Compaq In A New Light

After much confusion on how to deal with the highly popular Compaq
brand, HP seems to have worked out a strategy for the same. It unveiled a new logo for
Compaq laptops at the ‘Making Connections’ event in Shanghai recently.

After dwelling on a host of notebook and laptop launches, Satjiv
Chahil, Senior VP—Global Marketing, HP, unveiled a new logo for one its most reputed
brand of laptops—Compaq at ‘Making Connections’ event in Shanghai recently.
The new Compaq logo is more modernistic in its approach, if one may say so.

A letter ‘C’ would replace the lettering Compaq, with a tail
ending like a ‘Q’. "Just as the ‘swoosh’ does wonders for Nike,
we think there are big possibilities for the CQ icon. It also looks similar to a thought
balloon," said Chahil.

After much confusion on how to deal with the highly popular Compaq
brand, HP seems to have worked out a strategy for the same. It has been around six years
since Compaq merged with HP amidst much hullabaloo (with even Walter Hewlett, son of HP
founder William Hewlett and David Packard, son of co-founder David Packard opposing the
merger).

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Todd Bradley, Executive VP-Personal Systems Group, HP giving a presentation at the event

Over the years Compaq products were re-branded under the HP tag, like
the Proliant Server line. Even then, Compaq brand remained alive on other products, like
the PCs and the laptops.

Meanwhile, the company also merged their business computers line with
Compaq’s Business PC line to create the HP Compaq brand and the PDAs were re-branded
under the HP tag. There seemed to be a lot of debate and speculation on whether HP would
continue with the Compaq brand at all. All such speculations were laid to rest in
Shanghai, when Chahil released the new logo.

HP has also evolved a clear-cut branding strategy. As Todd Bradley,
Executive VP—Personal Systems Group, HP, said, "Compaq is the brand you need, HP
is the brand you want, Voodoo is the brand you crave for."

Thus all the low-end and medium range laptops will boast of a Compaq
brand, while HP (namely the Pavillion series and others) will be visible on a bit
higher-range model and Voodoo on the upper range of laptops. Even HP’s competitor,
Lenovo did much the same. After buying the IBM PC Division, Lenovo decided to continue
with the highly popular Thinkpad series.

Going by the initial reaction at the ‘Making Connections’
event in Shanghai, the re-branding seems to have done its job, cleared the fog that
surrounded the Compaq brand. People seemed quite appreciative of the new logo and design,
now it is the turn of the consumers to decide.

Shashwat Chaturvedi


(The author was hosted in Shanghai by HP)