Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to examine the brand naming criteria in Islamic banks versus conventional banks. A total of 19 banks were examined including 5 Islamic Banks and 14 Islamic Windows of Conventional Banks. These 19 banks are also classified as 7 foreign banks and 13 local banks. Only marketing/brand professionals were interviewed as brand naming experts [N=125]. All brands were examined on six-point criteria for evaluating brand names; these criteria include (a) Memorability, (b) Meaningfulness, (c) Likability, (d) Transferability, (e) Adaptability, (f) Protectability.  These criteria were examined on five-point likert scale ranging from very low to very high. Findings indicate that Islamic banks have higher scores on six brand naming criteria as compared to Islamic windows of conventional banks and the difference is statistically significant. Moreover foreign banks have higher score on six brand naming criteria as compared to local banks and the difference is statistically significant.