The Surprising Truth About Product Names with Numbers
Intel Core Duo 2, Canon PowerShot A430 and Volvo S12. Including a number in your company name or product can help your brand resonate with consumers. But not just any number -- we like some digits more than others, it turns out.
According to recent research published in the April issue of Journal of Marketing Research, numbers such as 10, 12, and 24 have particular meaning to us. We are comfortable with them. They are like old friends. Why? Because they are answers to common grade school questions, according to researchers Dan King of the National University of Singapore and Chris Janiszewski of the University of Florida.
People polled for an experiment preferred a made up brand name of Zinc 24 over Zinc 31 or just plain Zinc.
Here are some of their other findings in the paper The Sources and Consequences of the Fluent Processing of Numbers:
- Smaller is better. Consumers prefer small numbers -- one or two digits -- to high counters such such as 763 or 1,040.
- Rounded numbers are better. Just as it's easier to process a two-digit number than a four-digit number, even numbers act upon us in the same way. Should you name your hair-gel Formula 57 or Formula 50? The latter might be the safer bet (but don't tell the Heinz 57 folks!)
- Subconscious works better. If the Saab 12 ad includes a license plate of the number 26, we subconsciously do the math: 2x6 = 12. Very satisfying!
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