Consumers question the motives behind unconventional spellings.
We already know one issue with inventing a spelling for your brand name: it fails the radio test, making it harder for people to find you online.
But new research shows that invented spellings also hurt brand acceptance.
Ariyh, a newsletter that summarizes marketing research, recently summarized the results of a research paper titled, “Choozing” the Best Spelling: Consumer Response to Unconventionally Spelled Brand Names. The research was reported in Journal of Marketing earlier this year.
The study found that people are less likely to buy from brands that have misspelled names compared to correctly spelled names. For example, people were 19.5% less likely to say they would download an app called “Daily Gainz” (vs “Daily Gains”).
The effect wasn’t universal. For example, the effect disappeared when people were looking for a memorable experience from the purchase.
Why the impact? It might not have to do with the credibility issue that a misspelled domains can bring. Ariyh notes:
When a brand misspells its name unusually, we assume it’s being done intentionally as a marketing tactic to persuade us, and a bad attempt to look cool.
This comes across as insincere, and we react negatively to the attempt to persuade us, and we’re less likely to buy.
Post link: One more reason to not use funky spellings in your company name
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