Case Analysis Lenovo Co.

Christopher Harjo

Case Analysis Lenovo Co.

1. What brand image did IBM have in the personal computer (PC) market in 2005, when this business was sold to Lenovo Group of China? In which market segment did IBM’s ThinkPad have the strongest reputation and market share?

IBM had third place among the world’s pc markets, with annual revenue of $15 billion generated by sales in more than 60 countries. IBM’s ThinkPad falls into he market segment of those in the work force, it is industrially strong and it is IT friendly. Previously IBM’s price was very expensive, now they can get it as cheap as Dell‘s prices. This will in turn, increase the market share for the ThinkPad. Mainly their target market is small businesses in the U.S.

2. What brand image did Lenovo enjoy in 2005 in the global PC market? How did it compare to IBM’s brand image? Provided that Lenovo would not be allowed to use the IBM name after 2010, how soon should Lenovo start to build its own brand equity?

As mention above, it had third placing with the world’s PC market, and now has almost 8 percent share of the world’s PC market. Lenovo has started to eliminate IBM logo immediately, as Lenovo tries to build itself a global brand identity. Its effort in order to build awareness about the corporate name and its products, Lenovo paid more than $60 million to become China’s first Olympic sponsors for the 2006 winter Olympic in Turin, Italy.

3. In the case, it’s described that Lenovo spent $60 million to sponsor the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Was it a good choice to spend this much money to buy publicity? Why or why not?

Lenovo wanted to make a huge impact in the world’s PC market and require the next big event available to spread the companies’ new image. Using the 2006 Winter Olympics was a big and necessary step for Lenovo. Many spectators will we present and watching worldwide, and this is how Lenovo intend to strengthen the company name. Although $60...