Earlier this morning, the New York Times reported that on Tuesday, General Motors sent a special memo to Chevrolet employees at its Detroit headquarters politely (sic) suggesting they ditch the "Chevy" moniker for "consistency" of the brand.
The Detroit automaker responded with an official statement which more or less supports the use of the 'Chevy' nickname by consumers and fans alike (as if GM could do anything to stop them...), but says nothing about its employees. That said, it appears GM staff are indeed being told to avoid saying Chevy when referring to Chevrolet.
The Times quoted this memo signed by Alan Batey, vice president for Chevrolet sales and service, and Jim Campbell, the G.M. division's vice president for marketing:
"We'd ask that whether you're talking to a dealer, reviewing dealer advertising, or speaking with friends and family, that you communicate our brand as Chevrolet moving forward."
"When you look at the most recognized brands throughout the world, such as Coke [how ironic that GM refers to Coca Cola with its nickname...] or Apple for instance, one of the things they all focus on is the consistency of their branding. Why is this consistency so important? The more consistent a brand becomes, the more prominent and recognizable it is with the consumer."
In addition, the Times reported that a postscript to the memo says "Every time someone uses 'Chevy' rather than Chevrolet, the employee is expected to put a quarter in the can", with the proceeds to be spent on "a team building activity," [for example, egg the people that came up with this brilliant idea...].
Here's General Motors' official statement on the matter:
"Chevy" will continue to reflect the enthusiasm of customers and fans
"Today's emotional debate over a poorly worded memo on our use of the Chevrolet brand is a good reminder of how passionately people feel about Chevrolet. It is a passion we share and one we do not take for granted.
We love Chevy. In no way are we discouraging customers or fans from using the name. We deeply appreciate the emotional connections that millions of people have for Chevrolet and its products.
In global markets, we are establishing a significant presence for Chevrolet, and need to move toward a consistent brand name for advertising and marketing purposes. The memo in question was one step in that process.
We hope people around the world will continue to fall in love with Chevrolets and smile when they call their favorite car, truck or crossover "Chevy."
So, what do you have to say about GM's "suggestion" to its employees to stop using the 'Chevy' name when referring to Chevrolet? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Memo Source: New York Times
24 Comments:
Id say good luck at changing consumers , i been saying chevy since i said mommie ! they should be happy people are even talking about them at all in this economy !
Does this mean we have to call Chery by its more formal Cherrolet?
With all the plastic sparkly bits I thought they were saying Chavy!
Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy
Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy
Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy
Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy
Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy,Chevy
On a serious note it is a daft idea which will
clearly not work.
Bimmer
Jag
Chevy
Pug
Poncho
Mitsu
Scooby
'Zuk
They're all informal ways to address and identify their respective brands; fuck, it's practically ingrained in the public conscious since their inception.
If anything, they should be thankful that consumers have a informal word to identify the brand by name alone. Many brands would kill to have that much flexibility in the name alone let alone be ingrained in the public as much as the name 'Chevy' is.
You forgot Merc.
They ditched Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile, Hummer, SAAB, let´s ditch the Chevy nae and call all their cars General Motorolet. Hmmm ... (quote Homer Simpson). Those GM leaders are strange, very strange.
If that's the snob attitude they want to instill, I'll call my next purchase a 'Ford'
I think most of you skipped over the part where they're not asking the public and enthusiasts to stop referring to the brand as Chevy, but they're only asking employees to use the formal name. I don't think it's too much to ask. When I worked retail we always had to thank the customer for shopping at the store (and use the store name) because their studies showed that name repetition instilled brand identity.
How exactly is GM supposed to "ask" or "not ask" the public and enthusiasts to stop referring to the brand as Chevy? Much to their chagrin, GM does not control the public or the enthusiast. Maybe someone should enlighten them to this fact. That's why they are losing market share and customer loyalty.... because they are out of touch with reality.
Since Chevrolet is ditching the name "Chevy" So does that means the Chinese car maker Chery don't have to change the name of their brand to something else when they exported their cars to the states?
#Anon "Id say good luck at changing consumers"
#Anon "How exactly is GM supposed to "ask" or "not ask" the public and enthusiasts to stop referring to the brand as Chevy?"
