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Touareg. What's with the name?
Just exactly how did Volkswagen name its new SUV? I wondered that myself after finding out that more people search the internet using an incorrect spelling of the name rather than the correct one. Examples of mis-spellings are:
How could this happen? So, I decided to write a short story/thesis of how the name could have been chosen. It all starts with Porsche's SUV, the Cayenne... Not interested in a story, but just want to know? Click here. The Cayenne One day you arrive to work and find out that Porsche, Volkswagen's sister company, has conjured the Cayenne - a sport-luxury SUV. "Management" has decided that Volkswagen will leverage the R&D dollars spent on Cayenne - and build a de-tuned version, one more urbane and practical, for the Volkswagen marque. You need to come up with a unique product name. A name that will help you distinguish your new product in a saturated marketplace. A name that will conjure ruggedness and discovery. A name that sounds European yet simple and indiginous. A name that will attract eco-friendly hip urban-dwellers. The first thing you might do is to figure out how the name Cayenne was chosen. You likely don't have access to the inner-thoughts of your sister company - so you'll have to "reverse engineer" the name. If you had time (or budget) for a focus group study, you might record people's reactions when you tell them that Porsche is introducing an SUV called Cayenne. Then ask them to write down the first words they think of. But you don't - so you call in your staff to start digging on the name, to brainstorm on the subject. This is what you come up with:
Conclusion: Cayenne easily conjures the adjectives: hot, red, spicey, unique. Anything else? Cayenne chili pepper is derived from a plant, which is associated with dirt and earth - the outdoors. Obviously these are really good words to associate with an SUV. So how do we fit these back to Porsche and an SUV? Sports cars are usually associated with the word red - and some people would throw in the word hot. Using the terms hot, red, fast car to describe a Porsche is not a stretch. But we're talking about an SUV, an off-pavement car, rather than a sports car. Here you need descriptors such as "outdoors" and "off-the-beaten-path". It is easy to see how Cayenne fits with this product.
Your conclusion is that Porsche did a good job naming their SUV. Now it's your turn. Touareg OK, so now we need to figure out a name for a new Volkswagen SUV. Eventhough we are talking about basically the same SUV - it will be sold to a completely different market, and therefore needs its own identity. Your "brainstorming" might go something like this... Volkswagen means People's Car. For many years Volkswagen has had a following. In its earlier years, Volkswagen produced cars that were simple, elegant, raw, thoughtful and cheap (to build, buy and maintain). Over the years, people who like Volkswagens feel that they are part of a community, often described as a car cult. Volkswagen people often share similar lifestyles. A "fashionable" term for this type of behavior is tribe, and often the word "tribal" is used to impart a sense of being a free-spirit, someone who is communal and ritualistic. That's a stretch - and you might get a smirk or two. But for a marketing session, it's right on. Feeling empowered, you blaze on... Back in the 60's, a group of people often tribal in nature, made Volkswagens synonomous with freedom (and drugs). Yes, hippies. These people have either grown up (and now have inherited money, or made money on their own) or dropped out. But the lore and romance lingers. Many of us who weren't there, look back on those times and sometimes wish we had taken part in some of the famous pilgrimages: San Francisco in '67, Monterrey in '69 and '70 and Woodstock. Hippies often were on a trip - either across country or out of their mind. They often were labeled nomads. One of the theme songs for the hippies was Marrakesh Express by Crosby, Stills and Nash (1969). It just so happens that Marrakesh is a trade route between India and North Africa. We've got some pretty good ideas here:
Now for a tangeant... People who like Volkswagens often appreciate uniqueness. There are probably a few other car companies that have a unique image: Mini, Subaru, Volkswagen - only a handful that are currently selling cars in the United States. If you buy a Volkswagen, you like being unique (or feeling unique). What motivates people to buy unique brands, is unique branding. Sounds obvious - but to influence people who want to differentiate themselves from others you either need to sell a unique design or sell a unique identity. SUVs are difficult to differentiate from a design standpoint. If you look at a New Beetle - you know what it is instantly. If you look at a Touareg - you would take a few moments to determine the brand. We have to face it that the design isn't going to distinguish the product (so we can't use a bland name such as, New Beetle). So, you need a unique name. Of course, marketing always falls back on "market research", so our market research tells us that Volkswagen people are "earthy" eco-friendly yet hip with money. In other words, they will drive to a trendy store to buy organically-grown foods and put them in canvas bags, then drive back home - a roundtrip distance of about 1.5 miles. (Sorry, I couldn't pass up the jab.) So, being the internet citizen you are, you Google on: "tribe nomad Marrakesh". Ooh. Morocco. That would be a cool name - but it isn't a tribe. Hmm. The Volkswagen Morocco. You run it by legal. They say, "In the current geo-political environment, we would not recommend using the name Morocco." (Of course, I made their response up.) It didn't really fit with your theme anyways (being a city rather than a tribe), so you press on. By now its late. So you get one of your interns to get you a list of all North African nomadic tribes. The next day, the list comes back. There are names that are familiar, such as Berber and Bedouin - and some that are not. Such as Tuareg (tuaregs.online.fr). What's this Tuareg? Tuareg (spelled Touareg by the French) is, according to Steve Smith of the New York Times, "a traditional African desert tribe that has made a name for itself trading precious goods. The proud Touareg, with their camel caravans and their mysterious veils, embody the idea of limitless freedom under mercilessly tough conditions of the desert." (VW Touareg: An SUV worth the wait By STEVE SMITH / Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate) Yet another definition is provided by the author of Touareg.ca citing company marketing as saying that Tuareg means "Free Folk" and is a name that "embodies the ideal of man's ability to triumph over the obstacles of a harsh land. Much better than Berber, though you can't use that plush carpet co-marketing campaign you were thinking of. Nevertheless you package it and ship it off to legal for approval. This one is much more boring:
The rally links are interesting. Especially the article, Touareg To Contest Dakar Rally In 2004. Conclusion Many times we try to create a much more meaningful reason for being - only to find out that the reason is much more esoteric. Given that, theory #2 is more likely how it came down. But no matter how it was chosen - the name bites. I would have voted for the Morocco (which reminds me of Scirocco). By the way, Touareg is officially pronounced by VW as TOOR-egg. Though it is natively pronounced tuh-wah-reg (with no weighted accents).
Next rant: Phaeton: Who will buy an expensive VW? Our VWoA Disclaimer
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