A good brand name hits us right in the brain’s amygdale (the part of the brain involved in the process and memory of emotional reactions) and most of our purchases fulfill psychological rather than physical needs. Top brand names are memorized by toddlers, as are easy to remember taglines. Today’s logos take the place of family emblems or crests of the days of yore. We use brand logos to identify who we are by placing them on the clothes we wear and the cars we drive. It’s no secret that the packaging and iconography of an item have a lot to do with what we decide to purchase. Studies have shown that within two minutes of seeing an item, we have made the call of whether or not to buy. Even color can have a lot to do with the decision. Some names, arouse our curiosity and demand our attention, which is vital to the success of a product or brand name. But long term, a brand name or product name that creates an emotional connection is preferred and insulates from price competition. Some new research in Psychological Science from The Association forPsychological Science, tells us that human beings tend to find unpronounceable product names risky. Two made up food items were put head to head, Magnalroxate and Hnegripitrom, and the latter, which is almost impossible to pronounce, was declared by consumers to be the most dangerous. Additionally, a fictional amusement park ride called the “Vaiveahtoishi” was perceived as being more dangerous than the pronounceable “Chunta.” Of course, these finding have obvious implications in the naming and branding business.Tylenol’s scientific name, N-acetyl-p-aminophenol, will certainly have to be hidden from consumers, while tea ingredients including glucopyranosyl-fructofuran may send some consumers running scared. Even more interesting is that we underestimate the risk attached to items that are familiar sounding. Risk, it turns out, is much more of an intuitive process than we used to think. This news could not come at a worse time for household cleaning brand names, which already have plenty of suspicion around them. New legislation may even force name brand cleaners to disclose their chemical ingredients, which would actually be a reactivation of a 1976 New York State law that has been ignored for decades. People won’t like the sound of even the safe ingredients, never mind the bad stuff. However, this is all good news for eco-friendly brand name cleaning products, which often consist of ingredients we know and trust. One green blogger puts it this way: “The most eco-friendly cleaning products are those where you recognize all of the ingredients on the label and know they are harmless.” Brand names like Green Irene use the slogan “Simple. Pure. Clean.” to convey this message, while other products are given the Green Seal of approval by third parties. In the end, it may be the simplicity around the brand names of these products that give them an advantage, rather than their eco-friendliness. Even 60 milliseconds of exposure to a brand name can affect a person’s “shopping goals,” which says volumes about how quickly we recognize brand naming and product naming as we go about our daily lives. The authors of a recent article suggests that “this provides the first evidence that such brands can automatically activate purchase goals in individuals and that these behavior can influence consumers’ product preferences without their awareness or conscious intent.” What is especially interesting is how one brand name like Walmart, for instance, affects the choices we make in regard to other brand names. If we are going out to buy a microwave, even seeing the Walmart sign (but not going there) might encourage me to buy a lower priced, bargain brand name. Matthew Hudson at Psychology Today has concluded that “Advertising is Magic” and extrapolates from this, as others have, that seeing a brand name like Apple might prompt our creativity, while seeing the North Face logo might push us up the stairs faster. He points to a paper that claimed that people viewed an endurance activity as a “positive challenge” upon seeing a Gatorade bottle in front of them. That’s right, after just seeing it.The way brand naming works on our subconscious is a subject that has been thoroughly studied, but this new research seems to suggest that we are easily affected by the brand naming that surrounds us all whether we are aware of it or not, and that one brand may actually affect the sales of another. If one thing is for sure, it’s that good brand naming has an immediate and visceral affect on consumers, and their capacity to absorb thousands of these a day seems confirmed. Visual and Verbal Cue to the Art of Brand Naming Imagery and “the right choice of words” (including a good brand name) act like a “hammer and a nail” to bring home the emotional effect of the brand. The old adage that a “picture is worth 1000 words” is correct, but a good brand name is worth just about as much. If you doubt that, ask people what the name Apple brings to mind, or Nike or Coke. You’ll get a mouthful because these brand names are loaded with meaning. Most research supports this, of course. The Branding Strategy Insider, in fact, discussing how people in this business suffer from “wordophobia, a morbid fear of words” but noting that in fact the words behind the imagery carry the ultimate message to the consumer. It is tempting to believe that visual cues are all important, but I of course do not subscribe to this. At least one study discovered that “when visuals are associated with the target information, such as a brand name, then memory for the brand is enhanced.” Brand naming, the creation of slogans and copy all have become even more important as consumers begin to interact with brands via mobile apps that are information heavy. The text and naming you use to communicate the brand message, have never been more important.