Popular brand nicknames

Big brands, small brands and the most popular brands, like BMW, seem to fall prey to this. Some of the previous popular names that BMW's have had are names like 'G-string', 'Half-past-three' for the 330i, 'Times Five' for the X5 and 'Gushushe' for 325i. Obviously these are old nicknames that were published in the 2005/6 groundbreaking dictionary, the Township Talk dictionary that was compiled by Foshizi Black Consumer Insights as an A-Z dictionary of South Africa's popular language of the streets, township lingo.

Even soccer stars are given nicknames: 'Spyda' is Brian Baloyi, the famous goalkeeper from Sundowns, because of the way he jumps. The late Gift Leremi was known as 'Va Va Voom' because he was so quick on the ball. Places are also ‘nicknamed', for example ‘Kasi' or ‘Loxion' is used instead of township which people relate to more as it imparts a feeling of home. Diepkloof is commonly known as ‘DK' or ‘Kloofers' - it was renamed because it symbolises a taking back of ownership from those who initially named the area Diepkloof.

Uncovering the origins of the naming processes revealed insights into these not-so-conventional labels that some brands have been given. In order to shed some light on brand nicknames and their origins, Foshizi, the Black Consumer Insights Agency, has compiled a list of some of the more popular brand nicknames currently in use in the lives of the emerging market:

Real name	Township nickname	And why it's called that
Amstel Lager	Magolide (gold)	The gold wrap on the lid of the bottle is associated with royalty.
Bells Whisky	Intsimbi Sesikolo (school bell)	After drinking whisky, the next morning the hangover feels like school bells.
BMW 7 series	BEE	High profiled BEE men have been seen driving the BMW 7 series.
BMW M3	Mother of three children	Mother 3 children.
Carvella	T.T.Z, meaning thatha zonke (take them all).	Teenage boys between the ages of 13 and 16 say girls love boys who wear Carvella shoes.
Gordon's Dry Gin	Gomora (Alexandra)	Gordon's Gin's full name is Alexandra Gordon's, and the nickname for Alexandra township is Gomora.
Hansa Pilsner	Accountants beer	It is associated with educated people and the famous Lofty TV advert featuring accountants.
Nissan Hardbody	Mzimba oqinile (hard body)	Nickname derived from the direct translation of Hardbody.
Hummer	Hamure (Hummer)	The word is a direct Sesotho translation to a Hummer.
KFC	Phaka uphume (dish up and go)	KFC gives you such a quick service you don't spend much time in the outlet.
Kurt Geiger Shoes	Isiphul' amatshe	In the townships they say, when you are wearing the KG shoe, it crushes small stones referring to the strength of the sole.
Lacoste Shoes	Ingwenya (crocodile)	The shoe has a crocodile sign on the side.
Land Rover Discovery	Disco	Short for Discovery.
Mercedes Benz	Umsindisi (saviour)	The Mercedes Benz is generally known for safety.
Toyota Bakkie	Mahips (hips)	The shape of the bakkie curves around the rear wheels.
Toyota minibus	Iindlebe (ears)	The side mirrors look like ears.
Zam-Buk	Zola to Bara	Bara is where Soweto starts and Zola is where it ends.

While the nicknames tend to change over time, there does appear to be a reference to when it originated, and the old nicknames will remain a constant reminder of the past.

But why would brands be renamed or ‘nicknamed' by consumers?
Humans endow products and brands with emotional significance and meaning far beyond their actual function. Our imagination gives us limitless capacity to derive value and importance from even the most everyday things. The things we buy can help us define ourselves and, to some extent, what we think is possible. If we accept this, there is the opportunity to perhaps unlock the true potential of brands.

The most successful brands have developed a place in the imagination of people, rather than being associated with a unique selling point as has been done in the past.

The explanations behind the nicknames are fascinating. The moral of the story is that marketers need to be sensitive enough to understand the cultural space that their brands will occupy, and what their brand will mean to the consumer who buys the product.

Why this trend is important to marketers?
There is an apparent need for marketers and researchers to look beyond the traditional scope when analysing the people who consume products. Perhaps too much research is focused on learning what products people buy, what they think of them; and what people think of the marketing campaigns that are supposed to deliver the message. Researchers and marketers need to invest more time addressing people's underlying needs, and finding out what really matters to them.

This needs to be approached with an eye towards understanding the emotional territory that people inhabit. This could now be the time for companies to become ‘respondents' that react to ‘stimuli', not the other way around. If brands are to be invited into people's lives, then the companies and marketers behind those brands must be aware of the emerging cultural currents in which their customers live and use them to the very best advantage.

Foshizi is a Black Consumer Insights Agency specialising in qualitative surveys into the emerging markets.