01 VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
01 VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ��
HERITAGE
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Company History
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Timeline
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CHAPTER ��
VISUALIZATION
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Rebranding Objective
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Memorex in the Past
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Memorex in the Future
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CHAPTER ��
AUDIENCE
CHAPTER ��
COMPETITION Current Competitors
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Adjacent Competitors
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Future Competitors
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CHAPTER ��
SOURCES
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CHAPTER ��
HERITAGE Over the years, we have dedicated all of our efforts to provide you with data storage products of the highest quality. What differentiates us from others is our attention to detail—and with that mentioned, we want you to see and hear every little detail as it was meant to be. No matter what kind of media you have recorded onto one of our products, audio or video, we wanted to make sure that what you receive is nothing short of extraordinary.
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
COMPANY HISTORY Memorex Corporation was founded in 1961 by Laurence Spitters along with a group of entrepreneurs from Ampex Corporation, Arnold T. Challman, Donald F. Eldridge and W. Lawrence Noon. They stationed the headquarters in Santa Clara, California, where the corporation initially entered professional tape media markets. It became the first computer industry start-up in Silicon Valley. The company started out by manufacturing magnetic tape for computers in 1962. By the mid-1960s Memorex began a strategic plan to enter the computer systems business by establishing its presence early on as a supplier of products plug-compatible to IBM systems and then using its established sales and service capabilities to offer complete computer systems. The company’s first disc drives were developed and market-tested in 1967. Memorex entered the equipment business with the introduction of the Memorex 630 Disc Drive, compatible with IBM systems. A Consumer Products division was established in 1970 and planned for the development and sales of audio cassette tapes. Memorex became a household name with its 1972 campaign in which American jazz artist Ella Fitzgerald sings and her recording shatters a wine glass. Throughout the campaign, they used the slogan, “Is it live or is it Memorex?‘’ Memorex successfully executed the equipment into system strategy through the early 1970s including significant successes in IBM plug-compatible disk storage and communications products. It continued as a leader in various media products. The Memorex system was introduced in April 1972. However, a series of extremely aggressive pricing and product actions by IBM reduced the profitability of Memorex’s equipment businesses to the point where corporate viability was questionable. In July 1973, the Memorex system was withdrawn. In 1974, Robert C. Wilson replaced Spitters as CEO and restructured the company with the Bank Of America.
Wilson retired in 1979 and was replaced as CEO by Clarence W. Spangle. In 1981 Burroughs acquired Memorex and in 1986, Burroughs, upon acquiring Sperry Univac, renamed itself Unisys. Memorex continued into the 1980s in its three business lines but problems in all product lines, including a difficult transition to the 3380 class of plug-compatible disk subsystems and a complete miss in the then vigorous OEM disk drive markets led to the dismemberment of Memorex by Unisys in the late 1980’s. Led by its international team under Giorgio Ronchi, most of Memorex spun out of Unisys, later becoming Memorex Telex N.V. It in turn was broken up in the middle of the 1990s. Many of Memorex’s original international sales and service subsidiaries continue as subsidiaries of other companies, for example, Memorex Telex Japan, Ltd, continued operations until 2007. The Memorex tape plant on Shulman Avenue in Santa Clara initially occupied in November 1961 was auctioned off in February 1994. The disk drive business unit was spun out in late 1989 as Sequel, headed by Mike Haltom. It continued as a disk drive repair company and was acquired by Solectron in 1999. In 2006 Imation acquired the brand from Hanny Holdings. In 2020, this company plans to move forward in a much different direction than before—no longer will the company be simply a manufacturer of multimedia, but rather a company that is much more diverse in the what it offers to its audience.
HERITAGE
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MEMOREX
Is it
LIVE?
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
HERITAGE
Or is it
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MEMOREX?
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
TIMELINE Where We Have Been Through The Years
Memorex Corporation founded in Santa Clara, California by Laurence Spitters, Arnold Challman, Donald Eldridge and Lawrence Noon with Spitters as president.
Peripheral Systems Corporation formed under chief engineer Bob Brumbaugh to develop a disc file system.
Consumer sales division established and planned for development and sales of audio cassette tapes.
Memorex Corporation was bought by Burrough’s Corporation (later known as Unisys), an American business equipment manufacturer.
1964
1970
1982
1961
1962
The company’s first product was introduced—magnetic computer tape.
1967 Disc drives were developed and market-tested. Memorex entered the equipment business with the introduction of the Memorex 630 Disc Drive, compatible with IBM systems.
1972 Memorex enters computer systems market and also launched advertisement campaign featuring Ella Fitzgerald shattering glass, with the slogan “is it live or is it Memorex?”
HERITAGE
Disk drive business unit was spun out as Sequel, headed by Mike Haltom, continuing as a disc drive repair company.
