Consumers having been driving Chevys, drinking Cokes, shopping at Tarjay, and eating at MickeyD’s for decades. But as more and more brand engagement moves online, how should marketers approach these brand nicknames in an increasingly digital landscape?
Make Your Brand’s Nickname Work for You
Brand nicknames have been common for years, but it’s not always obvious how (if at all) brands should engage with them, especially online. In this piece, the authors discuss a recent study in which they found that social media posts that used nicknames had significantly higher like and share rates than those that used formal names, suggesting these unofficial names can have a major positive impact on engagement. However, in a series of follow-up studies, the authors found that who uses the nickname matters: When consumers used brand nicknames, it often made the information in their posts appear more credible and authentic to other consumers — but when a brand used its own nickname, it actually had the opposite effect. Based on these findings, the authors share six tactical strategies for how brands can overcome the potential pitfalls and leverage the benefits of a popular nickname.