Enterprise IG clinches global rebrand for HP

Hewlett-Packard, the $89bn (£48bn) technology giant, has handed a global brand identity revamp project to Enterprise IG, following an extensive pitch process.

In addition to the global branding assignment, Enterprise will also subsume the role of HP’s incumbent agency, San Francisco-based Stone Yamashita Partners.

Although the global brand strategy was planned before Enterprise’s appointment, it is understood that HP required a consultancy with a broader international reach than Stone Yamashita Partners could offer.

The work is the highest-profile account win for Enterprise since Simon Bolton (pictured) joined as global chief executive officer in January (DW 12 January).

The consultancy is to start work immediately on a two-year contract to invigorate all aspects of the HP brand, examining the use of everything from the primary marque down. Its scope will reach across all external and internal audiences worldwide, working from strategy to implementation to engagement.

The pitch list was reduced from nine groups to a final shortlist of three. At Enterprise, the process was led by Rita Rodriguez, chief executive officer of the group in the US, but Bolton was also involved.

Although there are no firm plans to replace HP’s ‘invest’ and ‘plus symbol’ devices, everything is up for assessment, according to Bolton. He also says, alluding to its size, that the project win places HP in the top five of the consultancy’s international clients.

The branding project will be headed by Enterprise’s New York office, with support from a team of consultants from the London and San Francisco offices. ‘The contribution from London will be less about designers and more about our Brand Engagement team, where London has the most seniority,’ says Bolton.

The results of the brand strategy are expected to be revealed throughout the year.

Last year, HP initiated a restructuring programme intended to make cost-savings of $1.9bn (£1.03bn) annually. The new structure brought the sales and marketing operations directly into three separate business units – the Technology Solutions Group, the Imaging and Printing Group and the Personal Systems Group.

The restructure also resulted in the loss of 10 per cent of HP’s full-time staff.

HEWLETT-PACKARD:

• Generates $89bn (£48bn) in revenue annually

• Market capitalisation of over $93bn (£50bn)

• Ranks 11th in the 2006 Fortune 500 rankings by revenue

• Ranks 45th in Financial Times’s Global 500 by market capitalisation

• Operates in more than 170 countries

• Headquartered in Palo Alto, California