1

BUAD 473-010
Group Project #2
Topic 2b: Enhancing Memory for Brands
Group Members:
Joe Corrigan
Devin Nugent
Megan Reilly
Jessica Scott

The goal of the project is to test two memory devices and their efficacy in regards to
brand recognition and retention. The two memory devices being tested are chunking and
descriptive names. Memory devices like these are important to marketers because any tactic
that aids brand recognition or retention is invaluable. A marketers goal is to have the consumer
remember or have some relationship with their brand in the hopes that they will be more
inclined to purchase it. It would be best to know which memory devices, if any, work best, and
that is the goal of this project.
The first memory device, chunking, simply, is dividing information into smaller, more
cohesive groups (or chunks) in an effort to make the information more digestible to the
consumer in the hopes of increasing the amount of important information retained or
remembered. The second memory device is descriptive names. So, instead of just a catchy
name or unrelated title, the name describes the product in some way (Rays Raincoat Vs.
Desert-Dry Raincoat).
To test these two memory devices, a forty participant experiment was conducted that
tested a persons retention rate with neither of the devices, with one device, and with both
devices. It was hypothesized that there would be a marked retention (what product names
participants remember) improvement with the addition of either memory device, and an even
greater retention rate when both are employed. So, as more memory devices are used, the
more a participant will remember the product.
To test this hypothesis, there were two lists of the same products created. One list had
non-descriptive names and the other had descriptive names. Each of these lists were then

duplicated, one for random order and one with the products chunked (products in similar
classes were placed next to each other). These four lists can be seen in Figure 1 on page 6.
There were then four lists to use for the test:
1. Randomly ordered, non-meaningful (control)
2. Randomly ordered, meaningful (one variable)
3. Chunked list, non-meaningful (one variable)
4. Chunked list, meaningful (two variables)
Each list was presented to different groups of ten people (no one saw more than one
list) for testing. Participants were given three minutes with the list and asked to rank them in
order by best name. After the three minutes was up, the list was taken away and subjects were
talked to about a separate, unrelated topic for five minutes. After that, participants were given
blank sheets numbered one through fifteen and asked to write down all of the brand names
they could remember. They were allowed a maximum of eight minutes. Following that, they
were given a second sheet with just product categories to see if they could fill in any more
brand names. (The sheets they were given can be found on pages 7 and 8, respectively. Figure 2
was given to participants with descriptively named product, and Figure 3 was given to
participants with non-descriptively named products). After eight minutes, the sheets were
collected and the experiment concluded.
The experiment was conducted on forty college aged men and women around campus.
This was done out of convenience, but also for consistencys sake. Since they all are from the
same demographic, there is less chance of confounding variables.

The data collected can be seen in figures 4a and 4b on pages 9 and 10. The data results show
that without any other aid (figure 4a), participants most easily remembered the product names
when they were chunked (an average of 8.2 out of 15 a person), and they remembered most
when they had descriptive names and were chunked (an average of 8.8 a person). This is
opposed to the control group who only averaged 4.2 a person. This supports the overall thesis
that both memory devices used in tandem with one another would be most effective. However
not each memory device was as effective. Descriptive names were not effective for retention it
seems as they only averaged 5.7.
When participants were given the list of products and asked to fill in the brand name
(figure 4b), retention rates jumped up consistently. This might be due in part to another
memory device all together called priming. Priming is a form of memory in which a person
remembers a whole stimuli when exposed to part of it. Since participants saw what the product
was in the second test, they were being primed, and remembered product names more easily which accounts for the large change in retention rate across each of the four sections.
Based on our results, it seems that chunking is a more effective memory device than
descriptive names. To employ this in the real world, marketers could use the chunking method
to maximize retention rate for consumers. Marketers can place multiple related ads next to
each other. For example, in a magazine a marketer could advertise several products within their
brand line on the same page. This would be more effective for brand retention rates. Based on
this study, it was also found that the descriptive name did not have as much of an effect on the
results as originally hypothesized. The increase in the number of people who remembered the

random non- descriptive and random descriptive brand names can be accounted for by the fact
that the group during recall with guidance segment was primed.