Memorex Telex N.V. divisions broken up and sold to different companies.
1989
1988
Memorex Corporation merges with Telex to form Memorex Telex N.V.
Imation acquired Memorex International from Hanny Holdings
1996
1992
Memorex Telex N.V. files for bankruptcy
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2006
1999
Solectron acquires Sequel to expand services business
2020
Memorex plans to execute company rebranding objective, repurposing all of its products into a new direction.
CHAPTER ��
VISUALIZATION As we move our brand forward, we would like to create new experiences for people with the same core idea in mind—keeping content as real as possible. We will move from a passive state into a much more interactive state with our new brand objective.
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
REBRANDING OBJECTIVE Where We See Ourselves in the Future
VISUALIZATION
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Memorex aims to enhance your experiences by making them seem more realistic. Our mission is to create experiences which closely resemble or simulate the real thing.
From this point forward, we do not simply want to have aexperience, but rather a more realistic experience. We plan to reach out to various industries and not limit ourselves solely to consumer electronic products as we have before. For historical and scholastic purposes, preservation of data continues to be crucial to our learning of past events as well as culture. Through extensive research, we can recreate parts of history which are lost so that the new generation has an opportunity to experience them—fallen monuments, faraway lands, even lost artifacts. We can also use this opportunity to educate in various fields through means of simulation. In the entertainment industry, live performances are favored over recorded ones. With our technology, we plan to reproduce the live experience for you and provide opportunities for you to interact with the music in a different way than simply just listening. One place we have never ventured before is the healthcare industry. While the term is embedded in our name, memory is a topic which is highly researched to this day due to conditions such Alzheimer’s and dementia. We hope that with our advancement in technology, we can help to remedy those conditions by enabling people to relive some of their past experiences. Ultimately, we want the Memorex experience to transform from a passive state to a much more active one, allowing people to not only recall information, but to also have the ability to interact with it in some way.
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
MEMOREX IN THE PAST Previously, our products and services provided passive experiences which generally took place within the confines of the household. Before, we provided various types of recordable media for people to enjoy different types of audio and video content. No matter what it was, we did our best to make sure recordings on our media would turn out just as excellent as the original which it was recorded from. However, the act of accessing that content in itself was a very passive experience. It involved activities such as watching television and listening to the radio, which generally are not considered to be activities. What we want to do is break out of that mold, and take those experiences somewhere where they have not gone before.
VISUALIZATION
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
MEMOREX IN THE FUTURE What we would like to create in the future are interactive experiences which create the sensation of reality. In the future, we are looking to expand into an area which we have not before. Rather than being passive experiences, we want users to have a more immersive and interactive experience with our products. The same goes as before—we want the experience to seem just like the real thing. The new experiences we provide will take users further than we have taken them before.
VISUALIZATION
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CHAPTER ��
AUDIENCE With the fresh new direction in mind for our brand, it is important to establish the types of individuals which will create our audience—those who have the same ideals and beliefs as we do. As we push our brand into a new direction, we will be specifically reaching out to those who cherish their experiences and wish to relive each of them in an active as opposed to passive manner.
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
THE BOOKWORM
Anita Walker
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41 Years Old
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History Professor
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Washington, D.C.
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Loves to spend time reading books she has already read, because she feels she can find something new each time she reads them Performs research on monuments which no longer exist, and wishes she could have a chance to see them in person Loves teaching history each semester because she feels she can refresh her memory of important events, and she feels she knows the country more than others do Often visits museums and art galleries to experience the rich history and culture around her Enjoys watching various video documentaries which she presents for her students each semester because she gets to see history unfold with her own eyes Sometimes listens to e-books of her favorite novels as she travels because she feels it provides a different experience than reading Enjoys discussion with her students about various topics, because she gets to hear their experiences and their take on those subjects
AUDIENCE
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THE WAR VETERAN
Henry Williams
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64 Years Old
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Army Recruiter, Retired
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Tulsa, OK
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Loved it when he was stationed in Hawaii and wishes he could visit there again, however he does not have much money to travel Would like to know how it feels to walk again, because he lost his right leg during war—he currently uses a wheelchair Has trouble hearing because of his close proximity to an explosion, and he would like to be able to listen and hear things with clarity Wishes he could relive his childhood, so that he could remember what it is like to be with his parents who passed away when he was younger Would like there to be more drive-in theaters like in the past because he does not like to sit next to other people in crowded movie theaters His memory is not the best, so he writes daily in a journal and often revisits specific entries to relive some of his happiest moments Has saved newspapers from when he served in the army to help him remember how times were during his enlistment
