An Influence of Product and Brand Name on Positive Affect: Implicit and Explicit Measures

Results of two studies indicated that tasting a familiar product designed to be refreshing (iced tea), without knowledge of the brand, induced positive affect, as did the gift-of-candy (not consumed) induction, used in many previous studies. As compared to controls, these participants showed more positive affect as reflected by 5 implicit measures and 2~explicit ratings of the refreshingness and pleasingness of the product. They performed significantly better on items from the Remote Associates Test (a test of creativity), generated more unusual and more pleasant first associates to a randomly selected letter of the alphabet, and to neutral words (the implicit measures). Results also indicated that similar affect did not arise when participants tasted a less liked, unfamiliar, brand of iced tea, without knowledge of the brand. However, when the brand name (a known brand) of that tea was presented with the less liked product sample, people who tasted that same tea showed positive affect responses on the implicit measures of affect and also explicitly rated the tea as more refreshing and pleasing than the unbranded version of the same tea.     

Phonetic Symbolism and Memory for Advertisements

This study investigated whether phonetic symbolism within brand names influences the memory of advertisements. Participants both saw and heard brand names with front vs. back vowels paired with small vs. large products in a congruent vs. incongruent fashion. When later given several unexpected memory tasks, it was found that congruent (vs. incongruent) pairings led to enhanced brand name and product recall as well as the efficiency of both brand name and paired recognition. These findings are consistent with a theory of cross‐modal processing involving perceptual unification. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How valuable is a well‐crafted design and name brand?: Recognition and willingness to pay

Preferences for similarly designed consumer products, evaluated blind and branded and also with and without prices, were tested in a consumer setting. The consumer's perceptual experience led to preference of the well‐crafted high‐priced option. This preference was enhanced by priming consumers with background information about the brand, perhaps causing the subjects to guess which choice was the well‐known brand before evaluation. Preferences for that choice increased again when brand names were visible during evaluation. When actual prices were added to the evaluations, preferences for the well‐known brand were very robust to high prices, indicating the strength of the brand name. Using the least preferred option and the lowest price as an anchor, the consumers' price threshold to pay for the preferred design and the brand name was computed. Attempts to explain and predict individual differences of choices using measures of inherent design acumen, prior experience, and purchasing behavior were largely unsuccessful. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Meaning of Brand Names to Children: A Developmental Investigation

We explored the way that children use brand names in making consumer judgments. Brand names can serve as a simple perceptual cue that identifies a product as one people are familiar with or one they associate with certain perceptual features. Brands can also be associated with symbolic or conceptual meanings, conveying status, prestige, or trendiness. We proposed that young children relate to brands on a perceptual level, whereas older children relate to brands on a conceptual basis as well. We examined this proposition in an experiment conducted with children 8,12, and 16 years of age. Participants were asked to evaluate an advertised product (e.g., athletic shoes) with a familiar brand name that was either popular (e.g., Nike^®) or less popular (e.g., Kmart^®). The advertised product was physically identical in both cases, allowing us to explore whether the brand name had meaning for children apart from its name familiarity or perceptual features. The use of conceptual brand meanings was assessed by asking participants to make several types of brand‐related judgments including evaluations of the advertised product, impressions of the owners of the advertised product, and evaluations of possible extensions of the popular brand name advertised. Results indicate that by the time children reach 12 years of age, they use brand names as an important conceptual cue in consumer judgments.     

Brand names on packaging and their impact on purchase preference

This study examines whether appearance of corporate, product and dual brand names (or a combination of brand names used together) on packaging influence consumer purchase preference. The face‐to‐face survey consists of consumers rating their purchase preference on a 7‐point scale sixteen random brand names, and combinations of brand names on packaging along with three different prices, each for two product categories: chocolate and cereals – a total of 4032 observations are examined. Hypotheses are tested using multiple linear regression models. The findings show corporate, product and dual brand names have little impact on purchase preference per se, instead brand category dominance influence consumer choice, and corporate names do not add value as previously thought. The study suggests trends and contexts in which, a corporate name and a product brand name may be extended to optimise consumer brand associations and influence purchase, as well as strategies for extending in remote product categories. Future research needs focusing on international consumers' response on brand linkages in the international arena, and the issues of brand building and brand equity maintenance in international markets. The study makes contribution to brand extension, brand portfolio management and strategic brand management research. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

