Lenovo to leverage Motorola’s name with possible “Motorola by Lenovo” branding

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Lenovo to leverage Motorola’s name with possible “Motorola by Lenovo” branding

Lenovo’s purchase of Motorola from Google for $2.9 billion sparked a lot of questions. Was Motorola finished? Would Lenovo look to swallow them up and fully integrate them into their existing operations? Or would they let Motorola continue doing its thing just as Google did when they originally bought the Illinois OEM?

Not all of those questions were immediately answered, but CEO Richard Yang has revealed about more of the company’s plans for Motorola. In a recent interview with a German business magazine, Yang mentioned they would want to keep using Motorola’s name in some capacity for a couple of different reasons.

For starters, Motorola may not have a ton of market share in North American and European markets anymore, but the company is widely respected and regarded as a fine manufacturer (especially after their 2013 renaissance, of sorts). That’s what we call “mind share,” and it’s critical for Lenovo to have it if they’re going to succeed. Using Motorola’s name is the best way to achieve that.

But how will they use Moto’s name? Many suggested they’d stick to the “A Lenovo Company” moniker, a tweak on the name Motorola used under Google’s reign. They may have different plans, though, as Yang threw out the possibility of using something like “Motorola by Lenovo.”

The CEO was more thinking out loud than making a declaration so that’s by no means set in stone, but you have to wonder what it’ll do for Motorola’s image. “By Lenovo” makes it sound as if this was the Chinese company’s brainchild, and that they had everything to do with where the company is today (whether you see their current position as good or bad).

We wouldn’t be surprised to learn that a few Motorola execs would be unhappy with that, but alas it’s Lenovo who ultimately has the final say. For what it’s worth, I don’t necessarily believe “A Google Company” or “A Lenovo Company” were much better in terms of suggestiveness, though many will obviously see it a different way.

For now, we’re sure Motorola and Lenovo are less concerned about silly affairs such as branding and naming, and more concerned with bringing out hot products in 2014 (such as the next generation Moto X and the new Moto 360 smart watch) to combat some of the biggest names in the game.

[via GSMInsider]

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