Discussion with Laurent La Rocca, Marketing Director Southern Europe of Lenovo, to provide an update on the culture and strategy of the world leader in PC.
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When the Lenovo name appears in a conversation, I instinctively see products like Yoga Pro Tab 3 (this tablet to the integrated projector) or Yoga 900 (this laptop high-end to the metal hinge, worthy a beautiful watch that can bend in any position).
And these are indeed the iron product launches Lenovo's innovative products drivent the brand image.
This is however not the products that brought them to where they are today: leading the PC world since mid-2013 with 21% market share on PCs worldwide (though they remain behind HP in France 17.7%).
If innovation is important in the communication strategy of Lenovo, its audience and its reputation have made in the workplace with a reputation for reliability. Indeed, it is they who provide the ThinkPad (the red dot) since the acquisition of IBM's PC division in 2005.
This is also the one hundred millionth ThinkPad, which was sold this year.
Reliability making the pride of the manufacturer that can claim to be the choice of space agencies.
Lenovo Yet more recently concentrated to gain market share in the consumer world.
"We want to be present on tariff enough slots to satisfy all needs," explains marketing director of the brand. They propose also indeed the very affordable PC for students and people with low incomes, that Yoga hinges jewelry that will resume watchmaking codes. But the conquest of new markets is also and especially with diversification into the smartphone market and tablets.
The acquisition of Motorola in 2014 allowed them to rise to the rank of No. 4 worldwide through its pure Android layer inherited from his time at Google. In the end, with the sale of products that range from data center the computing devices to the farm, Laurent La Rocca Lenovo introduces me as "the creator of solutions with the most complete chain, the broadest scope of the market."
See This : The team of Google Pixel C confirms the multi-window support on Android
When the Lenovo name appears in a conversation, I instinctively see products like Yoga Pro Tab 3 (this tablet to the integrated projector) or Yoga 900 (this laptop high-end to the metal hinge, worthy a beautiful watch that can bend in any position).
And these are indeed the iron product launches Lenovo's innovative products drivent the brand image.
This is however not the products that brought them to where they are today: leading the PC world since mid-2013 with 21% market share on PCs worldwide (though they remain behind HP in France 17.7%).
If innovation is important in the communication strategy of Lenovo, its audience and its reputation have made in the workplace with a reputation for reliability. Indeed, it is they who provide the ThinkPad (the red dot) since the acquisition of IBM's PC division in 2005.
This is also the one hundred millionth ThinkPad, which was sold this year.
Reliability making the pride of the manufacturer that can claim to be the choice of space agencies.
Lenovo Yet more recently concentrated to gain market share in the consumer world.
"We want to be present on tariff enough slots to satisfy all needs," explains marketing director of the brand. They propose also indeed the very affordable PC for students and people with low incomes, that Yoga hinges jewelry that will resume watchmaking codes. But the conquest of new markets is also and especially with diversification into the smartphone market and tablets.
The acquisition of Motorola in 2014 allowed them to rise to the rank of No. 4 worldwide through its pure Android layer inherited from his time at Google. In the end, with the sale of products that range from data center the computing devices to the farm, Laurent La Rocca Lenovo introduces me as "the creator of solutions with the most complete chain, the broadest scope of the market."
Lenovo: think different (ly again)
What would be the potential for a company like Lenovo? Stand still on its laurels and be caught up by the new cool kids of the sector. Did not count on the will of Lenovo's position as the "new" innovative brand of IT.
This posture is embodied by the "Good Weird" slogan put forward by the brand to summarize his approach. This "Good Weird", this "Good Weird" if one seeks to the franciser, represents the will of the brand to offer amazing products, cons-intuitive in some areas, but this will make the force.
While some their devices can appear unusual and "strange" to the first approach, the difference is quickly explained by a concrete innovation.
For attention for Laurent La Rocca "Lenovo fight against the gadget side and futility of some innovations."
L innovation must always be useful to consumers. Thus, the strange Yoga Tab with his "handle" large will possess both excellent grip (similar to that of a book) and a huge battery (10000 mAh for autonomy 18h).
Indeed, there where Apple will continually make the race for finesse ... Lenovo suggests that consumers we do not want necessarily the thinnest device, especially if it helps to have a decent battery life.
Lenovo is positioning also heavily in posture builder who listens consumers.
"We start from first use, summarizes Laurent La Rocca me. What are the users suffering? What can bring more?
"It is this reasoning that led the overhead projector to the tablet, where they noticed that this very personal device, often becomes a shared object.
Since This "home mobile cinema" has become the product flagship brand (its "flagship" product to use the vocabulary of the sector).
The Yoga Tab 3 Pro thus sums up the strategy "Good Weird" with surprising choices first look, but will make sense to use.
And in an era of standardization of devices, the price of this difference seems to be an appropriate strategy.
The difference in its management and in its communication
But the "Good Weird"
is not a product strategy since this philosophy seems to have impacts in the same company management. First of all, would you give me the original nationality of Lenovo?
Because that is often overlooked, but Lenovo is a Chinese group.
"We are not the traditional Asian manufacturer, explains Laurent. We are" good weird, "even in our workforce with multi-culturalism in the group that is a will of the CEO. There are 7 nationalities and in the board of Lenovo.
"There are also very few Chinese expatriates in their EMEA team with confidence in local teams. They are thus 200 people working for Lenovo in France (about 60,000 in the world) from their new premises in Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine).
But Lenovo also makes the difference in its communication. As a world leader in PC, we could expect to see Lenovo launch very large corporates and classical campaigns ... yet, there is a certain posture challenger in its operations.
For example, the recent campaign subtitled "Project your talent "around the Yoga Pro Tab 3 where they tried to instill the" goodweirdeness "(a term that Lawrence was probably invented for the occasion).
The idea? Calling on young talent in fashion, street art or cinema to come "hacker" major events to showcase their creations.
This is evident for example during a happening to an evening of Fashion Week where mannequins have noted since their acolytes were planning designs on their white clothes with the pico-projector from Yoga Pro Tab 3.
A way to highlight the particularity of their products in an original way, while giving a boost to young talents.
But the height of "goodweird" probably returns to the screen jacket. This is a jacket which the pattern is formed by streetartistes campaign. Jacket that turns into the screen in a few seconds by extending the white lining of the garment. The office is therefore Jacket Screen accessory for Yoga Tab, probably tablet accessory that no one is waiting to see.
Is it too much? This is definitely Good Weird!