Cisco gets up close and more personal

New logo and global campaign aimed at 'mass appeal'.

Cisco Systems, the $28.5 billion networking equipment major, is planning a global rebranding campaign to gel with the consumer segment this October.

The campaign includes online, print, and TV ads; billboards at sporting events; product placement in movies and TV shows; and a new logo with Cisco printed in red and an updated version of Cisco's trademark -- the Golden Gate Bridge image.

"The new branding campaign aims to broaden our reach and generate awareness of our role with end users in all of our markets including the enterprise, commercial, service provider and consumer space and also help to broaden this understanding of our role in how the next evolution of networking will help collaboration. This would be true for India too," a company spokesperson said.

Cisco has always been perceived as a boring networking company -- with bridges (its current logo sports one) and routers. But for the last few years, it has had its eye on the consumer market.

The company, which has a spate of acquisitions (acquired over 100 companies) to its credit, hopes it can gain success in the consumer electronics and entertainment market with this rebranding exercise.

Since 2003, Cisco entered the consumer electronics business with the Linksys acquisition, then Scientific-Atlanta for $6.9 billion (a cable set-top box maker); Sipura Technology (maker of Net phone products); and Kiss Technology(maker of network-based DVD and DVR -- digital video recorder -- players).

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Linksys introduced the Kiss DP-600, a networked DVD player. The device was developed to wirelessly connect to the Internet through the home network to deliver 3,000 web radio stations, online weather forecasts, stock updates and online games into the living room.

In fact, Linksys also has a presence in the Indian smart home segment. The company has a basic product, a wireless router costing around Rs 3,000-Rs 5,000 that can be connected to an Internet broadband, and in turn, be networked with various systems like computers, televisions, phones, music systems and laptops among others.

Cisco's IP phones too have already hit the Indian market with over one lakh sold over the last couple of years. Globally, they have sold over six million to date.

Besides, the networking giant recently joined AT&T, Blueprint Ventures and existing investors in making a $15.5 million investment into Akimbo "" a San Mateo start-up that delivers video to your home TV. Cisco has also invested in video content delivery companies "" CinemaNow and Moviebeam.

Akimbo's content library currently includes more than 11,000 videos and movies from 200 sources such as Discovery Channel, BBC and Major League Baseball.

Cisco also has made strategic investments in gaming companies such as TerraPlay, IndiaGames, Exent and Emergent. Whether the company's entry into the consumer segment will be smooth has to be seen.