IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v64y2022ics0969698921002903.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A sound brand identity design: The interplay between sound symbolism and typography on brand attitude and memory

Author

Listed:
  • Jun, Yesel
  • Lee, Hyunju

Abstract

A growing body of research testifies that humans naturally deduce certain images from auditory cues as they do from visual cues. In the context of branding, this paper bridges two streams of research to reveal how the interplay between the auditory and visual images embedded in brand identities influences consumer response. Study participants were exposed to brand logotypes whose brand name and typography either agree or disagree in the images they convey. The results revealed that audiovisual image congruence in brand identity leads to increased brand appeal and quality perception as well as memory. In addition, the effect of auditory images and that of visual images were found to equally influence associative mappings such that neither dominates the other. These findings provide an evidential ground to reason and further explore how business enterprises may effectively communicate their brand images through multisensory channels by providing guidance in the intuitive decision-making process involved in brand naming and visual identity development.

Suggested Citation

  • Jun, Yesel & Lee, Hyunju, 2022. "A sound brand identity design: The interplay between sound symbolism and typography on brand attitude and memory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:64:y:2022:i:c:s0969698921002903
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102724
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698921002903
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102724?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Foroudi, Pantea & Melewar, T.C. & Gupta, Suraksha, 2014. "Linking corporate logo, corporate image, and reputation: An examination of consumer perceptions in the financial setting," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2269-2281.
    2. Simola, Jaana & Kuisma, Jarmo & Kaakinen, Johanna K., 2020. "Attention, memory and preference for direct and indirect print advertisements," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 249-261.
    3. Ketron, Seth & Spears, Nancy, 2021. "Sound-symbolic signaling of online retailer sizes: The moderating effect of shopping goals," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    4. Jamel Khenfer & Caroline Cuny, 2020. "Brand preference in the face of control loss and service failure: The role of the sound of brands," Post-Print hal-03513414, HAL.
    5. Karim Errajaa & Bruno Daucé & Patrick Legoherel, 2020. "Consumer reactions to olfactory congruence with brand image," Post-Print hal-02395979, HAL.
    6. Xiaobing Xu & Rong Chen & Maggie Wenjing Liu, 2017. "The effects of uppercase and lowercase wordmarks on brand perceptions," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 449-460, September.
    7. Khurram, Mehreen & Qadeer, Faisal & Sheeraz, Muhammad, 2018. "The Role of Brand Recall, Brand Recognition and Price Consciousness in Understanding Actual Purchase," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 6(2), pages 219-241.
    8. Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E M & Baumgartner, Hans, 1992. "The Role of Optimum Stimulation Level in Exploratory Consumer Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 19(3), pages 434-448, December.
    9. Tina M. Lowrey & L. J. Shrum, 2007. "Phonetic Symbolism and Brand Name Preference," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(3), pages 406-414, June.
    10. Shrum, L.J. & Lowrey, T.M. & Luna, David & Lerman, D.B. & Liu, Min, 2012. "Sound symbolism effects across languages: Implications for global brand names," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 275-279.
    11. Doyle, John R. & Bottomley, Paul A., 2004. "Font appropriateness and brand choice," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(8), pages 873-880, August.
    12. Eric Yorkston & Gustavo E. De Mello, 2005. "Linguistic Gender Marking and Categorization," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(2), pages 224-234, September.
    13. Khenfer, Jamel & Cuny, Caroline, 2020. "Brand preference in the face of control loss and service failure: The role of the sound of brands," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    14. Errajaa, Karim & Daucé, Bruno & Legohérel, Patrick, 2020. "Consumer reactions to olfactory congruence with brand image," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    15. Netemeyer, Richard G. & Krishnan, Balaji & Pullig, Chris & Wang, Guangping & Yagci, Mehmet & Dean, Dwane & Ricks, Joe & Wirth, Ferdinand, 2004. "Developing and validating measures of facets of customer-based brand equity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 209-224, February.
    16. Ketron, Seth & Spears, Nancy, 2019. "Sounds like a heuristic! Investigating the effect of sound-symbolic correspondences between store names and sizes on consumer willingness-to-pay," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 285-292.
    17. Wen, Na & Lurie, Nicholas H., 2018. "The Case for Compatibility: Product Attitudes and Purchase Intentions for Upper versus Lowercase Brand Names," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 94(4), pages 393-407.
    18. Park, C. Whan & Eisingerich, Andreas B. & Pol, Gratiana & Park, Jason Whan, 2013. "The role of brand logos in firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 180-187.
