Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

My brand identity lies in the brand name: personified suggestive brand names

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Brand Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This research introduces personified suggestive brand names, the degree to which a brand name (1) defines a potential user of the brand or (2) portrays personal characteristics that are used by the consumer to anthropomorphize the brand. Results of four experiments show that consumers are more likely to form brand relationships and more favorable brand evaluations toward more (e.g., Smart), compared to less (e.g., Technical), personified suggestive brand names, because (1) they form a self-brand name connection with these brand names to present themselves to others and (2) they humanize the brand via these brand names. Additionally, personified suggestive brand names lead to self-brand name connections that result in brand anthropomorphism, which leads to favorable branding outcomes, particularly among Relational Interdependent Self-construal consumers, who are more likely to incorporate their relationships on their self-definitions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aaker, J.L. 1997. Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research 34(3): 347–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aaker, J.L. 1999. The malleable self: The role of self-expression in persuasion. Journal of Marketing Research 36(1): 45–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aaker, J., S. Fournier, and S.A. Brasel. 2004. When good brands do bad. Journal of Consumer Research 31(1): 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aggarwal, P., and A.L. McGill. 2007. Is that car smiling at me? Schema congruity as a basis for evaluating anthropomorphized products. Journal of Consumer Research 34(4): 468–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aggarwal, P., and A.L. McGill. 2011. When brands seem human, do humans act like brands? Automatic behavioral priming effects of brand anthropomorphism. Journal of consumer research 39(2): 307–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Albert, N., and D. Merunka. 2013. The role of brand love in consumer-brand relationships. Journal of Consumer Marketing 30(3): 258–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arora, S., A.D. Kalro, and D. Sharma. 2015. A comprehensive framework of brand name classification. Journal of Brand Management 22(2): 79–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashworth, L., P. Dacin, and M. Thomson. 2009. Why on earth do consumers have relationships with marketers? Toward understanding the functions of brand relationships. In Handbook of brand relationships, ed. D.J. MacInnis, C.W. Park, and J. Priester, 82–106. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Auh, S., and E. Shih. 2009. Brand name and consumer inference making in multigenerational product introduction context. Journal of Brand Management 16(7): 439–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belk, R.W. 1988. Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research 15(2): 139–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batra, R., D.R. Lehmann, and D. Singh. 1993. The brand personality component of brand goodwill: Some antecedents and consequences. In Brand equity and advertising, ed. D.A. Aaker and A.L. Biel, 83–96. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross, S.E., P.L. Bacon, and M.L. Morris. 2000. The relational-interdependent self-construal and relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 78(4): 791–808.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epley, N., A. Waytz, and J.T. Cacioppo. 2007. On seeing human: A three-factor theory of anthropomorphism. Psychological Review 114(4): 864–886.

