Case study Lenovo (Critically evaluate Lenovo's Branding Strategy) - Essay Example

Lenovo is an international company which was formed when the Lenovo Group acquired the IBM Personal Computing Division. They are currently global leaders in the PC market and are mainly involved in the development and manufacturing of reliable, cutting-edge PCs and provide a host of value added services like "LenovoCare" and innovative tools like "ThinkVantage". Their core belief is to measure their success by helping customers achieve their productivity levels in their businesses and at the same time experience and enhanced personal life.

Lenovo's point of differentiation as we can see is a mix of both innovation and efficiency. Lenovo displayed creative and innovative thinking by adopting a dual-brand approach in the initial stages when it bought out IBM's manufacturing business. It adopted a synergy approach to branding Lenovo in the world markets. Its operations at China were far more cost effective than other companies and its efficient use of resources and prudent handling of its brand equity shows that Lenovo displayed a mix of innovation and efficiency.

Lenovo would definitely use the ThinkPad brand to build its own brand. ThinkPad is a premium category model which exudes style, efficiency and excellent quality. It shows that the owner is progressive and very techno savvy and will not settle for anything les than the best product. Lenovo is a Chinese brand and China is very much associated to cheaper and affordable products rather than expensive, quality products. Lenovo would need the ThinkPad brand to erase this conception from its own Lenovo brand.

It would affect the ThinkPad brand to an extent but once Lenovo starts proving that the machines are as reliable and efficient as they were previously the trend would definitely change.Lenovo would not be looking at using the IBM logo in the long run, reports from China already show that Lenovo is asking customers their preference on affixing the IBM logo on the ThinkPads i.e. Customers who do not wish an IBM logo are given a ThinkPad sans the logo. Lenovo is looking ahead and seeks to get ThinkPad as one of the many brands under the House of Lenovo instead of using IBM as an eternal support brand.

Considering these developments the IBM logo would probably be removed completely in the next 2-3 years.The Lenovo 3000 series was named so to effect a subtle differentiation between Lenovo and IBM. It makes it look more professional and distinctive as brand. The 3000 series was launched to be on par with other major brands like HP, Acer and Dell in terms of pricing. The advantages of the Lenovo strategy are that it followed the dual-brand approach that reduced and minimized its risk effectively.

It also made a mark by promoting the Lenovo brand's own products and quality and efficiency by using the IBM brand as a stamp of credibility. Lenovo was previously unknown beyond China but now thanks to its dual-brand strategy it has become a household name. The disadvantage of this strategy is how Lenovo will choose to differentiate itself and promote itself as a singular brand once it has gained enough awareness in the market. The detaching of the IBM brand from Lenovo is the disadvantage or risk it faces.

Considering all the points stated above and looking at Lenovo's future plans we can come to a conclusion that Lenovo is looking to promote itself as an international brand which caters to different segments of users and seeks to be totally differentiated from its competition.ReferencesTrout, J., (1969). "Positioning" is a game people play in today's me-too market place. Industrial Marketing, Vol.54, No.6, (June 1969), pp.51-55. Ries, A. and Trout, J. (1981). Positioning, The battle for your mind.

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