CS1

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

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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

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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.

Questions

1. Discuss how Intel changed ingredient-marketing history. What did it do

so well in those initial marketing campaigns?

2. Evaluate Intel’s more recent marketing efforts as the industry moves out

of the PC era. What are Intel’s greatest risks and strengths during this

changing time?

Sources: Cliff Edwards, “Intel Everywhere?” BusinessWeek, March 8, 2004, pp.

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