The Rebranding of Lenovo After Its Acquisition of Thinkpad

The Rebranding of Lenovo after Its Acquisition of ThinkPad Chinese company Lenovo, founded in Beijing in 1984 and incorporated in Hong Kong in 1988, has gone through rebranding after its 2005 acquisition of the ThinkPad PC business from U. S. firm IBM. [1] Since then, Lenovo has risen to become the top PC maker alongside Hewlett-Packard, and analysts point to its ThinkPad products as a major factor behind its success. Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s personal computer division accelerated access to foreign markets while improving both its branding and technology.
Before 2005, Lenovo lacked international recognition, attention to user and user experience outside China. The acquisition of the ThinkPad not only helped Lenovo promote brand image, but also helped it build the awareness in overseas markets. In order to extend the market and compete against its competitors Lenovo has pursued innovative new PC designs such as its popular IdeaPad Yoga products, ThinkPad Helix, and ThinkPad Twist. Lenovo has achieved significant success with this high-value strategy and it now controls more than 40% of the market for Windows computers priced above $900 in the United States. 2] Keeping the original name ThinkPad, Lenovo puts its brand identity in front of it. The brand value of ThinkPad has been successfully kept after being acquired by Lenovo. Shipments of Think-branded computers have doubled since Lenovo’s takeover of the brand, with operating margins thought to be above 5%. [2] Lenovo has aggressively expanded the ThinkPad brand away from traditional laptop computers in favor of tablets and hybrid devices such as ThinkPad Helix and the ThinkPad Twist. Lenovo ThinkPad
ThinkPad line has filled up the blank of high-end products, completing the whole product lines of Lenovo. Now, Lenovo offers a multiplicity of product lines, and successfully seizing both high-end and low-end market. ThinkPad products are aimed at producing enterprise machines and high-end consumer products and positioned to compete with Apple in the high-end market. While, other product lines, such as IdeaPad and Essential, are focusing on mid- and low-range products, competing with HP, Deal as well as other mid-and –low range price PC producers.

To improve its brand awareness in the international retail market, Lenovo has invested heavily in media and promotion. Lenovo hoped to establish a worldwide brand image of cool and innovative, rather than a synonym for cheap. Lenovo has purchased the advertising space during Super Bowl and a popular TV show “Glee”. One ad shows a Lenovo notebook open its parachute after being thrown out of an airplane, which displays the Quick Launch feature of the Lenovo notebook. In the lobby of the Lenovo U. S. building, the tagline “For those who do” can be easily found everywhere.
Lenovo was also cleverly advertised in a Hollywood movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In the movie, a computer transforms into a robot friend of the hero, Shia Labeouf — and the name of the computer company is there for all to see: Lenovo. “Chinese enterprises are looking for better opportunities to promote brands globally, and Hollywood is a good platform,” said Liu Siru, head of the advertising company Filmworks China Entertainment Marketing, which is operating in the US movie hub[3]. References: [1]: Company history of Lenovo on their official website, http://www. enovo. com/lenovo/us/en/history. html [2]: [From guard shack to global giant; Chinese industry “From guard shack to global giant; Chinese industry”]. The Economist. January 12, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013. [3]: Chen Jia: Remake, Remodel and Rebrand: Chinese firms need to raise their game to gain international recognition, October 2, 2011. [4]: Craig Stephen (August 20, 2012), China’s Lenovo may be one-off success,MarketWatch, August 20, 2012. [5]: “Face value: Legend in the making”. The Economist, February 6, 2013.