Is it the 'Alpha' or the 'Numeric'? : Consumers’ Evaluation of Letter versus Number Changes in Alphanumeric Brand Names

This paper, in five experiments, delineates the effects of alpha and numeric components of alphanumeric brand names (ANBs), by demonstrating the effects of disparities in processing between letter and number sequences on consumers' brand evaluations. Findings show (i) ascending letters in ANBs (from D10 to E10) lead to more favorable evaluations of line extensions than descending letters in ANBs (from D10 to C10), (ii) line extensions are evaluated more favorably when a line extension ANB is formed with a change in number (from A70 to A80) (vs. a change in letter) (from A70 to B70) for an existing ANB, (iii) consumers' tendency to align brand numbers with product advancements mediates the relative effects of numbers vs. letters in brand names and (iv) the observed effects are robust to differences in stimuli and context