Tastlé-Nestlé, Toogle-Google: The Effects of Similarity to Familiar Brand Names in Brand Name Innovation

36 Pages Posted: 25 Nov 2015

See all articles by Ann Kronrod

Ann Kronrod

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management

Tina M. Lowrey

HEC Paris - Marketing

Date Written: September 28, 2015

Abstract

When developing new brand names, marketers face the dilemma of how similar their new brand name is or should be to familiar brand names in the market. The current research tests the complete range of conditions exploring how the degree of similarity of a new brand name to an existing one may affect attitudes toward the new brand name. The authors first replicate an inverted-U pattern suggested by congruency theories. However, this result holds only in the case of positive pre-existing attitudes toward familiar brand names. Additional tests demonstrate a U-shaped pattern in the case of negative attitudes toward familiar brand names, and a linear relation between similarity and attitudes in the case of no pre-existing attitudes toward familiar brand names. A field study replicates these findings, testing actual choice of products that bear different levels of resemblance to real positive and negative brand names (Oreo and Spam).

Keywords: Brand name, Branding, Brand attitudes, Similarity, Familiarity, Innovation

Suggested Citation

Kronrod, Ann and Lowrey, Tina, Tastlé-Nestlé, Toogle-Google: The Effects of Similarity to Familiar Brand Names in Brand Name Innovation (September 28, 2015). HEC Paris Research Paper No. MKG-2015-1121, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2694525

Ann Kronrod (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management ( email )

100 Main Street
E62-416
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/kronrodann/

Tina Lowrey

HEC Paris - Marketing ( email )

Paris
France

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