Acer Group Unveils New Corporate Identity

“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 includes the separation of our OEM and branded business, the company is able to streamline end-to-end implementation, target key customer segments and focus on innovating around the customer.”

Shih elaborated, “Part of Acer’s differentiated customer strategy is to target small to medium size businesses (SMBs) that are stable and successful, with strong potential for the future. Acer grew from a small business twenty-five years ago to a conglomerate of SMBs enabling the organisation to fully understand the needs and market of this segment. This is coupled with our experience as a large corporation and the reliability we bring. It’s a compelling combination, making Acer an ideal business partner. Acer’s new corporate identity is a reflection of this business focus.”

The New Corporate Identity
Noticeably absent in the new corporate identity is the symbolic Acer diamond, which strategically demonstrates the organisation’s focus on the Acer brand. A breakaway from its competitors, the new identity is green in colour, representing life, growth, prosperity and resiliency; and reflecting Acer’s goal to deliver fresh technology to everyone, everywhere. The uniquely styled letter “e” and closely set italic type infer connectivity and accentuate Acer’s focus to provide innovative e-solutions to its customers. The distinctive lower case and rounded font represents Acer’s friendly accessibility and the impression of action.

To reinforce Acer’s new identity and core values, the organisation has over the past year implemented a total brand management program, and recently launched a teaser campaign to inspire employees to embrace the new identity and business structure.

Global brand consultant Landor Associates conceptualised the new logo system and Australian Business Theater developed the visual identity system.

About the Acer Group
Established in 1976, Acer is among the world’s largest PC manufacturers, offering a broad range of PC products from industry-leading high-end PC servers and multimedia desktop computers to notebooks, computer peripherals and components. Acer is also a major Internet-enabler, providing Internet component technologies, devices and services. These include end-to-end solutions, mobile phones, plasma displays, TFT screens, projectors, wireless communications, and e-corp solutions. The Acer Group employs nearly 37,000 people in 232 enterprises spanning 41 countries worldwide, supporting dealers and distributors in over 100 countries. For more information about the Acer Group, please visit our website at www.acer.com.

Innovating Around The Customer
“Since its inception in 1976 as Multitech, the organisation began building its brand and identity. When Multitech evolved to Acer in 1987, the organisation focused on creating a powerful global technology brand as it expanded into a multinational company with global market presence. The new identity represents Acer’s growth from a manufacturing to a knowledge-based economy, which values leadership, service and innovation. As a result, our business strategy has shifted from being hardware to a software solutions provider driven by customer, not product, orientation. Acer is moving from high technology to high touch, where human capital is the driver,” said J.T. Wang, President and CEO of Acer Brand Operations. “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, one experience for the customer. Acer branded businesses will move ‘outside of the box,’ and develop innovative devices, Internet appliances and e-business services, in addition to our core PC business.”

High Technology, High Touch
A primary role of Acer Brand Operations (ABO) is to enable its partners and customers to realize an ‘e-corp transformation’. Acer’s e-marketing, e-commerce, e-service and e-learning solution business models may be coupled with Acer’s PCs and Internet appliances to create new service solution business models that are unique in the marketplace.

From people management, customer-service, product quality to technology development, Acer is adopting a values-based approach to embed an innovative culture throughout the organisation. The simplified, focused structure will further empower the organisation to enhance performance accountability, strengthen portfolio management and consolidate resources.

The launch of the new corporate identity also coincides with Acer’s silver anniversary.

“For 25 years, our customers have relied on Acer’s constant drive for leading change in industry,” concluded Shih. “Through the years, we were responsible for designing Taiwan’s first mass-produced IT product for export; developing the MicroProfessor-1 that was the first PC in Taiwan; unveiling one of the world’s first 32-bit PCs; creating the world’s first 386SX-33 CPU upgrade solution ‘ChipUp’; introducing the world’s first dual-Pentium PC; launching the world’s most enjoyable multimedia Aspire PC which redefined home computing and showcasing the TravelMate 350, the world’s first intelligent notebook with built in Smart Card security. We have evolved from a small-medium business to a global IT player focused not just on technology, but on innovating around customers and our people.”