Figure 1: List Presented to Participants

Non-Descriptive

Descriptive

Bettys Anti-aging cream

Global GPS
Highs Sneakers
Andys Acne Scrub
Tech-Co WiFi hotspot
TTC Raincoat
Blue Face wash
Dixon Camera Lense
Teds T-shirts
Taylor Wrinkle Cream
Boxys Smartphone
SVC Skinny Jeans
Ocean Face Wash
Freds Speakers
Lucys Loungewear

Fresh Face Anti-aging Serum

Go-global GPS
Cloud Runners Footwear
Breakouts-b-gone Facial Scrub
Lightning WiFi hotspot
Trendy Tees
Everyday Energizing Face Wash
Picture Perfect Camera Lense
Slimming Stretchy Jeans
Wrinkle Release Anti-aging Serum
Indestructible Smartphone
Desert-dry Raincoat
Oil-away Facial cleanser
Sonic-Boom Speakers
Essential Velour Loungewear

Chunking FACE CARE

Bettys Anti-aging cream
Andys Acne Scrub
Blue Face Wash
Taylor Wrinkle Cream
Ocean Face Wash
TECHNOLOGY
Garrys GPS
Tech-Co WiFi Hotspot
Dixon Camera Lense
Boxys Smartphone
Freds Speakers
APPAREL
High Sneakers
Teds T-shirts
SVC Skinny Jeans
TTC Raincoat
Lucys Loungewear

FACE CARE
Fresh Face Anti-aging Serum
Breakouts-b-gone Facial Scrub
Everyday Energizing Face Wash
Wrinkle Release Anti-aging Cream
Oil-away Facial cleanser
TECHNOLOGY
Go-global GPS
Lightning WiFi Hotspot
Picture Perfect Camera Lens
Indestructible Smartphone
Sonic-boom Speakers
APPAREL
Cloud Runners Footwear
Trendy Tees
Stretchies Skinny Jeans
Desert-dry Raincoat
Essential Velour Loungewear

Random

Key:
Control, One Variable Group, Two Variable Group

Figure 2: Template for Descriptively Named Products

1.

_______________________________ Footwear

2.

_______________________________Skinny jeans

3.

_______________________________Face wash

4.

_______________________________Speakers

5.

_______________________________Loungewear

6.

_______________________________WiFi hotspot

7.

________________________________Facial scrub

8.

________________________________GPS

9.

________________________________Anti-aging serum

10.

_________________________________Raincoat

11.

_________________________________Anti-aging cream

12.

________________________________Smartphone

13.

________________________________Tees

14.

________________________________Facial cleanser

15.

________________________________Camera lens

Figure 3: Template for Non-Descriptively Named Products

1.

_____________________________Sneakers

2.

______________________________Skinny jeans

3.

_______________________________Face wash

4.

_______________________________Speakers

5.

________________________________Loungewear

6.

________________________________WiFi hotspot

7.

_______________________________Acne scrub

8.

_________________________________GPS

9.

________________________________Anti-aging cream

10. _________________________________Raincoat
11. _________________________________Wrinkle cream
12. _________________________________Smartphone
13. _________________________________T-shirts
14. _________________________________Face wash
15. _________________________________Camera lens

Figure 4a:
Recall Without Guidance
(Blank Template)
Random, Non-Descriptive
(Control)

Chunking, NonDescriptive

Random,
Descriptive

Chunking,
Descriptive

10

11

10

10

10

10

10

12

42

82

57

88

Average Retention Rate by Group (Out of 15)

Random, Non-Descriptive: 4.2
Chunking, Non- Descriptive: 8.2
Random, Descriptive: 5.7
Chunking, Descriptive: 8.8

10

Figure 4b:
Recall With Guidance (Fill in
Brand)
Random, Non-Descriptive
(Control)

Chunking,
NonDescriptive

Random,
Descriptive

Chunking,
Descriptive

12

10

11

10

12

12

10

13

11

10

11

10

11

11

10

14

13

13

12

11

11

11

13

12

13

74

99

109

113

Average Retention Rate by Group (Out of 15)

Random, Non-Descriptive: 7.4
Chunking Non-Descriptive: 9.9
Random, Descriptive:10.9
Chunking Descriptive:11