反应时技术在品牌联想测查中的应用

反应时技术在以往品牌研究中主要被用来测查品牌名称与产品类别的联系强度。基于品牌名称语义网络的构成,在已有研究的启发下,将反应时测量技术应用于品牌联想结构的测查之中。研究采用了反应时方法和传统的自由联想方法对三个产品种类五个品牌的品牌联想结构进行了探索。两种结果的对比分析验证了反应时方法的可行性,并且在测量的精确性与客观性上,反应时方法具有较大的优势。该测量技术提供的客观量化数据有助于揭示消费者内在的品牌联想结构,在市场研究中具有广泛的应用前景。     

Reversing the Placebo: Performance‐Branded Experiences Can Undermine Consumer Performance

Products bearing premium brand labels are known to increase perceptions of efficacy and improve objective consumer performance relative to lesser‐branded equivalents, in what is traditionally described as a marketing placebo effect. In this paper, we suggest that experiences bearing these highly regarded brand labels can lead to a reverse effect, such that consumer performance actually declines with their use. Our findings demonstrate across domains of improving mental acuity, learning a new language, and developing financial analysis skills that completing performance‐branded training experiences impairs objective performance in related tasks, relative to lower‐performance‐branded or unbranded counterparts. We posit that branded training experiences can evoke a brand‐as‐master relationship in which consumers take on a subservient role relative to the brand. As a consequence, higher‐performance brands may impose greater demands upon consumers, increasing performance‐anxiety and interfering with an individual's ability to perform effectively. These results document an important ramification of applying branding to learning experiences and identify contexts in which traditionally positive marketing actions can backfire for consumers.     

Contribution of concept recall to brand loyalty: An empirical analysis of design and performance

With industries becoming technologically advanced, the source of competitiveness has shifted from a functional value, such as performance and durability, to an emotional value, such as design and comfort. To create an emotional value, the concept of a brand should be consistently embodied in a product or service to enhance its appeal. In the brand management of products and services, although performance and design are surveyed as factors of the repurchase or recommendation intention, the concept remains unused. This study hypothesized that “considering reasons behind the repurchase intention of products/services, consumers who recall the concept of the product are more likely to repurchase than consumers who recall the specific characteristics, such as design and performance.” The target products included Apple MacBook Pro, Dyson Canister Vacuum Cleaner, and Nintendo Switch, and services included Facebook, Starbucks, and Disney. The multiple regression results show that concept contributed more than design, comfort, performance, price, and word of mouth. Therefore, the proposed hypothesis was supported. As a practical implication, a new index known as concept recall can be adopted as a factor of brand loyalty in brand management. Although the index is simple, few studies have claimed the effectiveness of the indicator based on scientific grounds. Empathy, along with the concept, is paramount in acquiring consumer brand loyalty; design/UX is merely a means to embody the concept. The proposed index should be the basis of decision-making and should not turn into “a means to an end.”     

消费者产品质量知觉研究

本文探讨了品牌、产地、价格、服务及消费者的知识经验对消费者产品质量知觉的影响。结果表明：１、品牌、产地、服务对消费者的产品质量知觉有显著影响;２、消费者对名牌产品的质量知觉显著高于不知名品牌,对进口产品质量知觉显著高于国产产品,对服务好的产品质量知觉显著高于服务差的产品;３、知识经验丰富的消费者的产品质量知觉易受品牌的影响,而知识经验不足的消费者的产品质量知觉易受价格、服务的影响。     

品牌形象系统的因素结构

采用问卷法以446名大学生为被试,运用探索性因素分析探讨了不同产品类别（牙膏、运动鞋和随身听）的品牌形象的构成因素,然后以整体分配法确定了各因素的权重。结果表明:(1)品牌形象是由若干因素构成的有组织、有序的系统,这些因素分别属于功能成分和意义成分。(2)不同产品类别的品牌形象构成有共性,也有个性。(3)低外显产品的功能成分比高外显产品的功能成分重要。     

