NYT Joins Silicon Hutong Blasting Lenovo Decision to Drop The Golden Initials 


In the Hutong
1631 hrs 

The New York Times has finally picked up the story about how remarkably short-sighted Lenovo is being in discarding the use of the IBM brand so early in the game. As noted on Silicon Hutong almost exactly eight months ago, Lenovo has screwed itself out of 4 years' use of a $53 billion asset.

This move would not be as serious if Lenovo had already spent the time, effort, and marketing $$ to let their customer base (enterprise, not consumers) get to know who - or what - Lenovo is. Instead, they're dumping the IBM name FIRST, then starting an ad campaign to explain. It's clear from the NYT article that most of their customers have no idea who Lenovo is or why the computer maker should be trusted with the future of their businesses.

Think Dell, HP, Toshiba, and Apple are happy about this? Bet on it.

Deepak Advani, Lenovo's chief marketing officer, is taking the public heat for the decision, and he's doing a good job at articulating the company's position, as unconvincing as it is. Somehow, I don't think Deepak is making these calls. As such, the question that troubles me is "where are these decisions being made?" I'd bet good money the answer is "Beijing" and not South Carolina.  

Posted: Sun - April 16, 2006 at 05:13 PM          

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