Incongruence in Brand Names and Its Effect on Consumer Preference

Purpose – Brand name is one of the determining factors of a brand’s success. Simple brand names capable of capturing consumers’ attention will make them easy to remember and get to perceive the brand. The significance of brand names has caused practitioners to have high consideration in determining brand names for products. With the sprouting up of new SME-based businesses in Indonesia, it is worth studying how these new businesses name their products. Specifi cally, we aim to analyze how diff erent brand name designs aff ect consumer preference. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study employed a 3x2 experimental method where respondents were exposed to three types of fi ctional brand names that were congruent (e.g., Coff ee Corner), incongruent (e.g., d’Coff ee Corner) and highly incongruent (e.g., d’Koff ee Korner), the respondents’ evaluation was observed through their preference against 3 types of brand name congruence and the use of Indonesian and English in the brands. The analysis technique utilized was a two-way ANOVA. Findings and Implications – The results indicated that congruent brand names had the highest eff ect on consumer preference in comparison to incongruent and Sažetak Svrha – Naziv marke jedan je od odlučujućih čimbenika njezina uspjeha. Jednostavni nazivi koji mogu privući pažnju potrošača omogućuju im lako pamćenje i percipiranje marke. Važnost naziva dovela je do toga da praktičari obraćaju veliku pozornost određivanju naziva marke za proizvode. S rastom novih malih i srednjih poduzeća u Indoneziji, važno je proučiti kako ona dodjeljuju nazive svojim proizvodima. Konkretnije, cilj je analizirati kako različito oblikovanje naziva marke utječe na preferenciju potrošača. Metodološki pristup – Istraživanje primjenjuje 3x2 eksperimentalnu metodu u kojoj su ispitanici izloženi trima vrstama izmišljenih naziva marke; podudarajućem (npr. Coff ee Corner), nepodudarajućem (npr. d’Coff ee Corner), te izrazito nepodudarajućem (npr. d’Koff ee Korner). Procjena je provedena kroz njihove preferencije u odnosu na tri vrste podudarnosti naziva marke te uporabu indonezijskog i engleskog jezika u markama. Za analizu je korištena dvosmjerna ANOVA. Rezultati i implikacije – Rezultati su pokazali da su podudarajući u usporedbi s nepodudarajućim i vrlo nepodudarajućim nazivima marke imali najveći utjecaj na preferenciju potrošača. Međutim uporaba indonezijskog i engleskog jezika u markama nije pokazala značajnu razliku u potrošačkim preferencijama. Market-Tržište Vol. 31, No. 1, 2019, pp. 83-96 UDK 658.89:658.626(594) DOI http://dx.doi. org/10.22598/mt/2019.31. 1.83 Preliminary communication Ferdian Hendrasto, Bagus Ibnu Utama 84 Vo l. 31 , N o. 1 , 2 01 9, p p. 8 396 highly incongruent brand names. The use of Indonesian and English in the brand names, however, showed no signifi cant diff erence on consumer preference. Limitation – The main limitation of this study consists in localized research samples and objects. Consequently, the result may not be the same in a wider, more general environment. Originality – This research study contributes to the examination of brand designs by applying the theory of incongruence as a foundation for the analysis. It adds to the existing knowledge by investigating consumer preference on diff erently designed, new brand names.