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Brand Naming: Sound Symbolism, Brand Preference And Brand Performance

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Listed:
  • Alina Duduciuc
  • Loredana Ivan

Abstract

The aim of this study is to highlight the importance of sound symbolism for Romanian marketing and advertising applied research. Previous research showed that the phonetic structure of brand name communicates its characteristics, i.e. it drives consumers to assess certain features and performance of the product. We assumed that when consumers encounter an unknown brand name, they automatically infer characteristics from the meaning conveyed by the sounds (e.g. phonemes). Therefore, we supposed that a brand name for a shampoo (artificially created on experimental purpose) containing back vowels is evaluated better by consumers when they compare it to another brand name with front vowels. Furthermore, we tested the influence of the stops and fricatives consonants in inferring certain attributes of product. To this end, fifty nine students (N=59) participated in a research based on questionnaire. The results revealed that subjects evaluated better the brand names containing back vowels than brand names with front vowel. No effect was obtained regarding the presence of stops and fricatives consonants in assessing the brand performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Alina Duduciuc & Loredana Ivan, 2014. "Brand Naming: Sound Symbolism, Brand Preference And Brand Performance," Studies and Scientific Researches. Economics Edition, "Vasile Alecsandri" University of Bacau, Faculty of Economic Sciences, issue 20.
    • Handle: RePEc:bac:fsecub:14-20-23
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. C. Miguel Brendl & Amitava Chattopadhyay & Brett W. Pelham & Mauricio Carvallo, 2005. "Name Letter Branding: Valence Transfers When Product Specific Needs Are Active," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(3), pages 405-415, December.
    2. Tina M. Lowrey & L. J. Shrum, 2007. "Phonetic Symbolism and Brand Name Preference," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(3), pages 406-414, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alina Duduciuc, 2015. "Advertising Brands By Means Of Sounds Symbolism: The Influence Of Vowels On Perceived Brand Characteristics," Studies and Scientific Researches. Economics Edition, "Vasile Alecsandri" University of Bacau, Faculty of Economic Sciences, issue 21.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    brand; sound symbolism; advertising; social psychology; brand names;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing

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