Advance Marketing
Marketing Excellence Intel
Intel makes the microprocessors found in most of the world’s personal computers, tablets, and smart phones. It is one of the most valuable brands in the world, with revenues exceeding $54 billion. In the early days, however, Intel microprocessors were known simply by their engineering numbers, such as “80386” or “80486.” Because numbers can’t be trademarked, competitors came out with their own numbered chips, and Intel had no way to distinguish itself. Nor could consumers see Intel’s products, buried deep inside their PCs. Thus, Intel had a hard time convincing consumers to pay more for its high-performance products.
To correct this situation, Intel created the quintessential ingredient-branding marketing campaign. First, it chose the name Pentium for its latest microprocessor and trademarked it. Next, it launched the “Intel Inside” campaign to build brand awareness of its family of microprocessors. This campaign helped move the Intel brand name outside the PC and into the minds of consumers. To secure crucial support from the computer manufacturers who used its processors, Intel gave them significant rebates when they included its logo in their ads or placed “Intel Inside” stickers on the outside of their PCs and laptops.
Intel created several memorable marketing campaigns in the late 1990s, making it a recognizable ingredient brand name. The “Bunny People” series featured Intel technicians dressed in brightly colored contamination suits as they danced to disco music inside a processor facility. Intel also used the famous Blue Man Group in its commercials for Pentium III and Pentium IV.
As the PC industry slowed in the mid-2000s, Intel sought opportunities in new growth areas such as wireless, home entertainment, and mobile devices. The company launched a handful of new platforms: Centrino, which featured wireless capabilities, Viiv (rhymes with “five”) aimed at home entertainment enthusiasts, and Centrino Duo mobile. Intel created a $2 billion global marketing campaign to help reposition itself from a brainy microprocessor company to a “warm and fuzzy company” that offered solutions for consumers as well. With a new logo, its new slogan “Leap Ahead” replaced the familiar “Intel Inside” campaign.
In 2008, reacting to the new wave of mobile Internet devices and lightweight netbooks, Intel launched the Atom, its smallest processor to date, about the size of a grain of rice. Also that year, Intel introduced its most advanced microprocessor to date, the Intel Core i7, which served the increased need for video, 3-D gaming, and advanced computer activities. Both processors were instant hits. Intel sold more than 20 million Atom processors in its first year alone and 28 million in its second year.
Intel’s corresponding campaign aimed to improve the company’s brand awareness among consumers and was titled “Sponsors of Tomorrow.” Commercials highlighted the company’s role in changing the future of technology and took a humorous tone. In one, a middle-aged man wearing his company ID tag strutted through the cafeteria as fellow employees screamed, groped, and begged for his autograph. The ad explained, “Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB. Our superheroes aren’t like your superheroes.”
As the post-PC era dawned, Intel, known for its relationship with the PC, found itself refocusing and taking risky steps to remain a technological leader. In 2011, it acquired two major companies, McAfee and Infineon Technologies’ Wireless Solutions business, expanding its capabilities. That same year, Intel made a strategic shift in its product line and introduced the Ultrabook system, a new category of thin and secure mobile devices that combined features of tablets and netbooks.
The company launched its biggest marketing campaign in more than a decade—“A New Era of Computing”—to communicate its evolution into the category of tablets and smart phones. Kevin Sellers, vice president, Sales and Marketing Group, explained, “This is not a campaign where we’re talking about the microprocessor or Intel the company. Instead, we’re giving a cinematic and epic feel to how Intel-inspired Ultrabook systems are ushering in a new era of computing and making everything else seem like ancient history.”
As Intel expands into mobile devices, its influence on the future of technology and its brand value will grow. The combination of effective, consistent marketing along with innovative technological launches have made its brand one of the most valuable in the world, exceeding $34 billion.
Sources: Cliff Edwards, “Intel Everywhere?” BusinessWeek, March 8, 2004, pp. 56–62; Scott Van Camp, “ReadMe.1st,” Brandweek, February 23, 2004, p. 17; “How to Become a Superbrand,” Marketing, January 8, 2004, p. 15; Roger Slavens, “Pam Pollace, VP-Director, Corporate Marketing Group, Intel Corp,” BtoB, December 8, 2003, p. 19; Kenneth Hein, “Study: New Brand Names Not Making Their Mark,” Brandweek, December 8, 2003, p. 12; Heather Clancy, “Intel Thinking outside the Box,” Computer Reseller News, November 24, 2003, p. 14; Cynthia L. Webb, “A Chip Off the Old Recovery?” Washingtonpost.com, October 15, 2003; “Intel Launches Second Phase of Centrino Ads,” Technology Advertising & Branding Report, October 6, 2003; David Kirkpatrick, “At Intel, Speed Isn’t Everything,” Fortune, February 9, 2004, p. 34; Don Clark. “Intel to Overhaul Marketing in Bid to Go Beyond PCs,” Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2005; Stephanie Clifford, “Tech Company’s Campaign to Burnish Its Brand,” New York Times, May 6, 2009, p. B7; Tim Bajarin, “Intel Makes Moves in Mobility,” PC Magazine, October 5, 2009; “Intel Ushers in ‘A New Era of Computing’ with Ultrabook Campaign,” Intel press release, April 4, 2012; Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2014.