Cisco repositions company to get closer to end-users Erwin Oliva INQ7.net
November 14, 2006
Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. wants to shed its old image of being merely a network company and wants to get closer to consumers, local executives said in a briefing in Manila.
Launching a new company logo and brand strategy, Cisco announced that the company is embarking on a major campaign to increase its "brand value," which according to Interbrand, is worth $17.5 billion in a 2006 global survey.
Interbrand and Business Week come out with a yearly list of top global brands.
For 2006, the Cisco brand was ranked 18th, next to Louis Vuitton, which is worth $17.6 billion dollars. Coca-cola is the number one brand, followed by Microsoft, IBM, GE, Intel, Nokia, Toyota, Disney, McDonald's and Mercedes.
Search engine and Internet company Google, whose brand is worth $12.3 billion, is ranked 24th.
Cisco is not the first technology company to reposition itself closer to consumers. Microprocessor maker Intel Corp. came out with a new brand and market focus almost a year ago to associate itself more with consumer devices instead of the "plumbing" behind computers. Cisco is also known to be a maker of "plumbing" behind computer and telecommunications networks; equipment found mostly in the back-end.
After its rebranding and repositioning campaign, Intel this year remains among Interbrand's top 25 brands, but its brand value has dropped by 9 percent. Meanwhile, Cisco's brand value increased by 6 percent in 2006 before the rebranding campaign.
Investing around $100 million for the campaign, Cisco hopes to change the way people perceive the company, Cisco Systems Inc. Philippines country manager Luichi Robles said.
"The face of networking is changing. In the 1990s, we got people connected. Today, we see a reversal. Users are driving the networks, creating human networks," Robles added.
The Cisco executive said that unknown to most people, the company now powers networks behind famous web 2.0 services including online video sharing service YouTube and online photo sharing community Flickr.
"We're at the heart of this human network," the Filipino executive said. "We're no longer just a router and switch vendor."
Technology companies like Intel and Samsung have invested millions of dollars to increase brand awareness. But like Intel, Cisco also wants to be known in the consumer market.
The company has acquired companies like Scientific Atlanta and Linksys, which manufacture consumer products. Robles, however, stressed that these "strong" consumer brands will not likely be replaced with the latest Cisco brand.
Asked how this branding campaign will contribute to the bottom line, Robles said increased brand awareness will likely allow people to prefer Cisco over other brands.
Cisco is the only networking company in the top 25 brands in the Interbrand 2006 global survey. Also, the company is now labeled as a "computer services" firm in the survey.
