CRAFTING THE BRAND POSITIONING GROUP 7 Hoang Thi Ngoc Huyen M987Z239 Hyacintha FAUSTINO M997Z Krissapon Apinyaupatum M997Z241 Antun Paradzik M997Z223 Nguyen Thi Thu Trang M997Z210 Le Van M997Z246 I. THE ACER BRAND Corporate Overview Structure of The Company & Management Philosophy II. ACER PRODUCT LINE III. THE SUCCESS OF THE BRAND Brand Strategy Position on The Value Chain IV. COMPETITORS ANALYSIS & SWOT V. CHALLENGES VI. SOLUTIONS VII. CONCLUSION THE ACER BRAND INTRODUCTION Founded in 1976 by Stan Shih under the name of MultitechInternational Corporation Renamed ACER in 1987 Means “sharp”, implies “energetic” and “capable” In 2009, $ 17,9 Billion of total revenues Long terms mission : « To break the barriersbetween people and technoogy » Target differentcustomerneeds in the global PC Market THE ACER BRAND INTRODUCTION • • • • A unique multi brand strategy ACER GATEWAY (in 2007) e-MACHINES Packard Bell ( in 2008) Strenghten the group footprint with US and EU presence THE ACER BRAND CORPORATE OVERVIEW It began with only eleven employees and $25,000 in capital. Initially, the company was primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies. At present, Acer is among the world's top ten branded PC Vendors, providing marketing and service operations across Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, and supporting dealers and distributors in over 100 countries. Now 35,000 people in 232 enterprises spanning 42 countries Great investments in R&D to stay on the top of edge STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY ACER EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) With headquarters in Italy, Acer EMEA has grown from strength to strength over the last few years. In EMEA, Acer holds No. 1 position in Tablet PC's, No. 2 position in Notebooks and ranks overall No. 4 in total PC sales ACER MIDDLE EAST Established in 1992, Acer Computer (M.E.) Ltd. has over 80 employees servicing the IT requirements of over 50 countries in the Middle East, NEW Africa and the sub-continent. Acer has also been awarded the "Super Brand" for the year 2002 in the UAE ACER MIDDLE EAST UNILOAD (UNIQUE LOADING) Acer Middle East prides on the state-of-the-art Unique Loading Uniload) assembly plant located in the facility. This assembly plant has a maximum capacity to produce up to 10,000 units a month. With customization possibility on Desktops and Servers, Acer Middle East is the only vendor in this region to offer such a facility and hence provide the freshest and latest products as and when they are launch. Corporate structure Chairman & CEO CFO Corporate strategy office Corporate president Value labs IT products business Finance China operations Human resource Taiwan operations Information technology Pan America operations Legal Asia Pacific operations Branding EU, Middle East , Africa operations General affairs e-Enabling Service business Channel business MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY Decentralised management & structure An open structure with extensive individual responsibility and financial participation Decicion making power is given to local managers arround the world Change the public perception of the « Made in Taiwan » « Global brand local touch » Different from the traditionalAsianhierarchy «Top down corporate structure and corporate culture » Acer have managed to establish a qualityname and high end image PRODUCT LINE DESKTOPS High-performance desktop PCs with full-featured and practical functionality for all kinds of users and working environments. SERVERS & STORAGES The Altos server & storage Reliable, expandable and easy-to-use, Acer’s servers provide sophisticated and dependable technologies to deliver the level of excellence required by serious businesspeople. NOTEBOOKS Aspire series Design for the casual household user or small business use that expect both productivity and entertainment. In addition to advance processing and multimedia features, Aspire notebooks feature Acer CrystalBrite LCD technology. TravelMate Series Built to support fast-moving business and professional, TravelMate notebooks offer wealth of reliability, security, & communication features integrated in sleek, professional design. Ferrari Series Since 2003, Acer has been collaborating with Scuderia Ferrari. Both companies share the success and spirit of competition. In 2006, Acer became a Sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari. In carbon fiber material, is a proof of the latest advance in mobile technology. The streamlined thin & light form is combined with high-performance processor, high-definition graphics capability, a multitude of multimedia and productivity functionality. NETBOOKS Aspire One All-new ultra-compact stylish design, ultra-lightweight and ultraportable netbook for maximum portability. With instant-on for immediate communication, these Netbook would be an easy-to-use interface. HANDHELDS Stylish & easy-to-carry pocket PC with latest generation communication features. Acer’s sleek & smartlooking handhelds provide the perfect combination of mobility and performance. MONITORS With the Gamers, Prestige, Office and Value lines, it will deliver extraordinary graphic resolution, stunning movie performance, true-tolife gaming and super-sharp images. TVs A cutting-edge