Acer, a computer company which some people may have heard of,
has taken the shockingly innovative step of putting one letter
in the middle of their logo in script (you know, like about
fifty other tech companies) and adding a curvy swoosh to it
(you know, like all other tech companies.) Oh, and it's bile
green now, like an iMac covered in moss.
This is their exuberantly bulltastic press release about
their swell new corporate identity, which for brevity's
sake will now be referred to as their "CI", with the "C"
in green and the "I" in italic.
-> Acer Group Unveils New Corporate Identity
->
-> Part of the group's long-term business strategy to reposition the brand
->
-> Henry Wang, Stella T.H. Chou, Adam Gault
-> Acer Corporate Communications
->
-> [TAIPEI, TAIWAN, March 8, 2001] The Acer Group today launched a
-> new corporate identity (CI) as part of a long-term business plan
-> to reposition the brand and achieve sustainable business growth
-> for its customers and the company. The new CI is a visual
-> representation of Acer's business strategy,
Logos are meant to be diagrams of our business models now?
Hmm, I better see if I can sell one to Amazon.com that shows a
guy dumping buckets of money into a giant smiling toilet which
is shouting "Hey, everyone! If you hate us, buy stuff because
we lose more money the more we sell!"
Although that might get confused with several other logos in
this new scheme. Maybe the logo better have the name of the
company in it somewhere. Better yet, maybe logos should just be
names of companies and not photographs of their business model.
-> which focuses on building a customer-centric company
WE HAVE THE CUSTOMER SURROUNDED!
-> and renewed commitment to fostering an innovative culture
-> in order to remain globally competitive. It also represents
-> Acer's evolution from a high technology, hardware focused
-> company to a softer, human centric and hi-touch company.
"Mommy! That man didn't just say 'hello' to me, he 'hi'-touched
me where my bathing suit covers!"
-> The new Acer is 'soft' in every sense,
(a thousand golden trumpets sound, and because each trumpet is filled with
millions of tiny platinum trumpets which spray into the air and explode
showering the world with microscopic trumpet fragments which all shout
"BRING ON THE DANCING BEARS!", the dancing bears must now enter, which
they do.)
*** THE DANCING BEARS OF BOZOSITY ENTER. THEY POINT TO THE SENTENCE
*** FRAGMENT ABOVE. SOME OF THEM GIGGLE. SOME OF THEM FROWN.
*** THEN THEY ALL EXPLODE. AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL.
-> including product design that truly accommodates to human needs,
-> and software development.
->
-> "Customer and innovation - these are the two driving forces that
-> will enable Acer to respond to the market challenges and deliver
-> strong business results for our customers, partners, shareholders
-> and employees," said Stan Shih, Chairman and CEO of the Acer
-> Group. "With the recent restructuring that included the separation
-> of our OEM and branded business, the company is now better able to
-> streamline end-to-end implementation, target key customer segments
-> and focus on innovating around the customer."
I like the idea of innovating "around" a specific customer.
"Does this bug you? I'm not touching you. I'm just innovating.
I'm not touching you."
-> The New Corporate Identity
->
-> Noticeably absent in the new CI is the symbolic Acer diamond,
-> which strategically demonstrates the company's focus on the Acer
-> brand, and prevents the common misuse of the CI.
Lack of diamonds prevents misuse. That would be a very wise thing
for us to remember if it made any sense. But, fortunately, compared
to diamonds, swooshes are impossible to misuse. Look:
HELLO, HAVE A HAPPY HAPPY SMILEY: O O
--------______
---__
--_
-_
-
-> A breakaway from its competitors, the new identity sports a vivid
-> green, representing life, growth, prosperity and resiliency;
Green is the perfect corporate color! It represents the ecology
without doing anything about it.
-> and reflecting Acer's goal to deliver fresh technology to everyone,
-> everywhere. The uniquely styled letter "e"
HEY EVERYONE ACER JUST INVENTED ITALICS!!!
-> and closely set italic type infer connectivity and accentuate
-> Acer's focus on providing innovative e-solutions to its customers.
I was going to buy a computer from IBM but the letters in their
logo aren't smashed together and therefore they must not be good
at selling computers.
-> The distinctive lower case and rounded font
"rounded font"?
Oh, apparently they mean that the "e" isn't a rectangle the way
it is in all other fonts.
For instance:
Helvetica: BIT[] M[]
Courier: BIT[] M[]
Franklin Gothic: BIT[] M[]
Geometric Lemon: BIT[] M[]
Fupper Fono: BIT[] M[]
Monotype Biffo Script: BIT[] M[]
Acer: BITe Me
-> represents Acer's friendly accessibility and gives the
-> impression of being in action.