    Google Scholar 

  • Escalas, J.E., and J.R. Bettman. 2003. You are what they eat: The influence of reference groups on consumers’ connections to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology 13(3): 339–348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Escalas, J.E., and J.R. Bettman. 2005. Self-construal, reference groups, and brand meaning. Journal of Consumer Research 32(3): 378–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freling, T.H., and L.P. Forbes. 2005. An examination of brand personality through methodological triangulation. Journal of brand management 13(2): 148–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fournier, S. 1998. Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research 24(4): 343–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fournier, S., and C. Alvarez. 2012. Brands as relationship partners: Warmth, competence, and in-between. Journal of Consumer Psychology 22(2): 177–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gore, J.S., and S.E. Cross. 2011. Conflicts of interest: Relational self-construal and decision making in interpersonal contexts. Self and Identity 10(2): 185–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grohmann, B. 2009. Gender dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research 46(1): 105–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunasti, K., and W.T. Ross Jr. 2010. How and when alphanumeric brand names affect consumer preferences. Journal of Marketing Research 47(6): 1177–1192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunasti, K., and B. Devezer. 2016. How competitor brands affect within-brand choice. Marketing Letters 27(4): 715–727.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunasti, K., and T. Ozcan. 2016. Consumer reactions to round numbers in brand names. Marketing Letters 27(2): 309–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, P.M., S.R. Jones, and M.B. Royne. 2013. The human lens: How anthropomorphic reasoning varies by product complexity and enhances personal value. Journal of Marketing Management 29(1–2): 105–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A.F. 2015. An index and test of linear moderated mediation. Multivariate Behavioral Research 50(1): 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A.F. 2018. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis second edition: A regression-based approach, 2nd ed. New York: Guilford Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huber, F., K. Vollhardt, I. Matthes, and J. Vogel. 2010. Brand misconduct: Consequences on consumer–brand relationships. Journal of Business Research 63(11): 1113–1120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hung, H.Y., and H.T. Lu. 2018. The rosy side and the blue side of emotional brand attachment. Journal of Consumer Behaviour 17(3): 302–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Japutra, A., and S. Molinillo. 2017. Responsible and active brand personality: On the relationships with brand experience and key relationship constructs. Journal of Business Research 99: 464–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kachersky, L., and N. Palermo. 2013. How personal pronouns influence brand name preference. Journal of Brand Management 20(7): 558–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kara, S., K. Gunasti, and W.T. Ross Jr. 2015. Is it the “alpha” or the “numeric”?: Consumers’ evaluation of letter versus number changes in alphanumeric brand names. Journal of Brand Management 22(6): 515–533.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, K.L., S.E. Heckler, and M.J. Houston. 1998. The effects of brand name suggestiveness on advertising recall. Journal of Marketing 62(1): 48–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirmani, A. 2009. The self and the brand. Journal of Consumer Psychology 19(3): 271–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohli, C.S., K.R. Harich, and L. Leuthesser. 2005. Creating brand identity: A study of evaluation of new brand names. Journal of Business Research 58(11): 1506–1515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maehle, N., C. Otnes, and M. Supphellen. 2011. Consumers’ perceptions of the dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Consumer Behaviour 10(5): 290–303.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacInnis, D.J., and V.S. Folkes. 2017. Humanizing brands: When brands seem to be like me, part of me, and in a relationship with me. Journal of Consumer Psychology 27(3): 355–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morry, M.M., M. Kito, S. Mann, and L. Hill. 2013. Relational-interdependent self-construal: Perceptions of friends and friendship quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 30(1): 44–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, D.M., T. Meyvis, and N. Davidenko. 2009. Instructional manipulation checks: Detecting satisficing to increase statistical power. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45: 867–872.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozcan, T., and K. Gunasti. 2019. How associations between products and numbers in brand names affect consumer attitudes: Introducing multi-context numbers. Journal of Brand Management 26(2): 176–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, B.T. 2009. A comparison of brand personality and brand user-imagery congruence. Journal of Consumer Marketing 26(3): 175–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pauwels-Delassus, V., and R.M. Descotes. 2013. Brand name change: Can trust and loyalty be transferred? Journal of Brand Management 20(8): 656–669.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavia, T.A., and J.A. Costa. 1993. The winning number: Consumer perceptions of alpha-numeric brand names. Journal of Marketing 57(3): 85–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Puzakova, M., H. Kwak, and J.F. Rocereto. 2013. When humanizing brands goes wrong: The detrimental effect of brand anthropomorphization amid product wrongdoings. Journal of marketing 77(3): 81–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, S. 1999. The effects of brand name suggestiveness and decision goal on the development of brand knowledge. Journal of Consumer Psychology 8(4): 431–455.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sihvonen, J. 2019. Understanding the drivers of consumer–brand identification. Journal of Brand Management 26(5): 583–594.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swaminathan, V., K.M. Stilley, and R. Ahluwalia. 2009. When brand personality matters: The moderating role of attachment styles. Journal of Consumer Research 35(6): 985–1002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turley, L.W., and P.A. Moore. 1995. Brand name strategies in the service sector. Journal of Consumer Marketing 12(4): 42–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Prooijen, A.M., and J. Bartels. 2019. Anthropomorphizing brands: The role of attributed brand traits in interactive CSR communication and consumer online endorsements. Journal of Consumer Behaviour 18: 474–483.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaichkowsky, J.L. 2010. Strategies for distinctive brands. Journal of Brand Management 17(8): 548–560.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Robin Coulter for her helpful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth, MA, 02747-2300, USA

    Selcan Kara

  2. Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Todd Hall Addition 367, PO Box 644730, Pullman, WA, 99164-4730, USA

    Kunter Gunasti

  3. School of Business, University of Connecticut, 2100 Hillside Rd, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    William T. Ross Jr.

Authors
  1. Selcan Kara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kunter Gunasti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. William T. Ross Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Selcan Kara.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 2.

Table 2 Multi-item measures (for smart)
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kara, S., Gunasti, K. & Ross, W.T. My brand identity lies in the brand name: personified suggestive brand names. J Brand Manag 27, 607–621 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-020-00201-x

Download citation

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-020-00201-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation