Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2004. This gave Lenovo the rights to IBM's ThinkPad brand, which was well-known but seen as slow-moving. Lenovo faced challenges in integrating the two companies across borders and balancing global vs local needs. Its strategy was to leverage the strong ThinkPad brand to boost the new Lenovo brand through a "one-two punch" approach - strengthening ThinkPad while using it to promote Lenovo as innovative yet efficient. Lenovo's three-phase advertising plan aimed to first maintain ThinkPad sales, then position Lenovo as improving ThinkPad, and finally stress Lenovo's own innovation. This strategy helped Lenovo become a top global PC brand.

1. Lenovo: Building a Global
Brand
Managing Brands over Geographic Boundaries
and Market Segments
Presented by:
Prasanth Bohara
Dinesh Sharma
Mudith Himwan
Shalini Mishra
Het Mavani

2. REGIONAL MARKET
SEGMENTS
 Regionalization is an important recent
trend that, perhaps on the
surface, seems to run counter to
globalization.
 Reasons for regional marketing
◦ Need for more focused targeting
◦ The shift from national advertising to sales
promotions
 Drawbacks
◦ Production headaches
◦ Marketing efficiency may suffer and costs
may rise

3. OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC AND
CULTURAL SEGMENTS
 For example, the importance for
marketers to consider age segments and
how younger consumers can be brought
into the consumer franchise
 As another example, the 2000 census
revealed that Asians and Hispanics
accounted for 79 million of 281 million
people in the United States and an
estimated $1 trillion in annual purchasing
power.

4. RATIONALE FOR GOING
INTERNATIONAL
 Perception of slow growth and increased
competition in domestic markets
 Belief in enhanced overseas growth and
profit opportunities
 Desire to reduce costs from economies
of scale
 Need to diversify risk
 Recognition of global mobility of
customers

5. Advantages of Global Marketing
Programs
 Economies of scale in production and
distribution
 Lower marketing costs
 Power and scope
 Consistency in brand image
 Ability to leverage good ideas quickly
and efficiently
 Uniformity of marketing practices

6. DISADVANTAGES OF
GLOBAL MARKETING
PROGRAMS
 Differences in consumer needs, wants, and
usage patterns for products
 Differences in brand and product
development and the competitive
environment
 Differences in the legal environment
 Differences in marketing institutions
 Differences in administrative procedures

7. STANDARDIZATION Vs. CUSTOMIZATION
Indian consumer American consumer

8. As brand consultant Robert khan said. “ global branding does not mean
having the same brand everywhere”
 Standardization: same product-same communication across the
border or globally
- Followed by electronic instrument
 customization: to change or adopt product-communication
according to the market
- As coke’s marketing mantra “think global act local”

9.  Standardization-customization process-
product
communication
No change change
No change
change
Straight
extension
Product
adaptation
Communication
adaptation
Dual adaptation

10.  Why customization:
Meaning is different
reading habits
country 1 right left
right left
country 2
Detergent Ad

11.  taste, need , demand is different from one country to other
 Culture difference: individual Vs. collectivism , masculine Vs. famine.
 Delivery adaptation by domino pizza in different
Countries because of culture
 because in Britain anybody knocking on the door is
rude
Domino pizza home delivery
 to get positing difference or country
Of origin effect
“ Tokyo beer”

12.  Global brand strategy: we need to get attention over few basic
issues while making product brand in global market
- Identify differences in consumer behaviour. How he purchase and
use product.
- Adjust the branding program accordingly through the choice of
these customers
- Then have a leverage secondary association programme according
to the market.
- After the application of these factors over the brand we need to focus
on the implication, control and measurement of these factors

13.  Making the brand by the use of CBBE model :
Salience- awareness about the product useful for product recall and
recognition
Performance-its basically related to the
product features and its performance.
Tailor product according to the
globally market
Increase brand
awareness
Favourable
brand
association
Positive
reaction
Increase
brand
locality

14. Imagery: imagery means what is your product having mental map in
the mind of costumer. Should be carefully because each word symbol
and picture represent different meaning. So it hurt sentiment of people
Source of imagery-
 Core brand association
 Identifying points of parity and point of difference
 By origin effect
Judgement and feeling: brand judgement can be negative or positive
like good quality , credible and worthy. At this point judgement
provide feeling to the consumer like excitement, happy etc.
 making product brand by the use of LSA in global market-

15.  LEVERAGE SECONDARY ASSOCIATION
BRAND
Other
brand
placespeople
things
alliance
ingredient
extension
company
employees
endorsers
events
Third party
Channels
Country
of origin

16.  Celebrity endorser: all good character related to celebrity gets transfer to
product and influence to the decision of the consumer.
trustworthy
intelligenc
e
Likeabilit
y
Familiarit
y
attractiveness
attractivenes
s
trustworthy
Familiarit
y
Likeabilit
y

17.  Resonance: it is a final stage in making any product globally
brand here costumer is having locality towards your product
 Resonance is depend on the success of other parameters in
the CBBE model.
 And you can have your product as a brand now.

