In Marketingland, the letter Z is often called upon if the S seems too boring. I noticed for the first time with my friend Wim Moorman, who played football at Helmond Sport in the 1980s. His greatest achievement was a 3-0 win over the FC Barcelona by coach Johan Cruyff in a friendly game. That was already striking, but it was even more striking that Wim played in a shirt of main sponsor Tappaz. Tappaz? Earlier in this section we dealt with the rise of the letter Q at the expense of the K, but the Battle of S-sound goes much further in the Dutch language area. The Q is seen as a premium letter and that radiates on your brand. But what does the Z radiate? Café Preziez, Frietzaak Pieperz? Brasserie Kriebelz? What is the profit now? More playful? Detailing? Hipper? Probably a combination of all this but above all: a bit crazy but especially not too crazy. It is a relatively safe form of distinctive brand positioning.
The Z use is now so mainstream that you can dispute the distinctive quality. In the meantime you have different categories: the entry -level model, making the last S a Z, such as Café Borrelz, hairdresser Intenz, Frietzaak Pieperz. Then the doubler such as Pilz & Grillz and Chickz & Chipz. And then we have the (unnecessary) exaggeration, for example the regional buzz. We really only think that if it also adds something in terms of content. A cushion manufacturer from Eygelshoven drives around in buses with the company name Kuszzz. That is sometimes confused with a kiss. The very best is probably bed shop Zzznurk from Weert. Owner Ruud Pleunis has taken over the business of his parents, Pleunis Slaapcomfort, and random. “Online in particular, Zzznurk is doing well. And we have made it for the unit.