문자와 숫자로 구성된 상표명을 사용하는 알파뉴메릭 브랜딩(예, 비타500)에 대한 기존의 연구들은 숫자 특성이 소비자의 제품평가에 영향을 미친다는 것을 보여주었다. 소비자들은 절대적 크기가 큰 숫자나 선호하는 숫자를 포함한 알파뉴메릭 브랜드를 더 선호하는 경향이 있다. 본 연구는 기존의 연구를 확장하여 소비자의 알파뉴메릭 브랜드에 대한 평가가 절대적인 숫자의 크기뿐만 아니라 지각된 숫자의 크기에도 영향을 받는다는 것을 제시하고자 한다. 기존의 수리인지심리학(numerical cognition)에서 제시된 왼쪽자리 효과(left-digit effect)에 따르면 동일한 숫자 차이일지라도 맨 왼쪽자리 숫자의 차이가 클수록 사람들은 그 차이를 더 크게 지각하는 경향이 있다. 본 연구는 알파뉴메릭 브랜드 평가에 있어서 나타나는 숫자 정보의 왼쪽자리 효과를 검증하였다. 두 실험 연구는 다음과 같은 결과를 제시하였다. 첫째, 알파뉴메릭 브랜드 평가에 있어서 왼쪽자리 효과가 존재하였다. 두 알파뉴메릭 브랜드의 맨 왼쪽 자리 숫자가 다른 경우 더 높은 숫자를 포함한 브랜드를 더 낮은 숫자를 포함한 브랜드보다 선호하였으나, 맨 왼쪽 자리 숫자가 같을 경우에는 이러한 차이는 나타나지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 알파뉴메릭 브랜드의 왼쪽자리 효과는 속성제시 여부에 따라 조절되었으며, 제품관련 속성 정보가 제시되지 않을 경우에만 알파뉴메릭 브랜드의 왼쪽자리 효과는 유의하였다. 셋째, 본 연구는 알파뉴메릭 브랜드의 왼쪽자리 효과가 제품에 대한 지식수준에 따라 달라질 것으로 기대하였으나, 유의한 조절효과를 발견하지 못하였다.
Alpha-numeric brands are defined as brand names including a mix of letters and numbers (e.g.,Vita 500). Previous research has shown that consumers' evaluation of an alpha-numeric brand is affected by the number included in the brand name. The evaluation is more favorable for the alpha-numeric brands with higher (vs. lower) numbers. The current research proposes that consumer evaluation of alpha-numeric brands is also affected by perceived magnitude of numbers (in addition to absolute magnitude). The left-digit effect in numerical cognition suggests that although the absolute difference between two numbers is the same, the gap is perceived to be greater when the difference in the left-most digit numbers is larger. The current research tests whether the left digit effect occurs for evaluations of alpha-numeric brands. The results of two studies strongly support the left digit effect for alpha-numeric brands. An alpha-numeric brand with a higher number is preferred to a brand with a lower number when the left-most digit was not the same, whereas the difference in evaluation was not significant when the left-most digit was the same. In addition, the left-digit effect was attenuated when detailed information about the options is presented. However, the moderating effect of consumer knowledge was not significant.
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