Exposure to Product Placement in Text Can Influence Consumer Judgments

Five experiments explored the consequences of exposure to product placement in text. In each experiment, participants read three short stories containing the names of several brand‐name products. When given a surprise judgment task asking them to rate their likelihood of purchasing a number of brands—some of which were placed and some of which were not placed—participants rated placed brands significantly higher than non‐placed brands. This effect of product placement was observed even when participants were warned about product placement prior to reading the stories, and even when participants reported having a negative opinion about product placement as a form of advertisement. Under some conditions, however, the effect did interact with brand familiarity, such that judgments of familiar brands were affected less by product placement than were judgments of unfamiliar brands. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interference Effects of Contextual Cues in Advertisements on Memory for Ad Content

The effectiveness of advertisements has been an issue of great concern to marketers, especially with the rapid increase in the number of marketing communications that the average consumer receives every day. Prior research has examined the impact of verbal interference on consumers’ memory for different elements of the advertisement—that is, interference caused by similar verbal elements in advertisements for brands in the same product category. This study examined the impact of similar contextual or background stimuli on consumers’ memory for different elements of the advertisement. Consumers were exposed to print advertisements for products in different product categories. The similarity of contextual cues—that is, background scenes—was manipulated (similar vs. dissimilar). Using a 2 (contextual cues interference: low and high) x 2 (processing goal: ad and brand) x 3 (cues: brand name, ad photo, product class) between‐subjects design, it was found that exposure to ads with similar contextual elements reduced individuals’ ability to recall not only contextual or background elements but also brand name from a target advertisement.     

Keeping It Real: How Perceived Brand Authenticity Affects Product Perceptions

This article examines the effects of firm motivation (an intrinsic or extrinsic interest in their product) on perceptions of brand authenticity and anticipated product quality. Specifically, studies 1 and 2 show that an intrinsic motivation increases authenticity perceptions which, in turn, increase perceived product quality, even for negatively regarded products. Studies 3a and 3b demonstrate that motivation affects perceived product quality (through perceived authenticity) by influencing deliberate attribute‐level inferences consumers make about the product, and Study 4 demonstrates that the positive effect of intrinsic motivation (through authenticity) disappears in the presence of objective product attribute information, when such inferences are no longer necessary. These findings suggest that authenticity perceptions are malleable, and they shed light on the mechanism through which brand authenticity leads consumers to anticipate that a brand's products will be higher in quality.     

Does humor in radio advertising affect recognition of novel product brand names?

The authors proposed that item selection during shopping is based on brand name recognition rather than recall. College students rated advertisements and news stories of a simulated radio program for level of amusement (orienting activity) before participating in a surprise recognition test. Humor level of the advertisements was varied systematically, and content was controlled. According to signal detection analysis, humor did not affect the strength of recognition memory for brand names (nonsense units). However, brand names and product types were significantly more likely to be associated when appearing in humorous advertisements than in nonhumorous advertisements. The results are compared with prior findings concerning humor and recall.     

品牌名称暗示性对消费者决策选择的影响：认知需要和专业化水平的调节作用

品牌管理者最首要的决策就是选择一个好记的或有意义的品牌名字。由于任何特征的品牌名字都必须借助消费者的认知差异来实现真正的差异化, 因此, 从消费者认知特点出发研究暗示性品牌名字就显得尤为重要和有意义。本文通过3个实验, 分别验证了消费者认知需要和专业化水平对品牌名称暗示性与决策选择的调节作用。方差分析发现：低专业化水平的消费者更倾向于根据暗示性的品牌名字做出决策, 而高专业化水平的消费者则不受品牌名称暗示程度的影响。此外, 低认知需要的消费者比较喜欢暗示性的品牌名字, 而对于高认知需要的消费者来说, 品牌名字的暗示性程度不会对其决策过程产生影响。最后, 研究结果揭示了专业化水平和认知需要对暗示性品牌名字效果发挥具有交互作用。对于具有高专业化水平的消费者来说, 无论他们处于低认知需要还是高认知需要, 品牌名字的暗示程度都不会影响他们的态度形成。相反地,对于具有低专业化水平的消费者来说, 无论是低认知需要还是高认知需要均倾向于暗示性的品牌名字。而对于专业化程度中等的消费者而言, 暗示性品牌名字效用的发挥则取决于其处理信息的动机—认知需要水平。     

