Better branding: brand names can influence consumer choice

Purpose - Researchers agree that the choice of brand name for a product can alter the consumers' judgment about the product and their purchase decision-making process. With competition getting fiercer and product quality becoming more homogenous, a "better" brand name can be decisive in product choice if the consumers compare several products. The purpose of this research is to offer new physiological insights about how brand names are processed in the consumer's brain in order to identify potential determinants of "better" brand names. Design/methodology/approach - Using valence and activation ratings, reaction time, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the authors show the interaction of key brand name dimensions with the consumer purchase decision-making process, as well as the neurophysiological basis of consumer preference for certain types of brand names. Findings - The authors' research shows that it has a positive effect on consumer choice to include in the brand name hints at the key benefits of the underlying product. Practical implications - The authors' results demonstrate that fMRI is able to provide important insights for brand practitioners. Originality/value - Current research has neither focused on the interaction of brand name dimensions with the consumer purchase decision-making process nor provided insight about the physiological drivers of brand perception. In their research, the authors applied for the first time neurophysiological methodologies and fMRI to questions related to brand names, resolving questions that have not been answered due to the methodological limitations of social sciences.