RCSC 320: Accenture Case Study – Flashcards
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When was Anderson Consulting established?
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1989
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What was Anderson Consulting?
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the consulting practice of the accounting firm Arthur Anderson that separated to form an independent business unit
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What difficult task did they face?
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positioning itself in the IT market space while forging and identity separate from its accounting heritage
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What business challenge did they face?
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to retain the positive aspects of the brand equity developed over decades at Arthur Anderson, yet break away from the limitations associated with an accounting brand
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What were they often thought of as to people who did not know them?
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accountants, not up to the task of delivering innovative technology solutions
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What set them apart from competitors?
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sophisticated marketing strategies and communication skills
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Who were some of their competitors?
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IBM and McKinsey
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When was Anderson Consulting granted independence from Arthur Anderson?
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August 2000
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What was their new challenge after gaining independence?
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The license to use the Anderson Consulting name was to expire December 31, 2000. They had to find and introduce to the world a new name
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When was Arthur Anderson & Co. founded?
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1913
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What did they form in 1942?
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Administrative Accounting group
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What did this group do?
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develop accounting systems, methods, and procedures for Arthur Anderson clients
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What did Arthur Anderson begin doing in the 1950s?
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offering consulting services
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What did he rename the Administrative Accounting group to?
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Administrative Services Devision
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What did consultants from the company do?
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programmed and installed the world's first business computer for GE in 1954
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What did the Administrative Services Devision become in 1979?
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Management Information Consulting Division (MICD)
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Why did the consulting business boom in the 1980s?
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national recession forced companies to rethink their strategies in order to stay competitive
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What did MICD go to market as?
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Arthur Anderson
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Why did MICD suffer low visibility?
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the qualities associated with accounting firms did not match the traits essential for a consulting organization, people perceived that is was not a major player in the consulting market because MICD's identity was directly linked to Arthur Anderson
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What did they do to respond to the image crisis?
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embark on an "image initiative" in 1987 to gain awareness, to differentiate itself in the IT services market space, and to distance itself from its accountancy heritage image
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What did they do?
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changed the MICD name to Anderson Consulting
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What was Anderson Consulting credited to doing?
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first professional services firm to advertise aggressively
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Why did most professional services firms not advertise?
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Saw it as unprofessional and inappropriate
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Who is Teresa Poggenpohl?
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partner and Director of Global Advertising and Brand Management
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When was the Anderson Consulting brand officially launched?
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1989
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How much did Anderson Consulting spend on advertising during its first year?
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$5 million
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Who did Anderson Consulting partner with to target a media relations program?
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Burson-Marsteller
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What did their market research focus on?
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1. marketplace awareness 2. client satisfaction 3. buyer values 4. advertising copy testing 5. media monitoring
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What was their brand awareness % in 1988?
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6% compared to IBM's 90%
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What was their revenues in 1991 and 1992?
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$2.26 billion and $2.7 billion
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What did they develop in 1994?
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globally integrated advertising program
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What were they the first to embrace in the 1990s?
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first consulting company to embrace airport advertising
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How many countries did their advertising appear in 1994?
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18
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What else happened in 1994?
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international sports sponsorship strategy (Williams Formula One Racing team, and World Championship of Golf)
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What was their global awareness in 1993?
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79%
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In 1998, what major categories were they a market leader in?
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1. management and technology consulting 2. operational strategy consulting 3. systems integration 4. business reengineering
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Who did they fire in 1993 to research client and potential client perceptions?
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OmniTech Consulting Group
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What did they create in 1994?
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Arthur Anderson Business Consulting that targeted companies above the $175 million ceiling
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What were their revenues in 2001?
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$11 billion
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When did they decide to split from Arthur Anderson?
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December 1997
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What was their reason for the split?
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breaches of contract and irreconcilable differences
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What did the two firms agree upon after the split?
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the more profitable of the two would pay the other a portion of annual profits no greater than 15%
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What happened to separate the two competing business units?
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Anderson Consulting filed arbitration seeking official separation
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What were the main four competitors?
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IBM, Ernst & Young, McKinsey, and EDS
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What did the overall brand equity model applied score the companies on?
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image, awareness, consideration, preference
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Who was Anderson Consulting's global managing director of marketing and communications?
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Jim Murphy
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When was Anderson Consulting officially released from any further obligation to Arthur Anderson?
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August 7, 2000
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What did the leadership team think of the label "consulting" in their name?