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
THE SCRAPBOOKER
Jennifer Swanson
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27 Years Old
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Registered Nurse
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Seattle, WA
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Loves to make scrapbooks to collect memories from different events and times in her life because they only happen once, so she wants to capture those moments Always has her cell phone ready to takes selfies with her friends, so that she can have photos to remember her friends and family Likes to use a camcorder when traveling so she can watch the trip and show it to everyone when she returns home Visits the same café every weekend because they cook a pancake breakfast just like how her mom used to make it Keeps her photos organized and dated so that does not forget the exact moment that she took them Likes to listen to live renditions of songs because it makes he feel like she is at a live concert As she creates her scrapbooks, she feels as if she is reliving the moment she sees in each picture and so many memories start coming back to her
AUDIENCE
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THE BLOGGER
Miguel Hernandez
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29 Years Old
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Journalist San Francisco, CA
• •
• • •
Maintains a blog in which he documents his adventures in the city so others can know what to expect when they visit Uses Yelp frequently to discover restaurants in the area with a 4.5 rating or above, and often returns to them because he had a wonderful dining experience there the first time Loves San Francisco because there are so many unique events there which he would not be able to experience anywhere else Goes to concerts to view his favorite artists perform when they are in town because they generally only have one performance per city, so he does not want to miss his chance to see them Records various street performers because he never knows if he will run into them ever again Wishes that some events recorded their performances, because sometimes he is just too busy to see everything in the city When riding his bike to and from work, he records his rides on his GoPro in case he gets into an accident, that way he can have footage to show officers in case he was not at fault
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
THE HORSEBACK RIDER
Katie Bradley
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16 Years Old
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High School Student
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Dallas, TX
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She still remembers her favorite music, and feels comfort whenever she listens to her favorite artists Suffers from retrograde amnesia due to a horseback riding incident, so her family often shows her photos and videos of previous events in her life Her friends will come to visit and recall various memories, hoping to restore some bits of Katie’s memory Sometimes Katie will participate in a role-play of a past life event to help trigger the restoration of her memory Her doctor will test her memory by having her recall what she did in the day, to make sure she does not have any further memory loss Sometimes she has dreams of specific events, which are sometimes actual memories in her life She reads the article about her accident to try to understand her situation better
AUDIENCE
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THE PRO ATHLETE
Kevin Miller
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25 Years Old
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Pro Tennis Player New York, NY
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Watches replays of his games so he can see what he is doing wrong and discover how to improve his gameplay His coach will mimic his opponents play styles to help him prepare for his matches Loves watching tennis on his DVR because he can always re-watch matches that have already ended Likes to listen to match commentary on his own matches because he can gain perspective from other people’s views Has not won a major tournament in a few years, so he is working hard with the hopes that he can feel that feeling of accomplishment again Keeps game balls as memorabilia of some the most memorable matches he has had as a reminder of why he plays this game with so much passion Compares videos of his current matches to one from the previous year to make sure he is not making the same mistakes
CHAPTER ��
COMPETITION As we plan to explore a new vision for our brand, it is necessary to become familiar with those who might compete with us. This could range from companies who either have the same vision as us to ones that deliver a similar product. It is also important to look at the evolution of our competition, as that will change from now to the time that we reveal our company’s new face.
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
CURRENT COMPETITORS Our current competition is composed of companies who have found ways to store data, much like how we did when we recorded media onto magnetic tape. The market has evolved since that time and products that offer data storage come in many different (as well as efficient) forms, ranging from disc-based storage to flash memory.
VERBATIM / a storage media company, known today mostly for their recordable optical media
MAXELL / a manufacturer of consumer electronics including recordable media
FUJIFILM / a photography and digital imaging company which also sells recordable media
TDK / a multinational electronics company which manufactures electronic materials, components, and data-storage media
SEAGATE / a data storage company specializing in hard disk drives for computer systems
WESTERN DIGITAL / a computer data storage company which specializes in hard disk drives, and supporting software
SANDISK / a manufacturer of flash memory products for use with computer systems and other peripherals
PNY / an electronics manufacturer whose products include both flash memory and hard disk drives
LEXAR / a manufacturer of digital media products, including flash memory and memory card readers
KINGSTON / a computer technology corporation which sells, develops, and manufactures computer memory-related products
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DISC-BASED STORAGE
HARD DISK STORAGE
FLASH MEMORY
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
ADJACENT COMPETITORS Our adjacent competition is composed of companies whose products serve to read or recall the memories that our products have stored. This includes computer systems (such as PC’s, laptops, and tablets) as well as home entertainment peripherals (media players).
