聯想打造國際范

????中國公司如何在本國消費者眼中塑造大牌的形象？聯想（Lenovo）給出的答案是少一點中國味。

????聯想將于今秋晚些時候進行一輪推廣活動，它引入了一個英文口號：“Lenovo: For those who do”（聯想：為了行動派）。去年時，聯想也在北美等地進行過類似的營銷。這個多渠道的宣傳攻勢結合了電視、網絡和平面廣告，主要由總部位于紐約的廣告代理商盛世公司（Saatchi and Saatchi）設計，成本預計為1億美元。

????聯想在國內市場的營銷攻勢目前仍處于早期規劃階段，但公司首席營銷官大衛?羅曼向《財富》雜志（Fortune）透露，推廣活動將同樣令人興奮。不過這些新廣告將由一家中國廣告公司設計。

????聯想希望改變多年來的形象，首席營銷官大衛?羅曼承認聯想公司的形象有些老派。聯想可能是中國最大的個人電腦制造商，但羅曼認為該品牌與一個成功但在老化的產品類別綁在了一起。羅曼坦承：“為了在智能手機和平板電腦領域獲得成功，我們還必須使聯想在這些領域變得更酷、更新潮。”

????羅曼可謂一語中的。去年底，調研機構高德納（Gartner）對北京18到55歲的高收入群體進行了抽樣調查。結果顯示，相比于國內品牌，國際品牌在吸引力上具有壓倒性優勢?！拔也幌矚g國內品牌，我喜歡蘋果（Apple），”高德納分析師北川美佳子引用當時一位參與者的話說。雖然聯想在中國赫赫有名，但蘋果和寶馬（BMW）等更出名的國際品牌仍被中國人視為身份與地位的象征。

????Forrester研究公司分析師薩拉?羅特曼?艾普斯表示，一個成功的國際品牌，其標準之一是確保在不同市場使用同樣的品牌名。所以，雖然很多產品的營銷手冊經常是用當地語言編寫的，但其品牌和產品名稱往往仍是英文。例如索尼（Sony）及其PlayStation 3游戲機，還有三星（Samsung）及其智能手機系列?，F在，聯想正在朝這方面不懈努力。

????聯想新的市場策略能否在中國奏效仍然是個未知數。分析師向《財富》表示，在中國這個品牌認同已根深蒂固的國家，重塑品牌的難度很大。它不比在美國，因為美國人的品牌認同感要小得多。而作為一家中國公司，想塑造具有國際認知力的品牌可謂難上加難。不過，羅曼說：“我們希望聯想能成為第一批走向世界的中國公司?！?/p>

????譯者：項航

????How does a Chinese company make itself cool to locals? For Lenovo, the answer is to appear less Chinese.

????Later this fall it is unleashing a campaign that imports the same English slogan -- "Lenovo: For those who do" – from a similar global campaign it rolled out to regions like North America last year. That multi-channel effort, a combination of action-heavy TV, Web, and print advertising, was designed largely by the New York-based ad agency Saatchi and Saatchi and cost an estimated $100 million.

????While Lenovo's Chinese marketing campaign is still in the early planning stages, CMO David Roman tells Fortune to expect a campaign in the same adrenaline-pumping vein. But these new ads will be designed by a Chinese agency instead.

????Lenovo wants to revamp its tired image, which CMO David Roman admits is somewhat avuncular. It may be the largest PC maker in China, but it is a brand he admits remains tied to a successful, if aging, device category. "In order to be successful in smartphones and tablets, we also have to make Lenovo cooler and hipper in these spaces," Roman admits.

????He may have a point. Late last year, when Gartner Research held a focus group among high-income individuals in Beijing between the ages of 18 and 55, the overwhelming consensus was that international brands were more appealing than domestic ones. "I don't want this domestic brand. I want Apple," Mikako Kitagawa, a Gartner Research analyst, recalls participants saying. Although Lenovo has a strong reputation and is widely respected in China, stronger global brands like Apple (AAPL) and BMW are viewed as status symbols there.

????Part of owning a successful global brand often involves having one voice with which you speak to the customer, says Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester Research analyst. The fine print on marketing materials will often be in that country's native language, but the brand and product name remains in English. Case in point: Sony (SNE) and its PlayStation 3 video game console or Samsung and its smartphone ecosystem. In that respect, Lenovo is playing catch-up.

????Whether the company's new marketing efforts pay off in its native country remains to be seen. Analysts Fortune spoke to agree that casting a company in a different light is much harder to do in a market like China where it already has a strong brand perception as opposed to the U.S., where it's much lesser known. Being a Chinese company aiming for widespread global recognition represents an even bigger challenge, although it's certainly one the company recognizes. Says Roman: "We hope Lenovo will be the first of a number of brands to emerge."