Marketplace®
Every story is an economic story

Chevrolet: Stop calling it a ‘Chevy’

General Motors is concerned about Chevrolet's branding consistency. The company sent a memo to Chevrolet employees advising them to discontinue…

General Motors is concerned about Chevrolet’s branding consistency. The company sent a memo to Chevrolet employees advising them to discontinue referring to the brand as “Chevy”, though the nickname is hardwired into the American consciousness after over several of use in popular song culture.

[

]()

Branding expert Paul Worthington said G.M.’s decision was counter-intuitive to a larger trend of casual names in corporate branding, according to The New York Times. “FedEx had replaced Federal Express, KFC had supplanted Kentucky Fried Chicken and “even RadioShack has evolved into ‘The Shack’.”

It’s not clear whether employees or consumers will effectively be able to remove “Chevy” from their lexicon, especially as the name may garner some taboo for its forbidden use. But chevrolet.com has yet to remove several references to Chevy on its page.

Latest Episodes

View All Shows
  • Marketplace
    8 hours ago
    25:22
  • Marketplace Morning Report
    15 hours ago
    7:09
  • Million Bazillion
    20 hours ago
    30:57
  • Marketplace Tech
    20 hours ago
    12:45
  • This Is Uncomfortable
    6 days ago
    28:44
  • Make Me Smart
    4 months ago
    24:33