Skip to main content

Can Advertisers Benefit from the Name-Letter- and Birthday-Number Effect?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: European Advertising Academy ((EAA))

Abstract

Definitions: Envision, your first name is Anne and you intend to order Pizza. There are two restaurants to do this service: Alfredo and Luigi. Would your choice be affected by the congruence of the initial letter of your first name and Alfredo? If you respond favorably to this commonality, your behavior is affected by the name-letter effect (Nuttin, 1985; Coulter and Grewal, 2014).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Brendl, C. M.; Chattopadhyay, A.; Pelham, B. W. and M. Carvallo (2005), “Name Letter Branding: Valence Transfers when Product Specific Needs are Active,” Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 32 (3), 405-415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coulter, K. S. and D. Grewal (2014), “Name-Letters and Birthday-Numbers: Implicit Egotism Effects in Pricing,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 78 (3), 102-120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, A. G. and M. R. Banaji (1995), “Implicit Social Cognition: Attitudes, Self-Ésteem, and Stereotypes,” Psychological Review, Vol. 102 (1), 4-27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoorens, V. and E. Todorova (1988), “The Name Letter Effect: Attachment to Self or Primacy of Own Name Writing?” European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 18 (4), 365-368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoorens, V. and J. M. Nuttin (1993), “Overvaluation of Own Attributes: Mere Ownership or Sub-jective Frequency?” Social Cognition, Vol. 11 (2), 177-200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. T.; Pelham, B. W.; Carvallo, M. and M. C. Mirenberg (2004), “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Js: Implicit Egotism and Interpersonal Attraction,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 87 (5), 665-683.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. T.; Pelham, B. W.; Mirenberg, M. C. and J. J. Hetts (2002), “Name Letter Preferences are not Merely Mere Exposure: Implicit Egotism as Self-Regulation,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 38 (2), 170-177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitayama, S. and M. Rarasawa (1997), “Implicit Self-Esteem in Japan: Name Letters and Birthday Numbers,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 23 (7), 736-742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koole, S. L and B. W. Pelham (2003), “On the Nature of Implicit Self-Esteem: The Case of the Name Letter Effect,” in: Motivated Social Perception: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 9, pp. 93-116). Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, L. D. and J. P. Simmons (2007), “Moniker Maladies when Names Sabotage Success,” Psychological Science, Vol. 18 (12), 1106-1112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nuttin, J. M. (1985), “Narcissism beyond Gestalt and Awareness: The Name Letter Effect,” European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 15 (3), 353-361.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nuttin, J. M. (1987), “Affective Consequences of Mere Ownership: The Name Letter Effect in Twelve European Languages,” European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 17 (4), 381-402.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelham, B. W.; Mirenberg, M. C. and J. T. Jones (2002), “Why Susie Sells Seashells by the Sea-Shore: Implicit Egotism and Major Life Decisions,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 82 (4), 469-487.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zajonc, R. B. (1968), “Attitudinal Effects of Mere Exposure,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 9.2 (2), 1-27

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara Keller .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Keller, B., Gierl, H. (2017). Can Advertisers Benefit from the Name-Letter- and Birthday-Number Effect?. In: Zabkar, V., Eisend, M. (eds) Advances in Advertising Research VIII. European Advertising Academy. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18731-6_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics