Nick D. Saporito

A few months ago I met a Chevrolet Sonic on the highway.  The owner had replaced the centerpiece of the iconic gold bow tie with a body colored insert; in this case, the bow tie is now orange.  Since that sighting I’ve mentally taken note of just how common it has become for Chevy buyers to customize their bow ties, leading me to believe Chevy should embrace this from a marketing perspective by letting the bow tie go freestyle.

Here in truck country I’ve specifically noticed dozens of Silverado’s with custom bow ties; most of them end up being black, however I’ve also seen red ones and even one camo bow tie.  In the case of most, the added custom touch actually looks pretty good, especially the black bow ties.  This trend also seems to be prevalent amongst Camaro owners, which is not terribly shocking considering the rate at which Camaro owners modify their vehicles.

Granted, my evidence here is anecdotal, however there are some macro-level trends in the market and amongst consumers that also support the idea of the brand embracing their owners’ idea.  Firstly, bow ties are making a comeback in men’s fashion.  As someone who dresses in business attire on a daily basis, I continually find a host of bow ties in stores, from black ones to ones with outright crazy patterns.  It is sort of a hipster trend that has trickled down to the mainstream, and one that Chevy could fall in line with on a subliminal level.

Secondly, the illustrious Generation Y (my generation).  Studies show Gen Y likes custom, unique attributes in products.  We are the generation of individualism, and what is more individualistic than a custom design for the front of your car?  Chevrolet is apparently already aware of Gen Y’s tastes for uniqueness, because they are already offering graphics packages and other custom pieces for their small cars, the Sonic and Spark.

Most importantly, the gold bow tie has a stigma attached to it.  In fact, I recall reading at some point that the gold bow tie does NOT clinic well with consumers, which would likely explain why I have noticed more and more Chevy owners covering the gold with the hue of their choice.  Gold is a stodgy color and from a visual perspective, it sort of clashes with some exterior colors, like bright red and orange.

There’s also the loyalty element to allowing owners to do this.  By customizing their Chevy, they’re making it a little more personal to them – special.  From an emotional level, it’s connecting the buyer to their product further, and if Chevy ran the customizing process…it would be another added touch-point between the brand and their customers.  Every OEM is making great vehicles today, it’s the OEM that can connect with buyers on a higher level that will ultimately gain buyer loyalty.  Baseball, apple pie, and Chevrolet….America is about individualism, so how fitting that Chevy do this?

As a marketing guy who obsesses over branding consistency, it’s ironic I’m suggesting this.  In the case of Chevrolet, it isn’t the gold color that is iconic to buyers, it is the bow tie shape itself.  In fact, Chevrolet itself has not consistently used gold as the centerpiece of their bow tie.  As recent as in the last decade the brand was still using blue on car models.  People are not identifying Chevrolet from gold, they are identifying the brand because of the logo shape.

I’m not saying the entire brand should re-brand.  For consistency purposes Chevrolet should absolutely maintain status quo on the corporate level with collateral and advertising.  I also think they should continue putting gold bow ties on their vehicles.  What I’m suggesting is offer buyers the option to have a cover plate for their bow tie, and let them have fun with it.

Once a Chevy owner buys a new product, they can go online and design their bow tie free of charge through Chevrolet’s “My BowTie” service.  It is then sent to the owner’s home and easy to attach to the bow tie found on their grille.  In the box with the custom bow tie could be an insert sheet encouraging them to Instagram a pic of their custom bow tie with the hashtag #mybowtie or something similar.  The sharing generation (Gen Y) would likely publish a photo of their art work on their social networks, that’s almost a given.  Then the owner gets a piece of their personality on their vehicle, and Chevy gets word of mouth online.

The “My BowTie” service could also sell additional custom prints for buyers that want to switch beyond the one free unit.  They could even offer high end units made out of real alloys or carbon fiber for the more discerning Chevy owner.

There’s likely a lot more that would have to go into this concept, but I have been thinking about it a lot lately.  Today alone I saw six different Chevy’s with custom bow ties on the front…the owners are doing it, might as well embrace it.

By the way, I’d want a greyscale camo bow tie on my black Camaro ZL1.