    19. Pleyers, Gordy, 2021. "Shape congruence in product design: Impacts on automatically activated attitudes," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    20. Meyers-Levy, Joan, 1989. "The Influence of a Brand Name's Association Set Size and Word Frequency on Brand Memory," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 16(2), pages 197-207, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aner Tal & Yaniv Gvili & Moty Amar, 2021. "Visual Size Matters: The Effect of Product Depiction Size on Calorie Estimates," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Khanindra Ch. Das, 2023. "What Affects Startup Acquisition in Emerging Economy? Evidence from India," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 22(2), pages 111-134, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aekyoung Kim & Sam J. Maglio, 2021. "Text is gendered: the role of letter case," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 179-190, June.
    2. Daniel Kaimann & Clarissa Laura Maria Spiess Bru, 2023. "Sounds too Feminine? Brand Gender and The Impact on Professional Critics," Working Papers Dissertations 107, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    3. Li, Menglin & Jin, Yufang & Zhang, Jurui & Liu, Raymond, 2022. "Does shape in backgrounds matter? Effects of Shape–Taste congruence on product evaluations," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Vikas Singla & Nidhi Sharma, 2022. "Understanding Role of Fonts in Linking Brand Identity to Brand Perception," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(4), pages 272-286, November.
    5. Teng, Lefa & Xie, Chenxin & Liu, Tianjiao & Wang, Fan & Foti, Lianne, 2021. "The effects of uppercase vs. lowercase letters on consumers’ perceptions and brand attitudes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 164-175.
    6. Motoki, Kosuke & Park, Jaewoo & Pathak, Abhishek & Spence, Charles, 2022. "The connotative meanings of sound symbolism in brand names: A conceptual framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 365-373.
    7. George Doorn & Bryan Paton & Charles Spence, 2016. "Is J the new K? Initial letters and brand names," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(6), pages 666-678, November.
    8. Yu, Yining & Zhou, Xinyue & Wang, Lei & Wang, Qiuzhen, 2022. "Uppercase Premium Effect: The Role of Brand Letter Case in Brand Premiumness," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 335-355.
    9. Joana César Machado & Beatriz Fonseca & Carla Martins, 2021. "Brand logo and brand gender: examining the effects of natural logo designs and color on brand gender perceptions and affect," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(2), pages 152-170, March.
    10. Anker, Thomas Boysen, 2017. "Corporate democratic nation-building: Reflections on the constructive role of businesses in fostering global democracy," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 1-7.
    11. Jasmina Ilicic & Stacey M Baxter & Alicia Kulczynski, 2016. "The impact of age on consumer attachment to celebrities and endorsed brand attachment," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(3), pages 273-288, May.
    12. V. U. Vinitha & Deepak S. Kumar & Keyoor Purani, 2021. "Biomorphic visual identity of a brand and its effects: a holistic perspective," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(3), pages 272-290, May.
    13. Souiden, Nizar & Amara, Nabil & Chaouali, Walid, 2020. "Optimal image mix cues and their impacts on consumers’ purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    14. Xiaobing Xu & Rong Chen & Maggie Wenjing Liu, 2017. "The effects of uppercase and lowercase wordmarks on brand perceptions," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 449-460, September.
    15. Laurent Busca & Julien Grobert & Cyrielle Vellera, 2021. "Effect of congruent scent diffusion on individual creative fluidity: Mental imagery instruction and iconic stimulus as possible moderators," Post-Print hal-03256558, HAL.
    16. Alicia Kulczynski & Stacey Brennan & Jasmina Ilicic, 2021. "A spokesperson with any name won’t be as charming: the phonetic effect of spokesperson name and gender on personality evaluations," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(2), pages 221-239, March.
    17. Gloria Jiménez-Marín & Rodrigo Elías Zambrano & Araceli Galiano-Coronil & Rafael Ravina-Ripoll, 2021. "Business and Energy Efficiency in the Age of Industry 4.0: The Hulten, Broweus and Van Dijk Sensory Marketing Model Applied to Spanish Textile Stores during the COVID-19 Crisis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-10, April.
    18. Li, Mengyi & Ma, Qin-hai, 2022. "“Do not impose on others what you desire.†Research on the influence of service Personnel's interactive orientation on customer comfort," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    19. Lynch, John G. & Bradlow, Eric T. & Huber, Joel C. & Lehmann, Donald R., 2015. "Reflections on the replication corner: In praise of conceptual replications," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 333-342.
    20. Ari-Matti Erjansola & Jukka Lipponen & Kimmo Vehkalahti & Hanna-Mari Aula & Anna-Maija Pirttilä-Backman, 2021. "From the brand logo to brand associations and the corporate identity: visual and identity-based logo associations in a university merger," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(3), pages 241-253, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:64:y:2022:i:c:s0969698921002903. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.