Figurative brand identity signs

: the influence of brand name and logo figurativeness on consumer responses

Abstract

Name and logo are considered the two main identity signs of a brand, due to the crucial role they play in its identification and differentiation. Several authors have acknowledged the influence that these brand elements can have on consumers´ judgements, and, consequently, on their decision-making process. In this sense, it is important that companies follow proper guidelines for selecting brand names and logos, since they can lead to a significant competitive advantage. Therefore, the present paper aims to understand how figurative brand name and logo design influences consumers´ effective and cognitive responses, as well as their purchase intention. To investigate these topics, a quantitative research was conducted through an online survey, distributed in Portugal. The sample was composed of 315 participants, who were evenly and randomly distributed into nine experimental groups. Through the quasi-experimental approach, it was possible to manipulate the stimuli presented, which consisted of nine fictitious names and logos whose designs ranged from highly abstract to highly figurative. The results of the analytical procedures performed on IBM SPSS Statistics V.28 revealed that figurative (vs. abstract) names and logos can significantly enhance affect, recall, recognition, and associations towards these brand identity signs, as well as increase consumer purchase intention. Thus, this research provides useful insights and validates a decision tree to select names and logos that improve consumers’ affective, cognitive, and conative responses.

Date of Award	12 Jul 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Joana Machado (Supervisor)