What should we call this color? The influence of color‐naming on consumers' attitude toward the product

Abstract

AbstractMany companies use unique color names to differentiate products, attract consumer attention, and promote sales. This study categorizes the names of colors in detail, and uses schema incongruity and affect regulation theory to elucidate the effects of color names with different typicality and ambiguity. We identify the underlying mechanism and explore how color attribute importance and color name valence moderate the effects of the color name. The results of five studies show the following: (a) atypical‐low ambiguity color names (vs. atypical‐high ambiguity and typical color names) create a more favorable consumer attitude toward the product; (b) when color is the primary attribute of the product, typical color names are more effective; when color is a secondary attribute, atypical color names yield more favorable effects; (c) for positively‐valenced color names, an atypical‐low ambiguity naming method yields a better response, while for negatively‐valenced color names, an atypical‐high ambiguity naming method yields a more favorable response; and (d) the color‐naming effects are mediated by perceived product uniqueness or playfulness, depending on different conditions.