Newswise —
A fresh Journal of Marketing research by scholars at University of Notre Dame and The Ohio State University explores the effect of non-traditional spellings of a brand name on consumers' perceptions and willingness to endorse the brand.
The upcoming Journal of Marketing article, entitled "Opting for the Best Spelling: Consumer Reaction to Unconventional Brand Name Spellings," is written by John P. Costello, Jesse Walker, and Rebecca Walker Reczek.
Selecting a brand name for a novel product or service is a crucial marketing choice for a corporation, as it carries implications both in the short and long run, influencing consumers' initial perceptions of the brand and their likelihood of purchasing it in the future.
An increasingly popular approach for naming a new brand is to use a non-traditional spelling of a familiar term. For instance, the brand name "Lyft" is readily identifiable as an atypical spelling of "Lift." Nevertheless, despite the prevalence of these unconventionally spelled brand names, there is limited understanding of how this tactic affects consumers' perceptions and their willingness to endorse the brand.
According to this latest research, using an unorthodox spelling can prove counterproductive, lowering consumers' willingness to endorse the brand. The study recommends that companies launching new brands, as well as the increasing number of branding agencies specializing in brand naming, must be careful when determining how to spell their brands. Costello clarifies that "consumers may interpret unconventional spellings as a deliberate persuasive maneuver to sway their opinions about the brand, resulting in reduced perceptions of the brand's authenticity and, ultimately, diminished support from consumers."
Why Companies Choose Unconventional Spellings
While there are drawbacks to using an unorthodox spelling for a brand name, there are also advantages to consider. For instance, due to their distinctiveness, it is simpler to trademark and locate domain names related to unconventionally spelled brand names. Previous research has indicated that unconventionally spelled brand names are more memorable as well. Moreover, some analysts have suggested that brands employ unconventional spellings to project a trendy, cool, or youthful image, which are traits linked to an intriguing brand personality.
However, the researchers argue that despite these potential advantages, the use of an unconventional spelling may backfire. Across eight experimental studies, they demonstrate that consumers perceive the choice of an unconventional spelling for a brand name as an overt persuasion attempt. That is, consumers recognize that the brand name looks like a real word they are familiar with, but they are also left to make inferences about why the brand’s spelling deviates from the original word. “We argue that consumers infer that an unconventionally spelled brand name was chosen as a marketing gimmick or persuasion tactic, perhaps as a way to stand out from competitors or as an overt attempt to appear trendy, hip, or cool to certain segments of consumers. We find that viewing a brand’s name as a persuasion tactic leads to decreased perceptions of the brand’s sincerity and ultimately reduces consumers’ support for the brand,” explains Walker. As a result, consumers support these brands less than if the brands used conventional spellings of the same words.
Nevertheless, unconventionally spelled brand names are less likely to decrease support when consumers lack the cognitive resources to consider the brand's motives for choosing its name. Additionally, consumers do not react unfavorably to unconventionally spelled brand names if they are informed that the brand had a genuine reason for selecting the name (such as the unconventional spelling being the brand founder's last name). Lastly, the researchers identify a circumstance where unconventionally spelled names have a positive impact relative to their conventional counterparts. "Consumers who are searching for an exceptionally memorable consumption experience are more likely to support a brand when it has an unconventionally spelled name than a conventionally spelled one, maybe because the unconventional spelling itself can act as a memory cue for the event," states Reczek.
Lessons for Chief Marketing Officers
From a practical perspective, the research provides valuable insights to marketers:
- Managers may want to avoid unconventional spellings when naming new brands, as doing so can decrease choice, purchase likelihood, and willingness-to-pay.
- Brands using unconventionally spelled names for new brands should clearly communicate a sincere naming origin story during their introductory marketing campaigns.
- Brands could also communicate this sincere motive when designing brand elements such as logos, packaging, or slogans.
- However, the need to do the above is dependent on whether the brand is operating in a context where consumers are likely to be seeking memorable experiences (e.g., destinations like Las Vegas).
- Finally, given the memory advantages of unconventional spellings, managers should also consider the cost-benefit trade-off between memory and perceptions of sincerity. Given that sincerity is a particularly important driver of many desirable brand outcomes, the increase in memorability that comes with an unconventional spelling may not be worth the accompanying decrease in perceptions of brand sincerity outside of consumption contexts where consumers are seeking a memorable experience.
About the Journal of Marketing
The Journal of Marketing develops and disseminates knowledge about real-world marketing questions useful to scholars, educators, managers, policy makers, consumers, and other societal stakeholders around the world. Published by the American Marketing Association since its founding in 1936, JM has played a significant role in shaping the content and boundaries of the marketing discipline. Shrihari (Hari) Sridhar (Joe Foster ’56 Chair in Business Leadership, Professor of Marketing at Mays Business School, Texas A&M University) serves as the current Editor in Chief.
https://www.ama.org/jm
About the American Marketing Association (AMA)
As the largest chapter-based marketing association in the world, the AMA is trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover what is coming next in the industry. The AMA has a community of local chapters in more than 70 cities and 350 college campuses throughout North America. The AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM® professional certification, premiere academic journals, and industry-leading training events and conferences.
https://www.ama.org
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