GM Says, "Go Ahead, Say Chevy If You Want"

They are just trying to keep all the foriegn market buyers from getting confused. Apparently it's really hard to explain to people outside the USA that Chevy and CHevrolet are the same thing.

Chevy, Merc, Mitsu, Subie, Bimmer, Lambo, Dub... Let's file this one under "who cares".

+1 roadburner

I don't know which is worse... that someone took the time, effort and money to come up with this idea or somebody actually thought that memo was a good idea.

"I don't know which is worse... that someone took the time, effort and money to come up with this idea or somebody actually thought that memo was a good idea."

Exactly.

I think there are more important things for the bowtie brigade to concentrate on.

wait, "bowtie brigade"??? Is this the new GM brand to sell Camaros in China? I'm so confused.

This just in from Germany:

BMW refuses to be acknowledged by anything other than Bayerische Motoren Werke
(proper german accent required)

file under any press is good press

- GM Marketing Department, and thank you for your time

The media is really blowing this out of proportion. Corporations insisting on their employees using proper brand names isn't entirely uncommon. Mary Niven, the VP of Disney's California Adventure park at the Disneyland resort also insisted that cast members working under her excise the popular acronym "DCA" from their vocabulary, at least while at work, and like GM set up a bucket to collect quarters as a penalty for violations. Unlike the GM situation, no one in the media came up with the absurd idea that that ban was meant for general audiences or even private, non-work related communications. It may be unnecessary, strictly speaking, but establishing uniform, professional brand names for internal communication is an entirely valid objective, especially if there are concerns for international communications confusion.

Even Chevrolet is confused about what it is or should be.

stovt001 hit the nail on the head. This is a corporate strategy not an advertising scheme.

and still people don't understand the difference between an acronym and a nickname. One is purposely derived to shorten a title, and the other is just slang.

@ stovt001 and lostboyz:

Who signs a memo is almost as important as what it says, as that will let you know from where the change is coming from. Alan S. Batey, vice president for Chevrolet sales and service and Jim Campbell, 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,”

The first part is internal - the second part is asking that employees take it upon themselves to end the continued use of Chevy.

It makes sense that overseas, to new and emerging markets establishing yourself under one name will create better brand awareness. And its understood that it was an INTERNAL memo, but it was pushed to US workers and as they admitted, worded very poorly.

Lastly, do you understand what an acronym is? Chevy is not an acronym, its a nickname at best. FBI is an acronym.

I think we are saying the same thing. I was referring to the post by stoppre75 - "This just in from Germany:BMW refuses to be acknowledged by anything other than Bayerische Motoren Werke" There were also others in the news posting, an acronym is a properly shortened title. Chevy, lambo, subie, etc. are slang terms for brands.

I think its a good idea for internal and external uses by employees to speak of their brand by its name and not a slang term, regardless how old and integrated to the image of the company it is. There is a big difference in image between saying chevrolet and chevy.

This kind of corporate bafoonery is kind what I expected from GM, and it's sad. Chevy is an affectionate term and transcends marketing ad wizardry. Loyalists use the nickname "Chevy", and is commonly used by everybody. Don't kill people's affection for terms for your company. Just empower people to passionately and creatively produce great product!

"This is a corporate strategy not an advertising scheme"

It was a publicity stunt to get some free advertising....that is all it was..no more, no lerss.

Bodyblue is probably right...and off the top of my head, in the commercials I don't think I have ever heard Chevrolet Silverado. Don't they say Chevy Silverado?

This debacle may be a publicity stunt, but any publicity this generates will tend to reinforce the idea that the powers-that-be at GM have no earthly idea what they are doing.

Do you think BMW uses "Bimmer" in official internal communications? Does Subaru (or Fuji Heavy Industries) use "Subbie" in official internal communications? Does Mercedes use "Merc" in official internal communications? Does Lamborghini use "Lambo" in official internal communications? Does VW use "Vee-Dub" in official internal communications?

It never ceases to amaze me what effort people here will put into completely destroying logic, facts, and common sense in their quest to bash GM at any cost.

stovt001;

The terms that you cite are pretty much only used by gearheads- in particular enthusiasts of the brand in question. In contrast, the name "Chevy" is ubiquitous; EVERYONE -car nut or not- knows and uses the term. There is a huge amount of affection, goodwill, and loyalty connected with the "Chevy" name, and the internal memo made it sound like "Chevy" was a derogatory term. And I'd be willing to bet that far more Chevy fans were outraged by this fiasco than were "GM bashers".