reinforce the message conveyed by sound symbolism of the name. Study 1 replicates the essence of the sound symbolism effect claimed in recent work. Study 2 shows that the visual characteristics of letters provide a plausible alternative explanation of these findings. Study 3 manipulates the visual characteristics in the brand name letters and reverses the previously found direction of sound symbolism effects. The findings suggest that powerful visual messages are present in brand names and that because of confounding, the contribution sound symbolism makes to the brand name may not always act as thought. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Going to great lengths in the pursuit of luxury: How longer brand names can enhance the luxury perception of a brand

Brand names are a crucial part of the brand equity and marketing strategy of any company. Research suggests that companies spend considerable time and money to create suitable names for their brands and products. This paper uses the Zipf's law (or Principle of Least Effort) to analyze the perceived luxuriousness of brand names. One of the most robust laws in linguistics, Zipf's law describes the inverse relationship between a word's length and its frequency i.e., the more frequently a word is used in language, the shorter it tends to be. Zipf's law has been applied to many fields of science and in this paper, we provide evidence for the idea that because polysyllabic words (and brand names) are rare in everyday conversation, they are considered as more complex, distant, and abstract and that the use of longer brand names can enhance the perception of how luxurious a brand is (compared with shorter brand names, which are considered to be close, frequent, and concrete to consumers). Our results suggest that shorter names (mono‐syllabic) are better suited to basic brands whereas longer names (tri‐syllabic or more) are more appropriate for luxury brands.     

Same sound,same preference? Investigating sound symbolism effects in international brand names

This study replicates the interaction by language, vowel sound, and car type as first shown by Shrum, Lowrey, Luna, Lerman, and Liu (2012). Contrasting Lowrey and Shrum (2007), however, English speaking natives generally prefer front vowels (such as [e] in bed) regardless of car type. Extending these studies to consonants, most subjects prefer plosives (such as [k] in key) in international brand names for SUVs. A further extension shows a common pattern of sounds eliciting product attribute associations across languages.     

Using linguistics for creating better international brand names

International product sales are increasingly important for most companies. As a result, cross-border brand naming is becoming a significant marketing issue. This article describes linguistic assets such as phonetics (sounds), etymology (roots of words) and rhetoric (persuasive discourse) and proposes a comprehensive framework for analysing how these linguistic assets transfer (or do not transfer) to a number of target linguistic contexts. Using this analysis, managers should follow the ‘Joyce principle’ and attempt to build meaningful brand names across languages, thus adding value to their global brand names.     

Derived versus full name brand extensions

Most brand extension studies follow the assumption that brand extensions use the full original parent brand name (e.g., Oral-B tooth brush may extend to Oral-B dental floss). However, some companies use derived brand names in their brand extension strategies (e.g. Nestea Iced Tea). This study explores the advantages and disadvantages of derived brand extensions compared to full name extensions. The study examines the importance of target market effects on the evaluation of both brand extension strategies. Findings support the idea that derived brand names leverage parent brand evaluations and protect parent brand from extension failures.     

How competitor brand names affect within-brand choices

This research shows that consumers’ intra-brand choices (e.g., Mercedes C330 vs. C340) can be affected by exposure to a competitor alphanumeric brand name that forms an incidental trend with the numbers in the focal brand names (e.g., BMW320i or BMW350i). We propose and test two mechanisms. First, when no attribute information is available, the competitor brand can make the numerical trends formed by brand names salient and meaningful, and increase the preference for higher brands (e.g., Mercedes C340). Second, when attribute values are negatively correlated with brands, exposure to the competitor brand name can trigger brand-attribute magnitude tradeoffs. In five experiments, we demonstrate that our predictions hold when there are no intrinsic brand-attribute associations, and even when the competitor brand is not available for choice. We identify competitive categorization as a boundary condition and demonstrate that the effect diminishes when consumers do not categorize the nonfocal option as a competitor.     

Creating brand personality with brand names

As the elemental building block of the brand, the brand name represents a potential starting point for creating brand personality. Drawing on theory and research from sound symbolism, this study investigates how brand names can be formed to create brand personality, as defined by Aaker's (1997) Brand Personality Scale. Results indicate that brand names with back vowels better create a Ruggedness personality, while brand names with front vowels better create Sophistication and Sincerity personalities.     

