Creating new brand names: Effects of relevance, connotation, and pronunciation

Field research and a laboratory study were conducted to empirically examine the effects of brand relevance, connotation, and pronunciation on consumers' preferences for new brand names. The context theory of memory retrieval and the simplicity principle provided the foundation for our research hypotheses. In both cases, study results supported the main effects of relevance, connotation, and pronunciation of brand names on consumers' brand preference. In addition, results showed that the contribution of connotation will be attenuated if the brand name is difficult to pronounce.