Drive my Chevy to the...

GM recently sent out a directive to those working within the Chevrolet universe: Stop saying "Chevy" and stick to "Chevrolet" in any interactions with customers.

From a corporate perspective, I get the intent. The brand is "Chevrolet" and Chevy is just a nickname. But that nickname came from the marketplace, and has become part of American culture (Heavy Evie drives a Chevy, not a Chevrolet.) And it resonates positively, and affectionately, with us. Why deny company folks the chance to participate in that affection? (I sniff a lawyer in the background grousing about "protecting the trademark"!)

Marketing is a conversation with your customer. Never stick an awkward proviso in there to limit the rapport. Chevy (see, I just did it!) risks losing that connection by putting an arms-length relationship between it and the Chevy nickname. Coca-Cola seems fine with everyone calling their lead product "Coke." GM needs to embrace "Chevy" just as strongly.

This reminds me of my struggles as a young marketing manager at American Express years ago: I tried to say "your American Express Card" rather than "the American Express Card" in my marketing materials. "Your..." is warm and inclusive. "The..." is corporate and off-putting. But counsel would not allow it: It seems cardmembers don't own their cards, but are lent them by the company. Years after I left, someone finally won that argument: I see Amex using "your" instead of "the" in its marketing today. I guess I was just a bit ahead of the curve on that one!

• While American women as a group earn 80% of what men do, women in their 20's earn 105% of what men their own age do.
• While White Caucasians are 66% of our total population, they are only 55% of twenty-somethings (and less that 50% in California, Texas, Hawaii, New Mexico and our nation's capital.)
• Mixed race populations will double by 2030, faster than any other category.