🎓 Use a plural (vs singular) brand name

People are up to 13.4% more likely to prefer a plural brand name (e.g. Snickers), vs a singular one (e.g. Snicker) for a mainstream product.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 April 16, 2024 | [Read Online]( Use a plural (vs singular) brand name People are up to 13.4% more likely to prefer a plural brand name (e.g. Snickers), vs a singular one (e.g. Snicker) for a mainstream product. [Thomas McKinlay]( [fb]( [tw]( [in]( [email](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20Ariyh&body=Use%20a%20plural%20%28vs%20singular%29%20brand%20name%3A%20People%20are%20up%20to%2013.4%25%20more%20likely%20to%20prefer%20a%20plural%20brand%20name%20%28e.g.%20Snickers%29%2C%20vs%20a%20singular%20one%20%28e.g.%20Snicker%29%20for%20a%20mainstream%20product.%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Ftips.ariyh.com%2Fp%2Fuse-a-plural-brand-name) New to [Ariyh](? This is a 3min practical summary of a scientific study 🎓 Join 27,083 marketers who use science, not flawed opinions 📈 [Subscribe here]( Sometimes the most obvious influencers aren’t the top performers for your brand. (For example, the top performers for Tourlane, a travel company, are not travel influencers.) The trick is to go back to marketing basics. Instead of focusing on expensive influencers in your immediate category, think about who else reaches your ideal buyers. [This short guide]( walks you through how to find (and test) new influencer niches. [Read the free guide]( Want to sponsor Ariyh? [Here’s all you need to know](. 📝 Intro You’re working on launching a new brand of detergent. After several weeks, you’ve narrowed the name down to two options: - Stainbuster - Stainbusters Here’s why you should choose the second option, according to the latest scientific research. P.S.: In [last week's insight]( there was a typo in one of the reported experiments' results. The difference is 11.18% vs 7.19% (= 55.5% difference) and not 11.8% vs 7.19% (= 64.1% difference). This has now been corrected. Thank you for your understanding. Want to access hundreds more insights like these? [Explore Ariyh insights here](. People like plural brand names more Topics: Brand & Strategy For: B2C. Can be tested for B2B Research date: January 2024 Universities: Indian Institute of Management (Udaipur), Wilfrid Laurier University, and Elon University 📈 Recommendation When deciding on a brand name, use a word in plural form (e.g. Beats vs. Beat). If your product is for a mainstream audience, people will be more likely to like your brand. If you’re a premium brand, using either won’t make much of a difference. 🎓 Findings - People have more positive attitudes towards brands using the plural (e.g. Dunkin Donuts) compared to the singular (e.g. Dunkin Donut) form of their name. - As part of 4 experiments and analyses of 12,885 brand and mobile app names, researchers found that: - People were: - 13.4% more likely to prefer the name Fine Secrets (plural) compared to Fine Secret (singular) - 6.2% more likely to prefer the name Urban Elves vs Urban Elf for a delivery app - Large brand names with plural names (e.g. Snickers, Staples) had 12.3% better brand attitudes on average than brands with singular names (e.g. American Express) - The effect weakens or disappears for premium or brands focused on high quality. 🧠Why it works - When we see a word in the plural form, our mind perceives it as more than a single entity. It becomes part of a unified collection or [assemblage](. - This collection feels like a [coherent larger group](. This happens commonly with sports teams (e.g. Los Angeles Lakers) or family names (e.g. The Smiths). - We consider a unified group to be [more than just the sum of its parts](. This leads us to have a better opinion about these brands. 📉 Has your SEO strategy been shaken up by Google’s latest updates? Getting backlinks from relevant, high-authority sites is a tactic that has proven effective no matter how much the algorithm changes. The experts at [dofollow.com]( can help. - Links from DR75+ sites like Hubspot, BigCommerce, and 100s more - Full transparency with real-time reporting - Broken link replacement – so you won’t lose your investment See how you can boost your rankings today 👇 [Get your free backlink assessment]( This announcement was sponsored. Want your brand here? [Click here](. ✋ Limitations - The research was on English language names. In side experiments in seven other languages (e.g. German, Polish, Finnish, Turkish) the effect did not appear. - The study was on US-based English speakers. The effect may be different for English speakers in other cultures (e.g. the way some [words sound]( can have implications on brand perceptions). - There may be other ways to achieve the feeling that the brand is part of a larger group or collection. For example, making sure the logo, other visual elements, and fonts used give the look of a cohesive, unified brand. 🏢 Companies using this - Plural brand names are uncommon. Out of 570 well-known brands, only 82 (14%) had plural names. - Examples of mainstream brands that have plural names include: - Snickers - Whole Foods - Starbucks - Tim Hortons - Staples - Barclays Coffee brand Folgers has used a plural name, ever since P&G bought it in 1963 and removed the apostrophe from ‘Folger’s’. ⚡ Steps to implement - If you’re launching a new brand, or rebranding your existing product, think of using the plural form instead of the singular. The easiest way to do this is to add an -s at the end of your name (e.g. ACMES instead of ACME). - Be careful. If you’re trying to position your brand as a premium or high-quality brand, using a plural brand might not be as effective. - Apart from using the plural or singular form, when you’re developing your brand name and identity, keep in mind that: - [Feminine-sounding brands]( tend to be more popular and better liked. - [Short, easy-to-pronounce brand names]( are up to 31% more trustworthy to people. - People are up to 34% more likely to buy from brands if their [name is grammatically correct instead of creatively misspelled]( (e.g. Lift instead of Lyft). 🔍 Study type Online experiments and market observations (analyzing 12,315 Google Play mobile apps and 570 large brand names across 16 categories) 📖 Research [More the merrier: Effects of plural brand names on perceived entitativity and brand attitude](. Journal of Consumer Psychology (2024). 🏫 Researchers - [Tanvi Gupta.]( Indian Institute of Management Udaipur (IIMU) - [Shirley (Shuo) Chen.]( Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University - [Smaraki Mohanty](. Love School of Business, Elon University Remember: This is a new scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s [how science works](). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely. Rate today’s insight to help me make Ariyh's next insights 🎓 even more useful 📈 How was today’s insight? [Loved it]( | [Great]( | [Good]( | [Meh]( | [Bad]( Here’s how else Ariyh can help you: - 📈 Access 100s of insights and learn how other evidence-based marketers apply them, with [Ariyh Pro]( - 📘 Supercharge your business with Ariyh’s [Playbook of Pricing & Promotions]( or [Playbook of Ecommerce]( - 🎓 New to Ariyh? 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