#Anon "Since Chevrolet is ditching the name "Chevy""
It seems none of you have actually read the article. They asked E.M.P.L.O.Y.E.E.S to use Chevrolet instead of Chevy, not customers or enthusiasts.
CHEVROLET -Car Has Extensive Valve Rattle, Or Loud Engine Ticks
CHEVROLET -Cracked Heads, Every Valve Rattles, Oil Leaks Every Time
CHEVROLET -Can Hear Every Valve Rap On Long Extended Trips
CHEVROLET -Car Has Extensive Valve Rattle On Long Extended Trips
CHEVROLET -Cheap, Hardly Efficient, Virtually Runs On Luck Every Time
CHEVROLET -Cheap Heaps Erratically Vibrate Running On Level Even Terrain
CHEVROLET -Constantly Having Every Vehicle Recalled Over Lousy Engineering
Techniques
CHEVROLET -Cracked Heads, Every Valve's Rotten, Oil Leaks Every Time
CHEVY -Cheapest Heap Ever Visioned Yet
CHEVY -Can Hear Every Valve Yell
My word.
@ anon 13
My word..my word..anon you are creative and you tell the truth.
I wouldn't worry about it. People will continue with what they want and are comfortable with. I don't understand the reasoning behind having staff drop the term, obviously some manager's idea that will wither away. I don't think this story even deserves space here. It's a "so what" issue that carries no weight. I suppose Ford will issue a statement to their staff now not to refer to them as "Found On Road Dead" or "Fix or Repair Daily"? Nonsence! People will still refer to them the same! :)
Hey, GM Executives - Find some more important topics to communicate to your employees. Like, you're going to start investing all our money into your mainstream vehicles to avoid wise cracks like the dude above with all the Chevy/Chevrolet acronyms.
Dude above, you're acronyms are painful, but clever. But, quit bashing the product. Now days, the engineering is not lousy! The vehicles are good / don't tick / leak / etc. Read JD Powers results from actual customers.
I'd rather see your clever mind directed to insulting acronym's about the GM management and their poor communication methods within their company to their employees. That would atleast be related to this topic & string.
Seems to me that they have more to worry about. This is just a smokescreen covering up the real issues. Do they really believe that internally there is confusion or a lack of consistency among employees when Chevy is used instead of Chevrolet? If this is truly the case, it's no wonder some their products have been subpar. Chevy=Chevrolet; always has, always will. No confusion or lack of consistency there. This is just a case of overpaid executives with nothing better to do but stumble around in the dark looking for ideas that will improve the brand. How about this novel idea.....QUALITY!! Producing uninspiring, unreliable vehicles and promoting memos such as the one mentioned in the article is the reason CHEVY and GM as a whole got into touble in the first place. Maybe the government (as screwed up as they are) could do a better job of running these companies than the current braintrust at GM that came up with this brilliant idea!
It's sad to be unemployed and see untalented people keep their jobs while they perpetuate the tax-funded clusterf*ck that is General Motors.
"It's sad to be unemployed"
It's likey because you're a bitter fuck that no one will employ you.
It may sound like a dumb idea on the part of GM, but it sure has people talking about it. And everyone who loves Chevrolet (er, "Chevy") is coming out of the woodwork.
Or maybe Chevrolet just wanted to diminish their longstanding association with hillbillies. "Chevy" sounds very redneck.
"Or maybe Chevrolet just wanted to diminish their longstanding association with hillbillies. "Chevy" sounds very redneck."
Hillbillies don't like Chevrolet because they found out the name has a Franco-Swiss origin.
They now drive Fords.
We'll by this reasoning are we not allowed to call General Motors "GM" and are we not allowed to refer to a Cadillac as a "Caddie" All I'm saying is everyone knows Chevy mean Chevrolet. I mean little 4 year olds know what a Chevy is. I myself never really say Chevy, I usually say Chevrolet but most people know it as Chevy, what does it hurt to say Chevy?
The policy on dropping of the name Chevy kind of illustrates what's wrong with the people who run Chevrolet these days, I.e., they are worring about the wrong stuff.
MORONS! And this in the age of texting.
Those who forget their history are doomed to fail.
Fucking pencil pushers running car companies, wheres the brand enthusiasm?
Post a Comment