BY ANNA BIRKHOLZ
Keller, Heckler, Houston and Michaels (1998) assert that brand name is a key factor in viewers' recall of advertisements. One hundred and sixty participants were asked to view television advertisements two times, two days apart. Memory of two types of products: brand names that conveyed the type of product in the advertisement ("Scrub and Suds Detergent") and those brand names that did not, were then examined for different levels of recall. Recall was measured by the participants' ability to associate the correct brand name with the product statistic in question. Participants' levels of recall were tested for product type recognition and memory of product characteristics from the brand names. The results support that suggestive brand names promote a higher recall of product recognition. In contrast, non-suggestive brand names were correlated with a higher retention of advertised product characteristics. Implications of this study could lead to more successful marketing from choice of brand name, and better advertising emphasis placed on product type or characteristics according to brand name. Selective purchasing insight can be gained, by customers, from mainstream publication of this and other research that supports better memory of aspects of products (either product type or characteristics) from brand name selection by the manufacturer. More selective consumerism may be promoted by an understanding of the customer, that a predisposition to a specific product exists because of brand name or product benifits recognition.
REFERENCE
Keller, Heckler, Houston, Micaels.(1998) The effects of brand name on advertising recall. Journal of Marketing, 62(1) 48-57.