Brand name recall: A study of the effects of word types, processing, and involvement levels

Abstract

This study extends prior research on brand naming by comparing recall for five types of words in various involvement and processing conditions. Experimental findings show that the differences in recall are higher when there is semantic processing than when there is sensory processing. Involvement is not significant and hence provides no advantage for brand name recall. Several significant interactions among word types and information processing are also observed that extend prior findings in marketing and branding. More specifically, the results showed different recall pattern for the word types between semantic and sensory processing which was not observed in academic literature. Finally, the paper discusses implications for the naming of new products.

Keywords::

• brand name
• word type
• information processing
• involvement
• recall

Acknowledgements

The Authors specially thank Harmen Oppewal for his remarkable reviews and comments through the development of this article. We also thank Ellen Garbarino, the Editor-in-Chief Philip Kitchen, and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful comments on earlier versions of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ali Shamsollahi

Ali Shamsollahi is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. Previously, he worked in research and consultancy in one of Iran's leading firms serving the most prominent local and international brands. His current research interests include dynamics of trust and trust repair, transaction cost theory, and strategic brand management.

Mirahmad Amirshahi

Mirahmad Amirshahi is an associate professor of marketing at Alzahra University in Iran. He is the founding member of both the Marketing Association of Iran and the Commerce Association of Iran. He is an active researcher on marketing related topics especially in branding, retailing, sales and financial services. He also has a special interest in Islamic marketing.

Farhad Ghaffari

Farhad Ghaffari is an assistant professor of economics and head of the department of economics at Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch. His main research interests focus on time series econometrics & macroeconometrics, and business cycle theory. He has also authored relevant articles published in national and international journals.