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Shades of Meaning: The Effect of Color and Flavor Names on Consumer Choice

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  • Elizabeth G. Miller
  • Barbara E. Kahn

Abstract

Building on Grice's (1975) theory of "conversational implicature," we propose that consumers will react favorably to unusual color or flavor names (e.g., blue haze or Alpine snow) because they expect marketing messages to convey useful information. If the message is not informative or does not conform to expectations, consumers search for the reason for the deviation. This search results in additional (positive) attributions about the product, and thus, a more favorable response. The results of a series of experiments provide empirical support for our proposal and rule out some alternative explanations for the success of ambiguous naming strategies. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth G. Miller & Barbara E. Kahn, 2005. "Shades of Meaning: The Effect of Color and Flavor Names on Consumer Choice," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(1), pages 86-92, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:32:y:2005:i:1:p:86-92
    DOI: 10.1086/429602
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    Cited by:

    1. Heribert Gierl & Tina Großmann, 2008. "Imply-Benefit-Attribute im Bereich häufig gekaufter Konsumgüter," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 355-384, June.
    2. Roggeveen, Anne L. & Goodstein, Ronald C. & Grewal, Dhruv, 2014. "Improving the Effect of Guarantees: The Role of a Retailer's Reputation," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 27-39.
    3. Ladeira, Wagner Junior & de Oliveira Santini, Fernando & Pinto, Diego Costa, 2022. "Clockwise versus counterclockwise turning bias: Moderation effects of foot traffic and cognitive experience on visual attention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Ronen, Joshua & Ronen, Tavy & Zhou, Mi (Jamie) & Gans, Susan E., 2023. "The informational role of imagery in financial decision making: A new approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    5. Rizomyliotis, Ioannis & Konstantoulaki, Kleopatra & Kostopoulos, Ioannis, 2018. "Reassessing the effect of colour on attitude and behavioural intentions in promotional activities: The moderating role of mood and involvement," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 204-215.
    6. Lee, Jung Eun & Shin, Eonyou, 2020. "The effects of apparel names and visual complexity of apparel design on consumers' apparel product attitudes: A mental imagery perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 407-417.
    7. John M. T. Balmer, 2023. "Design, corporate brand design, and corporate heritage brand design: what are they? what of them?," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(2), pages 97-115, March.
    8. Shunyuan Zhang & Dokyun Lee & Param Vir Singh & Kannan Srinivasan, 2022. "What Makes a Good Image? Airbnb Demand Analytics Leveraging Interpretable Image Features," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(8), pages 5644-5666, August.
    9. Andrew Stivers, 2009. "Regulating Market Language: Market Failure in Descriptive Signals," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 23-41, March.
    10. Shichang Liang & Min Zhang & Yuxuan Chu & Lingling He, 2022. "Should “Green” Be Precise? The Effect of Information Presentation on Purchasing Intention of Green Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-16, August.
    11. Krishna, Aradhna & Cian, Luca & Aydınoğlu, Nilüfer Z., 2017. "Sensory Aspects of Package Design," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 43-54.
    12. Nima Y. Jalali & Purushottam Papatla, 2016. "The palette that stands out: Color compositions of online curated visual UGC that attracts higher consumer interaction," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 353-384, December.

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