Lab42 Client Case Study: Name Testing

BACKGROUND

Our client, a consulting group, wanted to conduct quantitative name research on behalf of their client, a national fast food chain, to understand whether they need to change their current name. Seven new names were considered and compared to the current name. The new names tested consisted of the client’s name and a descriptor. The winning name would have to help the brand maintain its current equity but also elevate the brand’s quality perceptions.

At the conclusion of the research, the end client would make a go or no go decision on the name change and decide what specific name to use, as well as redesign their logo, inform store redesign strategy and potentially marketing.

SOLUTION

Lab42 utilized their unique sequential name test methodology and obtained respondents through social media channels, loyalty rewards and mobile applications to collect 600 respondents who met the following criteria:

• Ages 22-60 years old
• Income $75k+ OR if ages 22-30 income can be $50k+
• Must eat from the category at least 1 time a month
• Quotas were set to ensure we have an equal split of current customers and non-customers

STUDY DESIGN

The study was designed as a sequential test where all respondents viewed and evaluated all 8 names.

KEY FINDINGS

• The current name of the end client performed better overall, perhaps because it already carried equity, especially among their current customers.
• A second name, that included a descriptor that had very positive connotations of freshness and quality also performed better than the rest of the names. This name performed better among non-customers.
• Overall, this name test revealed that consumers are very nuanced and when prompted with the appropriate questions, they can distinguish and express differences and preferences even among names that sound very similar.

IMPACT

Our client had 2 clear winners based on the results of the name test: One of the names was very appealing among customers, while the other among non-customers.

In addition, as a result of the study results, the client decided to do more internal cost/benefit analysis before moving forward with a name change, as the name change would only be the first step in a series of strategic changes that they would be making which required a big investment to implement.