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BMW Is Powerful, Beemer Is Not: Nickname Branding Impairs Brand Performance
Journal of Marketing
|March 30, 2026
Summary
Using consumer-given brand nicknames in marketing can weaken brand performance by signaling submission. This effect is worse for competent brands and less pronounced in communal marketing messages.
Area of Science:
- Marketing
- Consumer Behavior
- Brand Management
Background:
- Firms increasingly use consumer-generated "street" names for brands in marketing.
- Practitioners anticipate positive outcomes from this nickname branding tactic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically investigate the effectiveness of nickname branding.
- To explore the theoretical underpinnings of using consumer-based brand slang in marketing.
Main Methods:
- Multimethod approach including secondary data analysis.
- Field studies and preregistered experiments were conducted.
- Speech act theory was used to frame the investigation.
Main Results:
- Nickname branding was found to weaken brand performance across various metrics.
- The negative impact was greater for "competent" brands compared to "warm" brands.
- The detrimental effect was less significant when nicknames appeared in communal-oriented marketing messages.
Conclusions:
- Nickname branding can be detrimental to brand performance by signaling a perceived power redistribution.
- Marketers should exercise caution when incorporating consumer slang, considering brand attributes and message framing.
- The study offers insights into the strategic use of brand naming and consumer-generated language in marketing.
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