YOUR AWESOME LOGO HAS FOOLED MY TINY BRAIN INTO THINKING YOUR
LOGO IS RUNNING AROUND THE PAGE ON TINY FEET! I AM WATCHING IT
BEAT UP ALL THE OTHER LOGOS IN THE WORLD! PLEASE MISTER COMPUTER
COMPANY I WISH TO HAVE SEX WITH YOUR LOGO WHILE IT IS STILL MOVING!
-> To reinforce Acer's new identity and core values, the company has
-> over the past year implemented a total brand management program to
-> educate employees the Acer brand values. Only through employees'
-> genuine belief and exercise of the brand values, may the company
-> experience the true power of the brand. In the run up to today's
-> revealing of the new CI, Acer launched a teaser campaign to
-> inspire employees to embrace the new identity and brand values.
Where I work, I tease the employees too, but they don't usually
wind up embracing brand values. They just start crying and go home.
-> The Earlier Phases
->
-> Since its inception in 1976 as Multitech, the company has been
-> consistently building its brand and identity; with each successive
-> change, the company has elevated its mission to a new level to
-> meet the ever changing IT industry. The logo featuring a honeycomb
-> like design represented
bees that didn't know any better?
a cardboard-like cereal?
hexagon-like polygons with five or seven but not six sides?
a funnycomb?
-> the company's earlier mission to commercialize microprocessor
-> technology.
Gosh, I'm glad someone did that.
-> In 1983 Multitech adopted a logo that was a cross between a crown
-> shape and victorious 'V' to portray
the Catholic Church coming between King Edward and Winston Churchill.
-> its high technology and hardware focus.
Crowns represent hardware because they're HARD TO WEAR! GET IT?
Someday I want to see a corporate logo with a visual pun and the
words "GET IT???" in boldface. Excuse me, I mean "GeT IT???"
-> When Multitech evolved to Acer in 1987, the company concentrated
-> on creating a powerful global technology brand as it expanded
-> into a multinational company with global market presence.
Why do I get the feeling that if I try to buy a computer from
them they're going to just send me a big box of excelsior and buzzwords
mixed into a crumbly goulash?
-> The new identity represents Acer's growth from a manufacturing
-> to a knowledge-based economy,
...which makes investors everywhere say, "I KNOW THIS ECONOMY SUCKS!"
-> which values leadership, service and innovation. As a result,
-> its business strategy has evolved from being a hard, product
-> oriented company to a softer, human centric and high touch company,
-> driven by customer, not product, orientation.
Hey! Stop calling your customers gay! Their orientation has nothing
to do with whether or not they like your product, unless your computers
have pink daisies printed on them! And I think Apple and Barbie are
currently saturating that market.
-> "Acer is moving from high technology to high touch, where human
-> capital is the motivator," said J.T. Wang, President and CEO of
-> Acer Brand Operation. "By adopting a simplified structure, and
-> building the Acer branded business groups so as to achieve growth
-> in both profit and brand equity, Acer will be able to deliver one
-> face, one voice, and one experience for the customer. Acer branded
-> businesses will move 'outside of the box,' and develop innovative
-> devices, Internet appliances and e-business solutions, in addition
-> to our core PC business."
->
-> "As technology develops, we expect to see the brand becoming
-> increasingly important to each company." Continued Wang.
-> "Technology can be shared by all competitors, but the winner will
-> be the one who has built up the strongest brand power."
"POKeACeR! USe YOUR BRAND POWeR TO DeFeAT COMPACHU, MeGAPPLe, AND DeLLePHANT!"
-> Global brand consultant Landor Associates conceptualized the new
-> logo system, and Australian Business Theater developed the visual
-> identity system.
They forgot to mention that from now on "visual identity system"
would be abbreviated "CI", unless they're also using "CI" to
mean "visual identity system" given that "corporate identity"
and "visual identity system" both mean "putting our logo on our stuff."
To see what all this bolognasity is about, here's their Web page
with "Fun Downloads" including a Flash movie of crickets chirping
as the music swells and their new logo swoops over the horizon,
bringing light to the huddled masses and destroying civilization
in a blinding flash of nuclear energy:
http://global.acer.com/about/newci/index.html
In addition to making computers, they're also starting their
own religion. Here are the tenets of "Acer Corporated Culture":
=> Acer Corporate Culture
=>
=> You are here: Home/About Acer/Acer Corporated Culture
=>
=> A Touch of Acer Culture/ Acer Culture, A Sustainable Culture
=>
=> The Four Pillars
=>
=> Acer corporate culture rests on four major pillars:
=>
=> * Human nature is basically good.
=>
=> * Customer is No. 1.
=>
=> * Put knowledge to work for the company.
=>
=> * Be pragmatic and accountable.
That reminds me, I need to put up a "Humans are basically evil" sign
in my office.
-- K.
Right next to my rare photo of
Al Gore autographed by George W. Bush.