18. Ten Commandments of Global
Branding
1. Understand similarities and differences in the
global branding landscape
2. Don’t take shortcuts in brand building
3. Establish marketing infrastructure
4. Embrace integrated marketing
communications
5. Cultivate brand partnerships
6. Balance standardization and customization
7. Balance global and local control
8. Define operable guidelines
9. Implement a global brand equity
measurement system
10. Leverage brand elements

19. LENOVO:BUILDING A
GLOBAL BRAND
• In the year 2004 IBM’s personal
computer acquired by Lenovo.
• By the year of 2004, 90% of revenue
comes from china market.
• Lenovo sponsor “Turin Winter
Olympics” in order to gain strong
market share in china and Asia.

20. The Global PC Industry
 1970s- IBM introduced its first PC
after microcomputer and home
computer.
 IBM relied on three key technical
contributor-
1. Intel for 8080 processor
2. Microsoft for DOS operating system
3. Software for VisiCalc Art

21. 1990s
 Internet Boomed
 Launching the set of basic standard
for PCs by Microsoft and Intel.
 Increase in the number of outsourcing
and off shoring.
 Early 21st century major consolidation
had taken place between HP-Compaq
and Gateway-e machines.

22. Contd……….
 By 2004 half of the PCs sold around
the world came from Dell , HP and
Lenovo including IBM’s market share.
RISE OF LEGEND:
1984- china academics of science
invest $25000 to form the New
Technology Developer.
1987- Introduced its original product
Legend card.

23. Contd……..
 1990- Company launched their own
PC.
 1996- Launched their first laptop and
marketed its PCs carrying Intel
Pentium chip.
DEAL:
 IBM was an opportunity to shed
“Unprofitable operation”.
 Lenovo gained the right to use IBM
think pad laptop and think centre

24. Think Pad Legacy
 The research showed that in customer
mind IBM and Think pad are hard to
separate.
OPPORTUNITY:
 The way IBM and Lenovo sold PCs
was very complementary.
CHALLENGES:
 Lenovo focus on the SMEs while IBM
focus on corporate and enterprise
customer.

25. Organizational Changes
 September 2005 – Management
restructuring that integrated the
original Lenovo and former IBM
◦ New international composition and scope
◦ Company’s working language changed to
English
◦ Working via conference calls posed
challenges
◦ 12-hour time difference between Beijing
and U.S. east coast also caused some
strain

26. Branding Opportunities
 Opportunity and Challenge to build an
international brand using IBM legacy.
 Turin Olympics Sponsorship – a
platform to showcase its capabilities to
the world
 Right to use IBM logo for five years

27. Best from East and West
 From Lenovo
◦ Understanding of
emerging markets
◦ Excellent efficiency
◦ Focus on long-term
strategy
 From IBM
◦ Deep insights into
worldwide markets
◦ Best practices from
western companies

28. Main concerns with customers
 Innovation would slow down
 Quality would suffer
 Service and support would be
outsourced overseas

29. Branding Alternatives
1. Master Brand Strategy
2. House of Brands Strategy
3. Synergy Approach
4. Lexus/Toyota Strategy

30. “One-Two Punch” Strategy
 Two main elements:
1. Build up Lenovo as a strong master
brand
2. Continue to strengthen the ThinkPad
product brand, which was a special
franchise that could be leveraged to
support the Lenovo master brand.
 Differentiation: Innovation and
Efficiency

31. Advertising Plan
 “Maintain ThinkPad brand and use that
brand’s strength to build the Lenovo
brand”
 Three phase advertising plan:
1. Worldwide Advertising campaign –
“ThinkPad” instead of Lenovo (maintain
ThinkPad sales momentum)
2. “ThinkPad Unleashed” campaign –
Lenovo making ThinkPad even better
3. Third campaign stress innovation for
Lenovo master brand