Brand preference in the face of control loss and service failure: The role of the sound of brands

This research shows that consumers compensate for a loss of perceived control inherent to service failure by extracting sensory information from brand names, and specifically from plosive consonants. Across three experimental studies, we show that in contexts of reduced control, which characterizes service failure, consumers prefer brand names containing plosives (versus fricatives) as a way of reasserting personal control because plosive sounds elicit a disposition to act. In doing so, we highlight the use of brand name innovation to anticipate low control state, and thus, the psychological discomfort experienced by customers following service failure.     

Corporate brand and hotel performance: A resource-based perspective

Grounded in resource-based theory (RBT), our study analyzes the conditions that drive the effect of corporate brand on firm performance. Using a five-year panel of Spanish hotels, our results confirm that hotels with a corporate brand have greater profitability. Consistent with RBT, this effect is stronger when the corporate brand is more valuable to customers (e.g., in the lower-quality segment), when it is more difficult to imitate (e.g., older brands), and when it is exploited through specific organizational governance mechanisms (e.g., vertical integration). Contrary to RBT, we found that the effect of corporate brand on hotel's profitability is stronger when the use of corporate brand is less rare (e.g., when more hotels located in close proximity use corporate brands). Thus, the results provide general support for RBT, but also make an important qualification regarding the effect of resource rarity in industries where there may be agglomeration effects.     

Why Nonprofits Are Easier to Endorse on Social Media: The Roles of Warmth and Brand Symbolism

Brands often seek endorsements by consumers on social media (e.g., likes on Facebook). But is this marketing strategy feasible for all brands? To answer this question, this research investigates in seven studies the processes that underlie consumers' intention to endorse brands on social media. We suggest that consumers aim to signal their identity by endorsing brands online. Based on the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework and related research in (social) cognition and consumer behavior, we argue that consumers on social media primarily want to emphasize their warmth rather than their competence. Experimental studies 1, 2, and 3 distinguish between nonprofit and for-profit brands and show that brand warmth (and not competence) mediates the effect of brand type (nonprofit vs. for-profit) on consumers' intentions to endorse brands and branded content on social media. Experiment 4 demonstrates that this process is moderated by brand symbolism (moderated mediation). A high level of brand symbolism increases the positive effect of warmth on consumers' intention to endorse brands online, but only for for-profit brands. The fifth experiment shows that these effects are conditional upon the public vs. private distinction in consumer behavior: consumers prefer to publicly affiliate with nonprofit (vs. for-profit) brands but with regard to private affiliations, there is no difference between both types of brands. In experiment 6, the causal role of warmth (vs. competence) is further examined. Finally, we demonstrate that perceptions of brands' warmth and not competence reduce the efforts that brands need to make to achieve consumers' endorsements on their real brand pages on Facebook.     

Does exposure to dogs (cows) increase the preference for Puma (the colour white)? Not always

Recently, Berger, & Fitzsimons (2008) showed that conceptual fluency effects could spread to concepts sharing a second-level relation (e.g., priming “dog” can activate “cat,” which can increase the evaluation of the brand Puma). In three laboratory studies we found weak evidence for the above priming effects on related concepts. However, in a population sample, we did find evidence that repeated exposure to a prime is associated with preference for related brands and products.     

Communicating brand gender through type fonts

The marketing literature suggests that positioning a brand in terms of brand gender (i.e., brand masculinity and brand femininity) generates favorable consumer responses, yet there is little research on how brand gender perceptions arise. This research examines whether type font can be employed to create brand gender perceptions in the context of unfamiliar brands. Building on the theoretical framework of personality inferences based on static cues, three studies involving a range of type fonts, brand names, and product categories demonstrate that type font influences consumers’ perceptions of brand gender. Type font effects emerged for brand names presented in isolation (Study 1), brand names presented on signage (Study 2a), and brand names on product labels (Studies 2b and 3). Importantly, type font effects on brand gender persisted in the presence of a competing brand gender cue (i.e., brand name with gender associations), and type font and brand name influenced brand gender perceptions independently. A fourth study demonstrates that type fonts representing the brands influence consumers’ likelihood to recommend the brand. The article concludes with a discussion of theoretical and brand management implications.     

Consumer reactions to round numbers in brand names

This research shows that round numbers (e.g., 10, 50, 100) are strongly associated with completeness perceptions and consumers view them as thresholds for reaching certain completeness levels. In nine empirical studies, we demonstrate that round numbers in brand names, i.e., Round Alphanumeric Brand names (RABs) are overrepresented due to their strong association with product completeness. We find that RABs lead to favorable product evaluations and increased preferences. We examine alternative explanations based on other number properties including magnitude, divisibility, popularity, and familiarity and show that the effects of RABs on consumer responses are only mediated by the perception of product completeness.