Lenovo: Building a Global Brand

When Lenovo acquired IBM’s PC division to transition out of being China’s largest PC maker to the third largest in the world, they were confronted with the challenge of four different brand strategies. Lenovo desired to clearly communicate an authentic value proposition for the newly combined resources of their firm. With this, we would recommend a Synergy branding strategy in the short term and a Master Brand approach in the long term. We feel this co-branding approach will further align Lenovo’s brand to their mission of “putting more innovation in the hands of more people so they can do more amazing things” by creating broader consumer appeal and greater brand equity.
Using a hybrid of the master company in conjunction with sub-brands to create the Synergy approach would be the most beneficial for Lenovo in the short run. The brand extension would give personality to the sub-brands while allowing the master brand to be the “umbrella” image in market. Although Lenovo will have to combine and balance investments for the various brands, it is vital for them to maintain the “Think” brands of IBM. Throughout the remainder of the contract, Lenovo can benefit from maintaining IBM’s core branding while improving their own products to develop successful strategies that will further promote the Lenovo brand. The synergy would develop positive consumer expectations and facilitate new product acceptance as the company continues to grow. Lenovo should continue market research for data related to conversion rates to determine the consumer’s decision-making process and potential for increasing brand equity and awareness. Lenovo’s competencies for innovation and efficiency can then be combined with the quality and credibility established by IBM. Lenovo should capitalize on the advantages of the acquisition using the instant recognition and current brand awareness to improve perceptions and create loyalty for as long as they can until they move to the Master Brand