You can't make this stuff up.
GM sent a memo this week to Chevrolet employees at its Detroit headquarters, promoting the importance of "consistency" for the brand, which was the nation's best-selling line of cars and trucks for more than half a century after World War II.
And one way to present a consistent brand message, the memo suggested, is to
stop saying "Chevy," though the word is one of the world's best-known, longest-lived product nicknames.
"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," said the memo, which was signed by Alan Batey, vice president for Chevrolet sales and service, and Jim Campbell, the GM division's vice president for marketing.
As of Wednesday night, the word Chevy appeared dozens of times on Chevrolet's Web site, Chevrolet.com, including a banner on the home page that said, "Over 1,000 people a day switch to Chevy." One of the dropdown menus was "Experience Chevy." On Facebook, brand pages include Chevy Camaro, Chevy Silverado, and Team Chevy.
If taken to its logical conclusion, Chevrolet would presumably need to ask Jeff Gordon, the four-time Nascar Sprint Cup champion who currently races a Chevrolet Impala, to change the Web site address--Jeffgordonchevy.com--for his dealership in Wilmington, N.C.
Klaus-Peter Martin, a GM spokesman, confirmed the memo. "We're going to use Chevrolet instead of Chevy going forward in our communications," he said in a telephone interview, and linked the change to the move to Goodby.
Worthington, the branding expert, said Chevrolet seemed unclear what the brand stood for. But ultimately, he said, consumers "will call you whatever they want to call you."
But not Chevrolet staff members.
A postscript to the memo says a sort of cuss jar--a plastic "Chevy" can--has been situated in the hallway.
"Every time someone uses 'Chevy' rather than Chevrolet," the note said, the employee is expected to put a quarter in the can".
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