Description

"Respondents in five experiments were more likely to choose a brand, when the brand name started with letters from their names than when it did not, a choice phenomenon we call name letter branding. We propose that during a first stage an active need to self-enhance increases the positive valence of name letters themselves; and during stage 2 that positive name letter valence transfers to product specific attributes (e.g., taste of a beverage). Accordingly, when respondents form a brand preference (e.g., of beverages), activating a product specific need (e.g., need to drink) boosts the influence of this (transferred) valence."