Luxury brands and linguistics: What does luxury sound like?

This article covers the specific linguistics of successful luxury brand names and offers a scientific framework for what makes a brand name portray luxury to consumers with ‘sound symbolism’.

Luxury is a subjective concept; what may be a luxurious treat to some can be an everyday item to others. However, there are traits that help identify a brand as a luxury item. How a brand name sounds, how it rolls off the tongue, and how the brain interprets and processes each sound within the name can deliver a wealth of information to consumers.

Recently, together with Dr Carlos Velasco of the BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, we set out to uncover what it is that makes a brand sound luxurious and whether it may be possible to establish...

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