LONDON--Lenovo is reviewing its consumer PR support, as part of a global brand-building effort that aims to establish the Chinese company as the world’s largest PC maker.
The company is understood to have contacted a number of consumer firms in the UK, and is considering PR support both within the country and beyond. The process is being led by Lenovo head of UK media relations and executive communications Charlotte West.
Lenovo recently overtook Dell to take the number two spot in terms of global PC sales behind HP, and has grown its market share considerably since acquiring IBM’s personal computing division in 2005. Last year, it launched its first global brand campaign, in a bid to build a stronger consumer positioning in Western markets.
"We are at the early stages of exploring how we can support our global branding campaign and ambition to become the number one PC company globally with a broader push to consumer audiences,” West told the Holmes Report. “No pitch is confirmed at this stage.”
Lenovo currently works with a number of PR firms including, in particular, relationships with Text 100 and Ogilvy PR. In its home country of China, the world’s second largest PC maker works with domestic powerhouse Blue Focus.
The PR review follows the arrival of former Apple marketer David Roman as Lenovo CMO in 2010. Roman previously headed HP’s well-received ‘Your computer is personal again’ campaign, and led the launch of Lenovo’s global ‘For those who do’ brand initiative last year.
In an interview with the Holmes Report as the campaign launched, Roman said that the company needed to become more relevant to youth audiences, by articulating a clearer point-of-view.
While Lenovo’s worldwide sales have soared in recent quarters, it remains ranked behind such competitors as Dell, Acer, HP and Apple in the US and UK.