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19
company.” The text-heavy spot goes on to explain the fusion of IBM’s PC
division into Lenovo. Before starting the new ads, Ogilvy, a unit of the WPP
Group that has also been IBM’s longtime ad agency, mounted an internal
communications campaign aimed at employees of Lenovo and the PC division,
as well as some customers. An eight-page marketing brochure attempted to
answer the question, “Does the world really need another PC company?”29
These branding efforts, nonetheless, were not appreciated by all. Mark Ritson, an
associate professor of marketing at Melbourne Business School, for example,
remained skeptical about Lenovo’s success. “There will be great Chinese brands
at some point,” Ritson said. “But some of them are going to fail spectacularly at
first.”
How did Lenovo respond to such views on its rebranding endeavor? “People
tend to stereotype,” Deepak Advani, chief marketing officer at Lenovo
commented. “Lenovo is a company that will shatter all stereotypes,” he said.30
Lenovo has four core values at the heart of its brand: (a) serving customers, (b)
accuracy and truth seeking, (c) trustworthiness and integrity, and (d) an
innovative “can-do” spirit.31 Lenovo can leverage these four values to fulfill its
ambition of being technology-driven, service-oriented global brand.
29 Eric Pfanner, “Lenovo tries to win the West; on Advertisting,” The
International Herald Tribune (16 May 2005) 9.
30 See Note 29.
31 See Note 15.
Object Description
| Title | China's investment in the United States and the public relations implications: A case study of the Lenovo-IBM acquisition |
| Author | Liang, Shuyan |
| Author email | shuyanliang.usc@gmail.com; shuyanli@usc.edu |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Strategic Public Relations |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-04-30 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-05-04 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Kotler, Jonathan |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Floto, Jennifer Wang, Jian (Jay) |
| Abstract | This paper discusses Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s personal computer division in 2005 as a case in point to explore issues involved in China’ investment in the United States, particularly its public relations implications. It is demonstrated that media coverage underscored the complications and tensions in these supposedly free market activities. This paper presents the manifestation of controversial issues such as state-ownership of businesses, national security, and economic protectionism, as Chinese enterprises invest in the United States through mergers and acquisitions. It provides an account of Lenovo’s communication strategies and gives suggestions to better manage corporate reputation and brand images for Chinese companies that are seeking overseas investment. |
| Keyword | Lenovo; IBM; China; United States; foreign direct investment (FDI); mergers and acquisition (M&A); public relations (PR) |
| Geographic subject (country) | China; USA |
| Coverage date | 2005/2010 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3902 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Liang, Shuyan |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Liang-4567 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume32/etd-Liang-4567.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 26 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 19 company.” The text-heavy spot goes on to explain the fusion of IBM’s PC division into Lenovo. Before starting the new ads, Ogilvy, a unit of the WPP Group that has also been IBM’s longtime ad agency, mounted an internal communications campaign aimed at employees of Lenovo and the PC division, as well as some customers. An eight-page marketing brochure attempted to answer the question, “Does the world really need another PC company?”29 These branding efforts, nonetheless, were not appreciated by all. Mark Ritson, an associate professor of marketing at Melbourne Business School, for example, remained skeptical about Lenovo’s success. “There will be great Chinese brands at some point,” Ritson said. “But some of them are going to fail spectacularly at first.” How did Lenovo respond to such views on its rebranding endeavor? “People tend to stereotype,” Deepak Advani, chief marketing officer at Lenovo commented. “Lenovo is a company that will shatter all stereotypes,” he said.30 Lenovo has four core values at the heart of its brand: (a) serving customers, (b) accuracy and truth seeking, (c) trustworthiness and integrity, and (d) an innovative “can-do” spirit.31 Lenovo can leverage these four values to fulfill its ambition of being technology-driven, service-oriented global brand. 29 Eric Pfanner, “Lenovo tries to win the West; on Advertisting,” The International Herald Tribune (16 May 2005) 9. 30 See Note 29. 31 See Note 15. |
