What Language Should Be Displayed on Product Packaging? How Unconventional Lettering Influences Packaging and Product Evaluation

Abstract

Practitioners and academics agree that packaging is a communication tool that impacts marketing success. This paper focuses on a specific cue incorporated in product packaging: the use of supplementary unconventional lettering, such as Arabic characters, on a product package with English. Building on the theory of Foreign Language Display, the use of unconventional lettering that is congruent with the product is expected to be favorable if it is interpreted as a quality cue. Additionally, familiarity with the product category moderates this relationship. This paper discusses empirical studies carried out in a developed economy and a developing economy.

Keywords:

• Foreign Language Display
• Product Packaging
• Perceived Product Quality
• COO Cues

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the constructive feedback provided by an anonymous reviewer. We also would like to acknowledge the assistance of Ms. Zatega in conducting the empirical studies in Austria. Lastly, the second author would like to thank Associate Professor Dr.Kritsadarat Wattanasuwan for her insightful comment for our project.

Declarations of interest

None

Notes

1 The complete stimulus material is available upon request from the authors.

2 After data collection completion we discovered that some research assistants in Thailand approached respondents with screens which might have been too small to clearly perceive the foreign lettering. As a result we had to exclude quite a number of observations.

Additional information

Funding

Additionally, the authors thank Thailand Research Fund and Office of the Higher Education Commission for granting research fund (MRG 6180112).