HP unveils new marketing campaign

BANGALORE: Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina unveiled her vision at the Comdex fall computer show for transforming the company from a product-driven colossus to a pioneer of Internet services and ideas, a change that will be highlighted by a $200 million marketing campaign.

The company unveiled a marketing campaign that will emphasize the Palo Alto garage in which founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard turned out their first product, an electronic instrument used to test sound. Its new logo will be 'HP: Invent.' Fiorina also showed highlights of some of the products HP engineers have been working to bring to market in coming months, mostly devices aimed at connecting to the Internet without being bound to a personal computer.

Among the intriguing possibilities, a venture with Swatch to develop a wristwatch that could access the Web is likely. Fiorina would not provide additional details of the timing of such a product or its potential cost, however. Most consumers know Hewlett-Packard only for its printers and computers. It also has been slow to catch on with the Internet. But Fiorina said she is working to quickly transform the company into a company that offers not only appliances but infrastructure such as secure computer servers and Internet services.