Packard Bell unveils new brand and product

Packard Bell has launched a new identity, along with a new notebook range designed with Italian car design group Pininfarina.

The new identity, which features the initials ‘PB’ as well as Packard Bell’s full name, aims to help the computer company drive the branding towards the acronym PB over time. It has ditched purple for red, and now carries the tagline ‘Puredesire’.

The ‘red’ in the middle of the word is picked out in the colour red, which is intended to communicate ‘passion and desire, as these are the driving elements behind the new brand and the new products’, according to a Packard Bell spokeswoman.

The identity and branding was designed by an as yet unnamed Italian design consultancy.

The Acer-owned computer company relaunched in London yesterday, when it also presented the Pininfarina-designed Easynote TR series of notebooks.

The Easynote TR range has a 15.6-inch widescreen and is available from July in black and blue versions.

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  • Ricky November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I think the credit crunch has really hit Packard Bell. It doesn’t look like they put much effort or money into getting a new logo designed.

    It might just be personal taste but I just think the glossy, “use the company’s initials for the logo because it’s easy” approach is old school, outmoded and uncreative. But hey that’s just my opinion.

  • Darren November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I think they might have trouble putting that logo in print. The gloss might not come out then the logo would look odd because of the 3D. It looks like they have just used some standard font and not personalised it enough. Overall I think they might find they have a hard time placing this logo in all their various places. e.g. on their laptops, business cards, website header, email signatures. The old one is definitely outdated but at least the font was personalised.

  • Sean November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I agree with Ricky, it’s a similar sort of visual based scam when the ‘Coco Pops’ brand said they were going permanently change the popular breakfast cereal name to ‘Coco Crunch’. They made a limp advertising campaign based around the whole thing; however it did gain the ubiquitous brand some notice once again.

    Unfortunately from an industrial design point of view, this kind of brand exercise has nothing to do with providing innovative and better products – just a marketing based idea to generate cash.

    It’s transparent, damaging to Packard Bell’s equity and on the whole detrimental to the consumer.

  • David Anyetei November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Weak attempt at re-establishing themselves. logo lacks impact and I agree, it won’t have the legs to run in terms of being placed on different formats.

  • Andrew Sabatier November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Just me. At my best? Maybe… but not with a ‘pure red design-driven’ Packard Bell.

    Packard Bell’s new identity is looking to look, not to see. Where is the value? Why would any brand want to own PB? Including and especially Packard Bell. PB doesn’t bear Packard Bell. Packard Bell bears Packard Bell. There doesn’t appear to be any inherent value in owning PB. PB as a symbol is as superficial and redundant as the gloss effect throughout the new branding.

    How is ‘Red colour at its best’?! Purple is just as good at being a colour as Red is at being a colour. This sort of hyped-up rhetoric doesn’t smooth over the gaping conceptual holes in this inane cosmetic make-over.

    There is an attempt at a proprietary branded lifestyle but this is style without much novelty and provides no clue as to why PB might be valuable. Just about every aspirational cliche has been attempted and the sense that Packard Bell represents style without substance is tough to shake.

    The new Packard Bell brand identity needs a reboot with the ideas key held down.

    A.

    Permalink: http://snipurl.com/j6wcg

  • Bruno Setola November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    P8? What’s P8?

  • Matt November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    The new ident is not great, but it prompted me to view their new product line at a store recently. That’s more time than I ever would given a brand voted worst PC manufacturer several years running.

    Their rep was so bad that they needed to do something different.

    I think it’s more youthful and consumer friendly than before and I would expect them to shift more laptops to teens and students.

    You may all hate it but it will be fine for them.

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