The relation between brand-name linguistic characteristics and brand-name memory

Copytesting results from a commercial copytesting firm were used to assess the relation between the presence of linguistic features in brand names and memory for those names. Brand names in the ads being tested (n = 480) were coded on 23 linguistic properties, of which I I occurred with sufficient frequency to be retained for analysis. Regression analyses tested for the association between linguistic properties of the brand names and brand-name memory as a function of brand-name familiarity, controlling for executional variables. Results revealed that three linguistic variables were positively related to brand-name memory (semantic appositeness, paranomasia, initial plosives), but only for less familiar brands. Two linguistic variables showed main effects for brand-name memory: unusual spelling (positive) and blending (negative). However, the effects for unusual spelling and blending were also qualified by the same interaction with familiarity: The effects were stronger for less familiar brands than they were for more familiar brands. These results are interpreted within Craik and Lockhart's (1972) depth of processing framework and implications for the naming of brands are discussed.