accenture case

The Birth of Accenture

Video Case: Cut and paste the video link in your browser or you may read the content below.

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Written Case:

As of 2011, Accenture (www.accenture.com) is the largest consulting firm in the world and one of the largest computer services and software companies on the Fortune Global 500 list. It had more than 179,000 employees in 55 countries and revenues of more than $22 billion in 2010. Through its network of businesses, the company enhances its consulting, technology, and outsourcing expertise through alliances, affiliated companies, venture capital, and other capabilities. Accenture delivers innovations that help clients across all industries quickly realize their visions. With more than 110 offices in about 52 countries, Accenture can quickly mobilize its broad and deep global resources to accelerate results for clients. The company has extensive experience in 18 industry groups in key business areas, including customer relationship management, supply chain management, business strategy, technology, and outsourcing. Accenture’s clients include 89 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than half of the Fortune Global 500. Accenture was originally named Andersen Consulting and was created in 1989 as a part of Arthur Andersen. In 2000, Andersen Consulting won the right to divorce itself from Arthur Andersen after the parent company broke contractual agreements, moving into areas of service where Andersen Consulting was already an established leader. However, it then had to change its name. This was an extremely significant event, because Andersen Consulting had built up considerable brand equity in its name, partly by spending approximately $7 billion over 10 years on building the name. In addition, the new name would need to be trademarked in 47 countries. Thus, the name change became a top priority, and the company focused much of its time and effort on this task. The first task was to pick a new name. The company challenged its employees to come up with suggestions for a new name by creating an internal contest, which resulted in a list of more than 2,500 entries. After extensive marketing research on various names, which included surveys of target customers, it decided to go with the name Accenture. Marketing research revealed that the “Acc” in the name connotes accomplishment and accessibility, and the name sounds like “adventure.” The company settled on this name because it believed this name conveyed the message that it was focused on the future. It also spent a considerable amount of time creating a new logo. The final version of the logo was the company’s name accented with a greater than (>) symbol placed above the letter t, which it believed stressed its focus on the future. Another task, which occurred simultaneously, was to get the word out and prepare the target market for the brand change. The company began running ads notifying everyone that its name would change at the beginning of 2001. Accenture has a well-defined group of companies that comprises the target market, and it had to focus its efforts on them. A teaser advertisement created by Young & Rubicam with the old signature torn through at the corner of the ad and typing in “Renamed. Redefined. Reborn 01.01.01” set the stage for the change. Marketing research revealed that 01.01.01, the launch date of the new brand, had a resonance with the computer industry, because 0 and 1 are the two digits of the binary world of computers. Finally, on January 1, 2001, the company announced its new name to the world. The initial campaign illustrated the change by the slogan “Renamed. Redefined. Reborn.” Accenture used this opportunity not only to present the new name, but also to sell its services and help people understand what it had to offer. In the end, Accenture spent a total of $175 million to rebrand itself, but it did not stop there. In February it began a new campaign, titled “Now it gets interesting.” This campaign took the perspective that despite all the incredible changes that have occurred recently due to technology, even more challenges lie ahead. The commercials showed how Accenture could help clients capitalize on these challenges. The success of this campaign was evidenced by the increased traffic on the company’s Web site. This is very important to Accenture, because it believes that if it can get somebody to visit its site, it has a better opportunity to tell the whole story. Next came the “I Am Your Idea” theme. This campaign was followed by “High Performance. Delivered,” which was still running in 2011. However, Tiger Woods was dropped due to his alleged infidelities. Accenture has been successful in transferring the brand equity to its new name. Marketing research revealed that it has approximately 50 percent awareness with the public, which is essentially the same number it had under the old name. Accenture’s marketing goes far beyond the name, because it is constantly challenged as the product it offers changes.

Conclusion

The case describes the marketing research conducted by Andersen Consulting to change its name, while at the same time maintain the brand equity and the goodwill of its previous name. Andersen Consulting was able to successfully transition to a new name and a new identity, reflecting the new realities of the market and Accenture’s positioning in it. Finding a new name is only the beginning; repositioning a global brand today requires good marketing research, creative marketing, big budgets, and awareness of the next business trends. Such efforts will help Accenture to further strengthen the accent in its name by building brand equity.

