Asac 2008 Does Type Font Affect Consumers' Brand Memory?8 Type Font Characteristics and Their Impact on Consumer Responses Type Font and Consumer Perceptions

Type font is a visual brand element that has received only limited attention in the marketing literature, despite its important role in brand communication. Type font is used extensively as a brand communication tool in print advertising, in-store displays, product packaging, coupons, and brand logos (Childers & Jass, 2002). Research also suggests that type font influences managerially relevant brand related consumer responses. These include brand perceptions (Childers & Jass, 2002), readability of advertisements (McCarthy & Mothersbough, 2002), memorability of advertising claims (Childers & Jass, 2002), and brand attitude if type font image and product image are congruent (Pan and Schmitt 1996). Some authors have even linked type font use to organizations’ financial performance (Bloch 1995; cf. Henderson, Giese, & Cote 2004). As there is an apparent lack of research on the impact of type font on consumers’ recall and recognition of brand names, however, the objective of the current research is to explore whether and to what extent type font used without additional semantic information about the brand (e.g., when seen on signage or coupons) results in higher levels of brand recall and recognition, and what type font characteristics drive such an effect.