
Kick off 2025 by working towards Chartered Marketer (Africa) status
CM(A) is a high-level pan-African professional designation awarded to senior marketers in recognition of their experiences and skills.
BRANDING
By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2024
When a brand starts to accept and even adopt a nickname given by consumers, it makes the brand seem less powerful, researchers find.
Can businesses benefit from adopting popular nicknames into their branding strategy? The answer, in most instances, is ‘no’.
Photo: Mike Bird from Pexels
Researchers from three universities in North America – Western University, Stockton University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst – have published a new study that examines whether firms benefit from adopting popular nicknames in their branding efforts.
The study, published in the American Marketing Association’s peer-reviewed Journal of Marketing, is titled ‘BMW is Powerful, Beemer is Not: Nickname Branding Impairs Brand Performance’, and is authored by Zhe Zhang, Ning Ye, and Matthew Thomson.
Many brands have popular nicknames that have become a part of daily conversations. BMW is often referred to as ‘Beemer’, for example. Or Starbucks as ‘Starbies’.
Can companies benefit from adopting such nicknames in their branding? The study finds it’s detrimental to brand performance. This is because brand nicknames are usually given by consumers.
Zhang explains: “Accepting a consumer-generated nickname suggests that a brand implicitly admits that consumers are ‘in charge’ and that they publicly accept and promote an altered identity bestowed by consumers. When a brand starts to accept and even adopt a nickname given by consumers, it makes the brand seem less powerful.”
Nickname use by customers versus nickname use by marketers
Many brands closely follow consumers’ language use, especially on social media. However, the purpose of this monitoring should be to generate insights, not to mechanically repeat what consumers say.
“Marketers should recognise the differences in nickname use by consumers versus by marketers,” says Thomson. “While one may want to avoid adopting a nickname for marketing, nickname use within the consumer community should not be discouraged.”
Lessons for chief marketing officers
You can find out more about the study here.
CM(A) is a high-level pan-African professional designation awarded to senior marketers in recognition of their experiences and skills.
Experienced auto industry marketer joins after almost two decades with the Volkswagen and Audi brands in SA.
New CSA offering focuses on marketing-related data analysis, implementation and optimisation for African customers.
Abebe becomes the first Ethiopian to take up the MD position. He moves from the Coca-Cola operation in Uganda, where he was GM.
French-based Géant retail brand now has two stores in the previously troubled North African country, with more planned.
Aim is to quickly spot potential issues and identify gaps, tension points, blind spots and opportunities to course-correct after launches.
Using the right language to inform consumers of the sustainability credentials of a product is vital to ensuring its appeal – research.
Destination ads that emphasise an idealised future are more effective at enticing travellers than campaigns based on nostalgia.
He brings with him industry experience spanning financial services, professional services, IT and telecoms, and FMCG.
OK Zimbabwe, a household name in local retail, closes branches as Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers calls for urgent interventions.
The rapid spread of online misinformation has become a significant risk for businesses, brands and wider society. Why do people fall for it?
Dr. Kin Kariisa is an extraordinary force at the helm of Next Media Services, a conglomerate encompassing NBS TV, Nile Post, Sanyuka TV, Next Radio, Salam TV, Next Communication, Next Productions, and an array of other influential enterprises. His dynamic role as Chief Executive Officer exemplifies his unwavering commitment to shaping media, business, and community landscapes.
With an esteemed academic journey, Dr. Kariisa’s accolades include an Honorary PhD in exemplary community service from the United Graduate College inTexas, an MBA from United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Huazong University in China, and a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Makerere University.
Dr. Kariisa pursued PhD research in Computer Security and Identity Management at Security of Systems Group, Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. As a dynamic educator, he has shared his expertise as a lecturer of e-Government and Information Security at both Makerere University and Radboud University.
Dr Kin did his PhD research in Computer Security and Identity Management at Security of Systems Group, Radbond University in Nigmegen, Netherlands. He previously served as a lecturer of e-Government and Information Security at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Radbond University in Netherlands.
Dr Kin did his postgraduate courses in Strategic Business Management, Strategic Leadership Communication and Strategies for Leading Successful Change Initiatives at Harvard University, Boston USA.