Questions

1. Discuss the role of marketing research in helping Andersen Consulting select a new name (Accenture). If Accenture were to select a new name today, would social media research be helpful? If yes, how?

2. Define Accenture’s target market. Discuss the role of marketing research in helping Accenture understand the needs of its target customers.

3. Accenture would like to increase preference and loyalty to its services. Describe the management-decision problem.

4. Define a suitable marketing research problem corresponding to the management-decision problem that you identified in question 3.

5. Develop two research questions, each with two hypotheses, based on the marketing research problem you defined in question 4.

6. If Accenture were to select a new name today, would social media research be helpful? If yes, how? Although we are very early on in our learning in statistics, what kind of analysis do you think could be done with social media research gathered on this issue?

References 1. See www.accenture.com, accessed February 10, 2011. 2. Accenture. (2009). Newsroom—Fact Sheet—Overview. Retrieved June 2010 from Accenture:

http://newsroom.accenture.com/fact+sheet

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Rubric for written Assessments Case Studies, Discussion Forums and Homework—Guiding Principles. When statistical output (via SPSS or EXCEL) is required for cases or homework and is not included; the assignment grading is automatically reduced by 75%.

90- 100% of points: Perhaps the principal characteristic of a written assignment with full points is its rich content. Some people describe that content as “meaty,” others as “dense,” still others as “packed.” Whatever, the information delivered it is such that one feels significantly taught by the author, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph. The written assignment with full points is also marked by stylistic finesse: the title and opening sentence/paragraph are engaging; the transitions are artful; the phrasing is tight, fresh, and highly specific; the sentence structure is varied; the tone enhances the purposes of the paper. Finally, the full point written assignment receives full points because of its careful organization and development, imparts a feeling of wholeness and unusual clarity. Not surprisingly, then, it leaves the reader feeling bright, thoroughly satisfied, and eager to reread the piece.

85 -89 % of points: It is significantly more than competent. Besides being almost free of mechanical errors, this written assignment receives this point percentage because it delivers substantial information—that is, substantial in both quantity, and interest-value. Its specific points are logically ordered, well developed, and unified around a clear organizing principle that is apparent early in the paper. The opening sentences/paragraph draws the reader in; the closing sentence/paragraph is both conclusive and thematically related to the opening. The transitions between sentences/paragraphs are for the most part smooth, the sentence structures pleasingly varied. The diction is typically much more concise and precise than that found in a written assignment receiving lower that 80% of the points. Occasionally, it even shows distinctiveness—i.e., finesse and memorability. On the whole, then this written assignment makes the reading experience a pleasurable one, for it offers substantial information with few distractions.

80-84%: It is generally competent—it meets the assignment, has few mechanical errors, and is reasonably well organized and developed. The actual information it delivers, however, seems thin and common place. One reason for that impression is that the ideas are typically cast in the form of vague generalities—generalities that prompt the confused reader to ask marginally: “In every case?” “Exactly how large?” “Why?” “But how many?” Stylistically the quality of this assignment does little to draw the reader in; the final sentence/paragraph offers only a perfunctory wrap-up; the transitions between paragraphs are often bumpy; the sentences, besides being a bit choppy, tend to follow a predictable (hence monotonous) subject-verb-object; and the diction is occasionally marred by unconscious repetitions, redundancy, and impression. Assignments of this nature, then, do a good job but offer less imagination and intellectual rigor as written assignments receiving more points, and hence does not invite a re-reading.

70-79%: Its treatment and development of the subject are as yet only rudimentary. While organization is present, it is neither clear nor effective. Sentences are frequently awkward, ambiguous, and marred by serious mechanical errors. Evidence of careful proofreading is scanty, if nonexistent. The whole piece, in fact, often gives the impression of having been conceived and written in haste.

0 points: Its treatment of the subject is superficial; its theme lacks discernible organization; its prose is garbled or stylistically primitive. Mechanical errors are frequent. In short, the ideas, organization, and style fall far below what is acceptable graduate level writing.