Brand signal quality of products in an asymmetric online information environment: An experimental study

Previous research regarding the effectiveness of brand name signalling has focused mainly on when and how marketers will recover costs. This study reverses this trend by examining how buyers may interpret signals via the brand name, the effectiveness of signalling via brand name in terms of buyer‐value perspectives and how buyers' reactions to signals affect sellers' decisions to adopt a signalling strategy. Signalling theory and concepts from consumer‐based branding research are used to suggest how to evaluate the effectiveness of signalling via brand name in the context of the consumer market – a market in which information is asymmetric. Findings from a number of repeated experiments, using the methodology of experimental economics, demonstrate that the function of a brand fluctuates according to which market conditions prevail for brand and price, the extent of brand differentiation and the magnitude of brand‐building costs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sales Promotions and the Choice Context as Competing Influences on Consumer Decision Making

Although brand switching is one of the most researched topics in marketing, we still know very little about the moderators of switching between brands in different price‐quality tiers (e.g., from Häagen–Dazs ice cream to Breyers or to a store brand). Building on the notion that buyers have a (category‐specific) consideration set of price–quality tiers, we propose that sales promotions and the choice set composition (or the choice context) have compensatory effects on brand switching between price–quality tiers. Specifically, if one of these factors causes buyers to switch to a higher price–quality tier within their brand‐tier consideration set, then the other factor is less likely to induce switching in the same direction (to an even higher tier) and more likely to induce switching in the opposite direction. This general proposition leads to several specific hypotheses, including (a) the likelihood of switching between particular brand tiers due to price promotions can be predicted based on the choice set composition; (b) asymmetric switching, whereby consumers are more likely to switch up from a low‐tier to a promoted high‐tier brand than from a high‐tier to a promoted low‐tier brand, is reduced or eliminated if consumers consider three price–quality tiers; and (c) the compromise effect is reduced when the lowest tier brand offers a price promotion. These hypotheses were supported in a series of studies, which also examined rival explanations. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Packaging of healthy and unhealthy food products for children and parents: The relative influence of licensed characters and brand names

• Using a sample of 43 7–8‐year olds and their parents, we examined the extent to which children's judgments about food products are influenced by the same factors as their parents'. The factors manipulated were healthiness of product, brand name familiarity, and use of licensed cartoon characters (children) or celebrity endorsers (parents). Brand name familiarity was a more important factor than familiar cartoon characters or celebrity endorsers on food product evaluations. Parents and girls but not boys rated healthy products higher than unhealthy ones (e.g., breakfast cereal vs. pastries). However, parents placed greater weight on healthiness when choosing products for themselves than when choosing for their children. Discussion focuses on the promotion of healthy eating habits in children.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

叠音品牌名称对消费者知觉和态度的影响

品牌名称是重要的品牌资产, 在传递品牌价值、构建品牌形象和凸显品牌特征的过程中起到关键作用。以往研究发现, 品牌名称的语义特征和语音特征(元音、辅音)都会对消费者知觉和态度产生影响, 但少有研究考察叠音这种语音结构特征的作用。从婴儿图式的角度, 考察叠音品牌名称对消费者知觉和态度的影响, 并检验其作用机制和边界。具体内容包括：(1)考察叠音品牌名称对消费者品牌知觉(物理特征知觉、心理特征知觉)及其消费者态度的影响及其作用机制。(2)检验内部语音特征和外部线索特征在叠音品牌名称与消费者知觉之间的调节作用。(3)检验产品类型特征和消费者特征在叠音品牌名称和消费者态度之间的调节作用。