technology with superb picture and sound quality. PROJECTORS Acer projector provide an exceptional image performance with portable and ergonomics design. DIGITAL CAMERAS Lightweight, compact, easy-to-use. BRAND STRATEGY “Global Brand, Local Touch” or Multi-Brand Strategy Three Major Elements Extensive distribution channels (Strong relationship) Low Pricing Point (drive sales and lower cost to high profit) Strong Growth in the Asia-Pacific region & Launching “Ferrari Brand” to North America market World's 2nd largest PC vendor – “Year of 2009” http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9139380/Acer_passes_Dell_as_second_largest_PC_vendor POSITION ON THE VALUE CHAIN ACER’S VALUE CHAIN (2 main activities) 1.PRIMARY ACTIVITY : - Emphasis on “Commercial Innovation”, - Good Services and reliable warranty - Strong Channel Distribution - Efficacious productivity 2.SECONDARY ACTIVITY : - Reshaping Organizational culture (suit to each local conditions) - Refocused innovation (Innovation’s Trademarks of Firm) - Utilizing R&D to continue improve product innovation http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/179234.html COMPETITORS ACER STRENGTHS o Strong innovation process, in which is included every employee with his ideas o Main factory is located in Taiwan, but also other factories are dispersed in other countries which has low-cost labor and distribution o Products with low competitive prices to compete with the strong rivals and acquire the low-priced laptop market share WEAKNESSES o All IT products are extremely competitive and require frequent innovations to keep the customers’ expectations o Laptop customers expect new functions and improved at least once every year o Innovations and changing market demand needs strong and flexible supply chain to successful deliver products to the market before the competition OPPORTUNITIES Asian market is huge and would consume many of Acer’s products if marketing strategy is good and using low price model acquiring Gateway, eMachines and Packard bell will help Acer to enter at the eBook Readers market(IPad) Acer had opportunity to penetrate on lucrative Chinese market THREATS - The laptop and PC market are extremely competitive, both products needs management support to invest in the research and development departments - The innovation will continue as long as the workers are inspired and motivate to produce new ideas - Unpredictable IT future, in which is many strong competitors CHALLENGES - PASS Acer has faced challenges in its expansion in China market as most of the leading foreign manufacturers except for DELL still practice traditional channel strategies, along with the fact that local manufacturers enjoy the advantages of strong channel and lowpricing sale, thus making Acer being unable to practice low-price strategy. For global only 6000 employees of the Acer Group, in addition to the brand and the core research and development, almost all business with foreign aid, not like HP or Dell a factory there are tens of thousands of people. Therefore, the cost of this Acer control is also a few in the world. To quickly get the Chinese market objectives and constraints of cost, not to the Acer building China channel conditions can only be "borrowed". CHALLENGES - PRESENT Challenging Acer's is the decrease of business in American market As for Acer, one of its immediate challenges is organizing the large stable of products it has assembled. Acer seems to be too dependent on the consumer market, and away from the difficult but attractive to corporate customers a little bit far away, these customers require expensive services. In the uncertain economic outlook, many people will restrain spending. Acer is facing a new problem is that it does not have strong products to replace the Internet, while the Internet is gone. Executives mentioned the Tablet PC and want to develop e-books, although competitors have introduced new products, Acer was not very specific plan. SOLUTION - PASS Acer expanded their business and production into China with the aim covering this big market and taking full advantage of high-educated and low-cost human resources. Acer decided to change from building brands in the business-to-consumer market (a transaction that company provides goods/services for consumer) to building brands in the business-to-business market (a transaction that company provides goods/services for another company) Working with distributors such as Ingram Micro to sell Acer’s product through distributors and retailers rather than offering direct sales to the customer SOLUTION - PRESENT Strong focus and acted quickly in the mini-notebook segment. Allowing Acer to provide customers with fresh technologies, competitive pricing, and quality service. Acer was organized into strategic regional business units for marketing. Local management teams were empowered to make wide range decisions of marketing mix elements. CONCLUSION Acer use innovative management techniques for its operations, HRM, diversification and multiples channels of distribution The company also allows decision making power from each individual units by : The promotion of a new managment style which promote individual growth Client oriented , which enable open communication and knowledge transfer