Have Plantronics, now known as "Poly" - completely lost the plot?
So unless you have been living under a rock you may be well aware that Polycom one of the world's best desk phone manufacturers and IP telephony specialists have purchased Plantronics, the once Big headset giant.
They have renamed this joint venture (well, takeover really) and combined both names to come up with: Wait for it …….”Poly” As a brand name to cover both Polycom and Plantronics going forward.
OK so we know this happens all the time in our sector of telecoms but most takeovers or growth through acquisition have the sense to keep those acquired brand names that have taken years to establish and have become household names .
If you take Plantronics for instance they have been in the headset market since headsets were first invented. It's a brand synonymous with a very rich history of products only to find themselves now being completely rebranded as “Poly” I mean if you telephone Rolls Royce, they answer the phone as "Rolls Royce" not BMW who they have been owned by since 1998.
In fairness to Plantronics, they may not have been part of that decision or conversation, as they were the ones being bought out. Despite all that, the internet search results are abound with the phrase: Polycom – Now Poly! On the other side of the fence Polycom have also carved out a very nice section of the IP Phone sector for themselves mainly due to the fact they are extremely good at producing high quality IP desk phones, Conferencing technology & UC platforms around the world. In fact, it's fair to say that at headsets 4 business we probably sell more wired & wireless headsets for Polycom’s extremely popular VVX model IP phones than any other brand.
So it looks like these will also be rebranded as Poly overtime . Typically when this happens in our market sector they would keep the brand name like Plantronics and simply put part of the Polycom group under the name so as not to diminish or reduce all that brand awareness that they have built up over so many years.
But that’s not to be and from now on, its Poly! What are your thoughts on this?