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it was limiting to the future role of Anderson Consulting as an organization
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Who was the Managing Partner of CEO?
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Joe Forehand
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What branding expert helped them?
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Landor Associates
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What name did they go with and who submitted it?
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Accenture, Kim Petersen (an employee)
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When was the name announced?
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October 26, 2000
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When was the official changeover?
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December 31, 2000
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How many people managed the launch of the new Accenture name?
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55 teams of nearly 2,000 employees
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What did Accenture look like at the start?
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178 offices, 47 countries, 70,000 employees, 7 million business cards, 1,200 proprietary software applications, and 20,000 databases
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How did Accenture keep employees apprised of the rebranding and repositioning process?
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distributing internal newsletters, e-mails, and special issues of the internal magazine Dialogue beginning in August 2000
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How did Accenture market their new brand to its global audience?
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two-phased marketing strategy
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Phase 1
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high impact launch on Jan 1, 2001 using extensive global advertising. Utilized TV, print, poster, and internet placements that linked the Accenture name with the new year
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What were the ads intended to do?
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transfer equity from its former brand
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What was the Accenture Match Play Championship in Jan 2001?
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an event in Melbourne, Australia where they were able to utilize sponsorships of other major global sporting events to achieve a high impact internationally
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What did clients receive to announce the new name and positioning?
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43,000 clients received a launch mailing which included creative packaging, capabilities brochure outlines the companies service offerings, Outlook magazine, and a letter from Joe Forehand
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What was the impact of the launch?
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Traffic to Accenture.com was up 72% with 72,000 daily, it was the largest rebranding initiative ever undertaken by a professional services company
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Phase 2
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high-profile television spots in the US during the Super Bowl on Jan 28
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What happened as a result of this ad?
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77% increase in purchase intent, most of any 2001 Super Bowl ad
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What was the results of advertising?
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purchase consideration of Accenture's services increased 350%, brand equity increased 11%, awareness of services went up 96% from previous level
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What happened to Arthur Anderson?
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they were investigated for possible irregular accounting and auditing procedures and convicted of witness tampering and obstruction of justice for shredding documents related to its audits of Enron, which effectively put the firm out of business
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What did Accenture do because of the investigation?
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They published a press release in Jan 2002 reminding the public that Accenture and Arthur Anderson were two separate firms and had no ties
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What happened July 2001?
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Accenture offered shared of its stock in a $1.7 billion initial public offering, by the end of the year stock was up 80%
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Who is Derek Young?
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Accenture's Australia managing director
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What did Accenture do in the slowdown of the economy in 2001?
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They decided to "partner" with companies and help them execute their ideas
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What did they release in 2002 to reflect their new role as a partner?
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a new positioning summarized with the tagline "Innovation Delivered"
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What did they find was the number one barrier to success?
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their ability to execute and deliver on their ideas
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What did they do with this new positioning?
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targeting senior executives of global companies with the ability to drive change in their organizations
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What became their logo?
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Innovation Delivered
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What was launched on Feb 20, 2002?
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new ad campaign, "I am your idea", first day of the 2002 Accenture Match Play Championship
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Where did the company headquarter in 2004?
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Hamilton, Bermuda
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Where was Accenture at in 2004?
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110 offices in 48 countries, 115,000 people employed and had 2,200 partners
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What services did they provide?
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management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing
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What five operating groups were they organized around?
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1. Communications and high tech 2. Financial services 3. Products 4. Resources 5. Government
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What were their revenues in 2004?
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$13.6 billion. over half coming from international operations
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Who was their main competitor at this time?
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IBM
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What accounted for about 15% of Accenture's revenue?
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services performed for various U.S. government agencies
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What strategy did they announce in late 2003?
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High Performance Business
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Who did they sign to represent the company?
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Tiger Woods
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Who did they begin to sponsor in 2002?
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Accenture Marathon in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the Accenture Chicago Triathlon
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What happened September 2004?
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Joe Forehand stepped down as CEO
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Who became CEO?
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William Green
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How many people did they hire in 2004?
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20,000
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What were revenues after Green's first year?
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$15.1 billion
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What was the company recognized as in 2004?
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50th strongest worldwide brand, London Times ranked the company #3 in Top 100 Graduate Employers, 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers, Top 50 Diversity Employers
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What were their challenges going forward?
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managing the risk in fulfilling ever-bigger multi-billion dollar contracts and intense competition from IBM and Infosys from India
