Chinese consumers’ perception of alpha‐numeric brand names

Two studies were conducted to examine Chinese consumers’ responses to alpha‐numeric brand names. Results to the first study found that certain letters and numbers were considered to be luckier than others. The lucky letters and numbers were A, S, and 8, while the unlucky ones were F, Z, and 4. Reasons for the perceived luckiness of the numbers were based on homonym and phonetics; while for the letters, they were based on the association with the educational grade and position in the alphabet. In the second study, the results showed that products with lucky alpha‐numeric brand names were perceived to be luckier, and have better quality and greater success than those with unlucky brand names. Additionally, brand names with a lucky number were perceived more favorably than those with a lucky letter even though the accompanying letter/number was unlucky. Offers theoretical and managerial implications and suggests directions for future research.