HEWLITT-PACKARD / a technology company specializing in computers and printers
ACER / a corporation specializing in advanced electronics technology and hardware
ASUS / an electronics company specializing and computer hardware, peripherals, and accessories
TOSHIBA / a corporation with diversified products which include electronic components and materials
INSIGNIA / a consumer electronics company which specializes in home entertainment electronics
JVC / an electronics company which specializes in audio and video recording equipment
LG / a consumer electronics company which specializes in home electronics and accessories
PANASONIC / an electronics corporation which also specializes in home appliances
PHILIPS / an electronics company which sells various audio products, including home entertainment electronics
PIONEER / an electronics corporation which specializes in digital entertainment products
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COMPUTER SYSTEMS
HOME ELECTRONICS
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
FUTURE COMPETITORS Our future competition includes companies who will have found a way to make memories exist in present time, and with the ability to interact with it. Some of the bigger technology companies today show great potential as their products become much more interactive. Furthermore, social media will become a factor as many memories are shared through these channels.
APPLE / a technology company which develops and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services
SONY / a corporation specializing in motion pictures, music, and various electronics
MICROSOFT / a technology company specializing in computer hardware and software, as well as consumer electronics
SAMSUNG / an electronics manufacturer whose products range from home electronics to mobile phones
CANON / an imaging company who makes a variety of products including cameras, printers, and scanners
NIKON / a corporation specializing in optics and imaging products, known mostly for their digital cameras and recorders
FACEBOOK / a social network which allows users to share various media with their friends
INSTAGRAM / a mobile application which allows users to upload and share photos and short video clips
TWITTER / a social network which users create short messages and are able to include links to photos and videos
YOUTUBE / a website which allows users to upload and share their recorded videos
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ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY
IMAGING & PHOTOGRAPHY
SOCIAL MEDIA
COMPETITION
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FINDING THE RIGHT LOOK After establishing the strategy we would like to employ with our brand’s revitalization, it is time to move forward into the development phase of this process. During this point in time, we will be exploring numerous ways in which our brand can be represented through a logo—quantity begets quality, and you will see the thorough exploration of various forms of icons and wordmarks as they adhere to specific ideas.
CHAPTER ��
SOURCES
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MEMOREX
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
PHOTO SOURCES PAGE
SOURCE WEBPAGE
04–05
http://img02.deviantart.net/0bfe/i/2012/015/8/2/futuristic_world_by_starlystock-d4mfxgq.jpg
07
http://mrxhist.org/docs/Bede_5147.pdf
08
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1747709/images/o-BLACK-MOUTH-MICROPHONE-facebook.jpg
09
https://thecounterfeitchristian.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/resonance.jpg
10, left
http://mrxhist.org/docs/Bede_5139.pdf
10, middle
http://mrxhist.org/docs/Bede_5145.pdf
10, right
http://mrxhist.org/docs/Bede_5142.pdf
11, left
http://mrxhist.org/docs/Bede_5143.pdf
11, middle
http://mrxhist.org/docs/Bede_5137.pdf
11, right
http://mrxhist.org/docs/Bede_5144.pdf
SOURCES
PAGE
SOURCE WEBPAGE
12–13
http://backgrounds-free.com/highresolution/l_091.png
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https://static.pexels.com/photos/7066/man-relax-couch-study.jpg
16, middle
http://www.hellenicpulmonaryhypertension.gr/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/tv.jpg
16, bottom
http://www.luckypierre.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/listening-to-music.jpg
17, top
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/2171964/original.jpg
17, left
http://eskipaper.com/images/wood-floor-texture-14.jpg
17, right
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/cf/b1/25/cfb125f6d48e0a076baf1dfcb033a73b.jpg
18, top
http://www.khaosodenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Learn-_-Play-Interactive-Theme-Park_A-Table-where-LittlePeople-Live_main_Re.jpg
18, middle
http://mw2013.museumsandtheweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/LP-CMA-LineShape-01.jpg
18, bottom
http://www.sunlandrvresorts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bigstock-silhouettes-of-concert-crowd-i-15652625_mini.jpg
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PAGE
SOURCE WEBPAGE
19, top
https://fortunedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/vir05_d1.jpg
19, left
http://www.pptbackgroundstemplates.com/backgrounds/Futuristic-abstract-pattern-with-lights-backgrounds.jpg
19, right
http://7te.org/images/1920x1080/blur-blue-bokeh-wallpaper-2035.jpg
20–21
http://www.graygeardesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/futuristic-wallpapers-backgrounds-futuristic-abstract-wallpaper1920x1080-android-photoshop-tutorial-designs-wallpapers-1920x1200-for-walls-iphone-pack-5.jpg
28–29
http://more-sky.com/WDF-258982.html
38-39
http://bgfons.com/upload/light_texture2320.jpg
SOURCES
CONTENT SOURCES PAGE
SOURCE WEBPAGE
6, company history
http://mrxhist.org/index.html http://mrxhist.org/index.html
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design
Raymond Monsada
printing & binding
Chum’s Design & Print 582 Market St #100 San Francisco, CA 94104
course
Nature of Identity Fall 2015 Academy of Art University
instructor
Hunter Wimmer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of Memorex. A digital version of this Visual Strategy Guide book is available online at realisticmemories.com.