How Lenovo made Indian cowboys work for its brand

The discussion centred on a comedic short film produced as part of #Goodweird, an initiative by Lenovo to use crowdsourcing to its advantage, generate new ideas, and build its brand by celebrating the benefits of the unusual.

The film, Rajasthani Cowboys, is a uniquely Indian take on the Spaghetti Western genre. To understand why Lenovo came to be involved in a piece of content with no apparent bearing on technology, it’s important to understand the brand’s journey.

Amit Doshi, the company’s head of consumer marketing and digital for India, said it had undergone an “amazing transformation” from a traditional PC manufacturer to a “digital-first, crowdsourced brand”. A key part of its positioning, including its product lineup, is being “quirky and peculiar, but for a reason”.

Doshi said #Goodweird began with Lenovo asking people to share examples of things in their lives that were quirky, but helped them “do things in a better way”, and curated them. The project grew to working directly with creators. “We say, this is what we think #Goodweird means, but that’s not important. What does it mean to you?”

The film was the result of working with The Viral Fever & TVF Media Labs. Doshi said the decision to work with the company, which works with brands on the basis of total creative freedom, started with the knowledge that it had a “really deep and engaged following”. But Lenovo took a risk as to whether or not it would end up with “the right kind of message”. In the end, Doshi said, the brand saw an 8 to 10 percent lift in brand perception and a 10 percent lift in purchase consideration. “The learning was to take a risk and go big with that risk,” he said.

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