Stay close but not too close: The role of similarity in the cross-gender extension of patronymic brands

Isabelle Ulrich, Salim Azar and Isabelle Aimé
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Isabelle Ulrich: NEOMA - Neoma Business School
Salim Azar: CY - CY Cergy Paris Université, USJ - Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth
Isabelle Aimé: Kedge BS - Kedge Business School

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Abstract: This research builds on similarity theory in order to understand the key success factors of brand naming strategies for the cross-gender extension of female patronymic brands targeting men. Study 1 demonstrates that the most common naming strategy – adding a "Men" descriptor to the brand name – does not significantly increase brand attitude as the perceived brand masculinity cannot be enhanced for men. Study 2 extends Study 1 bytesting two more distant brand naming strategies: (1) dropping the first name and (2) using brand initials. The results show an inverted-U relationship pattern that reveals the key role of similarity: Dropping the first name has the most positive impact on brand extension attitude, purchase intention, and spillover effect. By contrast, the strategy using brand initials is too dissimilar from the initial brand name to be attractive to men. These findings provide managerial implications for practitioners considering a cross-gender brand extension strategy.

Keywords: Brand gender; Patronymic brand; Brand strategy; Brand names; Brand personality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ipr
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://cyu.hal.science/hal-03065882
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published in Journal of Business Research, 2020, 120, pp.157-174. ⟨10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.027⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03065882

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.027

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