You’d think that the people — corporate execs and ad people — behind a brand such as Chevrolet, would be smarter than the average bear.  Not so.  Yesterday GM issued a statement to its employees, saying that one of the biggest brand names in the world  should be called “Chevrolet”, not Chevy — even going so far as to place a “swear jar” in the office where employees would pay (literally) a price for letting the phrase “Chevy” come out out of their mouths.

DUDES!  A brand lives in the minds of CUSTOMERS, not your employees!  You can’t DICTATE how your brand stays alive — or even how the public refers to your brand.  A brand evolves over a long period of time, and it means something to people.  Try to take that away and you’re labeled as “stupid”, which you were by the press and the public.  So you back-tracked and issued a clarification (basically, an apology for being dumb!)

Whether in the consumer or the b-to-b space, brand value is a very sacred thing — you work for decades to build a brand — so THINK before you mess with your brand name!