Hewlett-Packard (and many other IT companies) focus primarily on building their corporate brand. The IT companies know that we, as customers, can see strong connections between different types of IT product and the skills and resources required to make them. As a result customers in the IT sector (both businesses and individuals), rely heavily on the overall reputation of the company to guide their buying decisions - and so investing heavily in the corporate brand is the right strategy.

This is what the portfolio looks like: the corporate brand is by far the largest presence in the mind of the customer...

Contrast this approach with the Procter & Gamble portfolio. P&G know that we, as customers, won't see much connection between the wide range of household goods they manufacture (P&G's portfolio covers perfume, soap, pet food, and more). Because of this P&G (and other companies in the household goods sector) understand they must invest in building strong product brands: because it is the reputation of the product brand, more so than the corporate brand, which guides our purchase decisions.

As a result it is the product brands that have by far the largest presence in the mind of the customer...