Towards a Classification of Brand Names in Mass Customization

Abstract

The importance of choosing the "right" brand name is well known in literature as well as in practice - at least for mass producers. But while the general phenomenon of mass customization gains more and more attention not only with regard to heterogeneous customers but also within research, aspects of the companies' communication towards the consumer and specifically the positioning of the brand lack fundamental research. Within the MC 500 Study we collected and analyzed 500 brand names of mass customization companies worldwide to get a first profound overview of the brand names' landscape that will later on serve as basis for deeper research.

While expecting mostly brand names consisting of a combination of "my" and the product's name (as "mymuesli" or "mytea") a profound analysis revealed four different categories of brand names that reflect different approaches towards the concept of brand names for mass customization companies.

Keywords: Mass Customization, Branding, Brand Names, Classification

JEL Classification: M31