THE PITFALLS OF NICKNAME BRANDING

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Using nicknames in branding reduces consumer engagement and perceptions of brand power. Ads using nicknames showed 42% lower click-through rates. Tweets with formal names received over twice as many likes and retweets as those with nicknames. Nickname branding decreased purchase intent for competent brands, like Starbucks, by up to 16%, but had little impact on warm or social-good-focused brands. While consumer use of nicknames can benefit brands, adopting them in marketing signals disempowerment and weakens brand image.