무의미 조어 브랜드명의 음성 상징에 따른 소비자 반응 연구- 국어 음성 상징을 중심으로 -

Consumer responses to brand names are determined not only by what they mean but also by how they sound(i.e., sound symbolism). Perception of product attributes depends partly on sound symbolism of the brand name if it is a nonword. Prior researches on sound symbolism of the brand names have been conducted mainly on American consumers’ brand responses to the English brand names. So, little research to date has been performed to examine Korean consumers’ reactions to the sound symbols of the brand names made of Korean vowels and consonants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Korean consumers’ brand choice responses to the sound symbolism of nonword brand names made of Korean vowels and consonants. The survey, based on questionnaire, was used to conduct this research. The data were complied and analyzed using χ²-test. It was revealed that (a) there were significant differences in consumers’ brand choice responses to the sound symbols of the brand names between with Korean bright and with dark vowels. Products with brand names made of Korean bright vowels have more dynamic, light, clear, small, sharp, thin, fast, little, and weak attributes compared to dark ones. (b) products with the brand names made of Korean dark vowels have more reversed attributes compared to bright ones. (c) there were relatively significant differences in consumers’ brand choice responses to the sound symbols of the brand names with among different consonants in Korean. Products with the brand names made of slightly aspirated consonants in Korean have more soft and mild attributes compared to heavily aspirated and unaspirated ones. (d) products with the brand names made of unaspirated consonants in Korean have more strong, hard, and rough attributes compared to slightly aspirated and heavily aspirated ones. (e) Products with the brand names made of voiced consonants in Korean possess more soft, happy, and feminine attributes compared to voiceless consonants. Additionally, theoretical and managerial implications of brand naming using Korean sound symbolism based on this study are discussed.