The semantics and pragmatics of brand names : a case study of Thailand’s exported food product brand names

Abstract

The importance of brand names and brand naming is widely recognized in today’s business practices. Previous studies have attempted to suggest different ways for brand naming; however, most works often ignore the semantic and pragmatic dimensions of brand names. Although the semantics and pragmatics of brand names are proved to be crucial to the success of product branding in several marketing cases, they are not clearly formulated as an effective way for successful brand naming. The objectives of the present study are: 1) to establish semantic and pragmatic guidelines for brand naming, 2) to identify the preferable semantic and pragmatic properties of brand names, and 3) to indicate important semantic and pragmatic factors in brand naming. To fulfill the objectives, Thailand’s exported food product brand names were used as the case study. Three sets of data were collected for the investigation. The first data set contains 175 brand names from five food product categories, i.e. rice products, frozen and chilled foods, canned and instant foods, snacks and candies, and food ingredients and seasonings, investigated. The second and the third data set are intended meanings and interpreted meanings of those brand names. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively based on the the concept of Sense and Reference (Frege, 1892 and Lyons, 1977), Cooperative Principle (Grice, 1975) and Relevance Theory (Sperber and Wilson 1985/1995). The study results suggest five-step brand naming guidelines, which are based on the preferable semantic and pragmatic properties of the brand names studied. In the first step, the brand name creators are required to investigate market environments in order to make general understanding about the markets. In the second step, the brand name creators have to set a clear objective of brand naming. The first and the second step are considered concerning the pragmatic dimension of brand names. In the third step, the brand name creators need to select lexical items and a presentation method that best represent their intentions. This step pertains to the semantic properties of brand names. In the fourth step, the brand name creators may have to measure comprehensibility of the selected brand names. In the fifth step, the brand name creators are required to design additional texts and images, e.g. logos, slogans, descriptions, etc. that enrich the brand name comprehensibility in the markets. The last two steps are mainly concerned with the pragmatic dimension. In summary, to create an effective brand name, the brand name creators need to focus on three semantic and pragmatic factors: 1) market environments, 2) brand naming intentions, and 3) comprehensibility of the brand names.