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Apply alliteration for more memorable marketing

Posted on Monday, December 17th, 2007 at 10:52 PM by Simon Smith  |  Comments (0)

For evidence, just check your fridge or belt strap. Think of your favorite brands—Coca Cola, BlackBerry—and you might notice a common theme: alliteration.

To some, the connection between a strong brand and the repetition of sounds might seem farfetched. But researchers have studied the impact of alliteration and found that it may indeed aid memorability. In fact, studies have shown that alliteration is such a powerful mnemonic that providing students with alliterative sentences can help them more easily learn a new language.

Then there are the real-world examples, which include such well-known brand names as Gold’s Gym, Dunkin’ Donuts, Weight Watchers, Volvo, Palm Pilot and Krispy Kreme.

Clearly, something is going on here.   

Stick it in your ear

Of course, alliteration’s just one approach to branding. (And product naming’s not the focus of this post. For a good recent book on that subject, check out Wordcraft: The Art of Turning Little Words Into Big Business.)

The point is to demonstrate the power of alliteration in creating copy that infects readers’ minds, slips past their conscious filters and recurs later like a catchy tune they can’t forget.

To demonstrate, consider these fictitious marketing slogans that express the same core concept:

1. Your path to personal power
2. Your road to personal strength

Or how about these:

1. Find your freedom 
2. Discover your  freedom

Which one sticks in your ear? While word length and rhythm play a role in memorability, alliteration can often make a meaningful difference.

So next time you’re preparing to name a product or tackle a new tagline, spend some time carefully considering your consonants.

Tags: alliteration, branding, copywriting, stickiness