Compliments of Skep at The Zoo:
Posted on Fri, May. 17, 2002
HP's new image has abbreviated role for founders
By Tracy Seipel
Mercury News
As Hewlett-Packard is growing, its name appears to be shrinking.
Less than 10 days after its official launch as a bigger, bolder post-merger entity, the company seems to be moving more aggressively than ever to establish its identity as ``HP.''
No Hewlett. No Packard. Just HP.
The abbreviated moniker has been in common use for years, but at least one member of the Hewlett and Packard families sees the shorthand on the wall: In the aftermath of the 63-year-old Palo Alto computing and printing giant's merger with Compaq Computer, there may be a diminished role for the hallowed name Hewlett-Packard.
``I would be very sorry to see them suppress that name, but I was out there recently and I drove by the headquarters and it does not say Hewlett-Packard anymore,'' said Eleanor Hewlett Gimon, a daughter of HP co-founder Bill Hewlett.
The company's legal name remains Hewlett-Packard, and HP officials say there is no plan to change that. But, as is the case with other corporate giants known by acronym -- IBM (International Business Machines), BP (British Petroleum), GE (General Electric) -- company insiders say ``HP'' is the default name of choice from here on.
``The point is whether we call it HP or Hewlett-Packard, we are still building equity in HP and in Hewlett-Packard,'' said Bill Sidwell, director of brand strategy and brand management for HP.
Said one HP spokeswoman: ``Customers use both and we will continue to use both.''
The name strategy became immediately apparent at the new company's recent launch events, where ``HP'' was prominently plastered on everything from name badges to press kits.
Marketing experts say the change comes at an awkward time, in the immediate aftermath of the company's bitter, six-month proxy fight with former HP dissident board member Walter Hewlett. Both he and David Woodley Packard, son of HP co-founder Dave Packard, declined to comment on the name issue.
``A lot of people already call them HP -- certainly they're being faithful to their consumers,'' said Kevin Keller, professor of marketing at Dartmouth College and author of the popular business school textbook, ``Strategic Brand Management.''
``From a strict branding standpoint, it may make a lot of sense,'' he said. ``The timing is a bit awkward in the sense that you had this battle and . . . literally and figuratively, you are cutting someone's name out of the company.''
And the new name strategy has others scratching their heads for another reason. Just after the March 19 shareholder vote to acquire Compaq, HP Chief Executive Carly Fiorina told reporters she intended to be a faithful steward of the company's great legacy. As she put it: ``And to the Hewlett and Packard families I say, this company will always be proud to bear your name. You will always be part of us.''
Less than two months later, however, the truncated name appears on everything from press releases to the company's new Web site.
Not everyone sees the shortened name as a sign that the new company is distancing itself from its history.
``I think HP does a fine job toggling back and forth between Hewlett-Packard and HP,'' said Bill Smith, client managing director at Landor Associates in San Francisco.
The brand consulting and design services firm is widely respected for its work with such high-profile clients as Visa, Coors, and Frito-Lay. (The firm had a hand in the re-christening of Andersen Consulting as Accenture.) Now, Landor is advising HP in the company's work to unify the HP and Compaq brands.
``I look at it as HP and Hewlett-Packard -- they've been using this marketing expression since `HP Invent,' '' he said.
In fact, Eleanor Hewlett Gimon said she first noticed the transition from Hewlett-Packard to HP in 1999 when Fiorina launched the ``HP Invent'' slogan and ad campaign.
``It might be they thought it had a stodgy image and it was time to beef it up. I really don't know what the rationale was,'' Gimon said earlier this week from her home in Connecticut. Either way, she said, ``I think they want the family out of there. It's very clear they want to disassociate the company from the family and eliminating the name is a good way to do that.''
But Sidwell, HP's in-house branding expert, says that's not the case.
``There is nothing here that is nefarious or disingenuous. We're not changing the name of the company,'' he said. ``Customers will use the shorthand that they have for years. We find it easier to use.''
Some marketing experts say the move may be a way of building a new identity apart from the company's storied past.
``I think that `HP' does not have the mystique and the legacy that is embedded in the name Hewlett-Packard, which reminds you it comes from real people and real history,'' said Shelby McIntyre, professor of branding and marketing at Santa Clara University.
``When you're talking about `HP' it's just a void,'' he said. ``It becomes more of an IBM versus HP -- big, broad, corporate. The sort of identity that in fact may be just what they want because they're going after the big corporate world.''
But McIntyre also sees the benefit of using just HP. ``It's shorter and probably easier internationally'' to say, he said. ``And HP is probably easier to shape perception around in the international market, where they don't have a mystique about Hewlett and Packard.''
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Contact Tracy Seipel at tseipel@sjmercury.com or (408) 920-5343. |
