Why are Pret A Manger and Au Bon Pain desirable as french-style fast food establishments when they are based in the UK and US, respectively? How would they be different if their names were Union Sandwich and The Bagel Factory? Both capitalize on the association of quality food with France, a phenomenon that can be seen across industries.
For example, in the piggybacking of the association of Germany with quality engineering:
Or in Häagen Dazs and Ikea’s capitalization on Scandinavian-sounding names’ association with sleek and exotic products. This is particularly a piggyback effect in the case of Häagen Dazs, which is based in the United States. The technique allows products to immediately associate with qualities that they believe the consumers will find desirable.
