Naming research testing brand names in terms of consumer preferences
Naming research is usually conducted during the development of a new brand or the rebranding of an existing brand. The testing procedure is a very important naming tool.
Naming – the process of developing a brand name (for a product, service, or company)
When creating a new brand, it is important not to make a mistake with the choice of its name. It is not uncommon for a brand to fail in the market because of an unsuccessful name. Finding out what will attract and what will repel the target audience is possible only with the help of special research methods. Employees of the agency Smart City Entertainment will conduct a study of the proposed names for the brand and identify the most appropriate.
Peculiarities in the choice of names for the future brand
The purpose of the research is to predict the reaction of the consumer environment to the name in terms of its impact on the decision to buy the product and the image component. It should be noted that the complex research activities allow evaluation of the already existing options of brand names, but do not assume as a result of the invention of a new name.
One of the goals of the research is to find out whether the name corresponds to the values of the target brand consumers. However, Russia is a large country, and there may be local peculiarities in different regions. Therefore, to reflect the opinion of all consumers, cities characterizing a certain group of cities of the Russian Federation (by social, demographic characteristics, etc.) are selected.
Potential consumers of the brand are selected for testing, for example, buyers of products from the product category in which the TM is introduced.
Why name testing is needed
After the study, you will know exactly how consumers react to the name of your brand, how it affects the image of the company, and the decision to buy. Each of the name variants is tested, and as a result, it is possible to find out:
- Readability of the key brand message;
- Does the name match the brand positioning;
- Does the name match the product category;
- Whether or not it prompts a purchase;
- Memorability level;
- Associations, related images;
- The presence of secondary meanings (including negative connotations) that the brand carries;
- Ease, the correctness of reading and pronunciation;
- Emotional response to the name;
- Perception in comparison with the names of competing brands;
- Whether or not it corresponds to the social, ethnic, and cultural identity of the target audience.
Additional testing tasks are defined together with the customer depending on the specific project.
Methods of naming research
Qualitative and quantitative research methods are used in testing.
often focus groups are used for in-depth analysis of the names of brands in the mass-market segment. For brands in the b2b segment, where it is not easy to agree with the representatives of the target audience to participate, the study is more often conducted in the format of customer development with respondents.
The task of the qualitative method is to identify the readability of the key message, which is provided by the brand platform, the chain of associations, and the readability of the name of the brand. Situational modeling, product shelf modeling, and rating construction are also required.
Quantitative testing involves questioning the target group on a formalized questionnaire.
By applying qualitative and quantitative types of brand research, we get the most complete picture of the target audience’s perception of name choices.