Intel Inside Marketing Strategy Overview
Not many years ago, if you mentioned the word "microprocessor" you'd likely get mystified stares from consumers. Few mainstream consumers knew anything about the processor, even though it was the "brain" that powered the computer. computer. But today many personal computer users can recite the specification and speed of the processor, just like car owners can tell you if they have a !, or # engine. $he awareness awareness of "%ntel "%ntel"" has grown along with the awar awareness eness of the chip, and today is associated with "technology leadership," "&uality" and "reliability." "reliability." ou can credit this to the %ntel %nside( )rogram, which launched in *++*. $he program repre sented the first time a )- component manufacturer successfully communicated directly to computer buyers. $oday, the %ntel %nside( )rogram is one of the world's largest cooperative marketing marke ting programs, programs, supported by thousands of )- make makers rs who are licensed to use the %ntel %nside( logos. $he %ntel brand is one of the top ten knownbrands in the world, in a class with -oke, /isney and 0c/onalds, according to various rankings. History
From the dawn of the personal computer in the late *+12s, marketing was mainly driven by computer vendors and software publishers. /uring that time the rapid technical advances of %ntel processors had played a central role in transforming the )- from a basic production and business management tool in the *+#2s into a rich new information, entertainment, education tool, along with being a business device. $he processor was driving the rapid increase in the performance, which in turn helped systems run more smoothly, &uickly and reliably. But %ntel relied on its )- vendor customers to convey this message3 these were 4506, otherwise known as 4riginal 5&uipment 0anufacturers. $hus it had little brand identification among users, who knew no more about the processor than they did the company that built the engine in their cars. %n fact computer users were generally unaware of what advanced processors were available or of the con contin tinual ually ly imp improv roving ing cos costt per perfor forman mance ce tha thatt was being del delive ivered red by "0o "0oore' ore's s law law"" 7industry guiding principle, named after %ntel's cofounder and -hairman 5meritus 8ordon 0oore, that states that the number of transistors on a microprocessor roughly doubles every *# months to two years9. %ntel believed people needed to know more about the processor and the company behind behind it. 6o in *+#+ an %ntel marketing marketing manager /ennis -arter -arter formed a small group and for the first time launched a program aimed at marketing a microprocessor, the :#6;, to the %nformation $echnology 7%$9 managers who purchased )-s for business. $his eff $his effort ort was success successful ful33 %$ lea learne rned d abo about ut the new :# :#6; 6; and con conver verted ted to it rap rapidl idly y. ed among computer manufacturers, the brand had little name recognition amongst end users, despite the fact that %ntel microprocessors were the "brains" inside their )-s. $he media raised &uestions as to whether a pure technology company could play in the same league with )roctor and 8amble, 8eneral 0otors and 0c/onalds. 5ven to many within the company, the program seemed like a stretch. = second issue was that the processor, although a key component of personal computers, was only a component. $o effectively market this component to the )- buyer it was important to work with the manuf manufactur acturer er of comput computers. ers. =fter all, the proces processor sor was buried deep inside the computer and despite its significance it was hard to tell which processor the )- contained before it was purchased.
-arter and his team studied successful consumer marketing techni&ues and e?amined tactics used by wellknown companies supplying a component or ingredient of a finished product, like Nutra6weet@, $eflon@ and /olby@. $hey also began a variety of marketing e?periments and soon began envisioning how a branded ingredient program would play out in the computer industry. Aey to this strategy was gaining consumer's confidence in %ntel as a brand and demonstrating the value of buying a microprocessor from the industry's leading company, the pioneer of the microprocessor. =t the suggestion of its advertising agency, /ahlin 6mith and hite, %ntel adopted a new tag line for their advertisingC "%ntel. $he computer inside." Dsing this to position the important role of the processor and at the same time associating %ntel with "safety," "leading technology" and "reliability," the company's followingand consumer confidencewould hopefully soar. $hat would create a new "pull" for %ntelbased )-s. Eater, this tagline was shortened to "%ntel %nside." $he important role of the microprocessor was being communicated, but to be truly effective the ingredient status of the microprocessor needed to be dealt with. %n *++* -arter launched the %ntel %nside( coop marketing program. $he heart of the program was an incentivebased cooperative advertising program. %ntel would create a coop fund where it would take a percentage of the purchase price of processors and put it in a pool for advertising funds. =vailable to all computer makers, it offered to cooperatively share advertising costs for )print ads that included the %ntel logo. $he benefits were clear. =dding the %ntel logo not only made the 450's advertising dollar stretch farther, but it also conveyed an assurance that their systems were powered by the latest technology. $he program launched in uly *++*. By the end of that year, :22 )- 450s had signed on to support the program. =fter the 450 program was underway, %ntel started print advertising around the world to e?plain the logo to consumers. %n early *++G, made by 8eorge Eucas' %ndustrial Eight 0agic, %ntel debuted its first $ advertising stressing speed, power and affordability. %t used stateof theart special effects to take viewers on a sweeping trip through the innards of the personal computer before hovering over the campaign's raison d'Htre the then new %ntel i!#@ processor. $elevision was especially effective in communicating the %ntel %nside( program messages to the consumer. =long with colorful $ advertisements, %ntel added a distinctive and memorable threesecond animated jingle 7known as a signature %/ audio visual logo9, displaying the logo and playing a fivetone melody. 6tarting in *++I, the nowfamiliar tone helped cement a positive %ntel image in the minds of millions of consumers. $he marketing investments were beginning to payoff in terms of consumer mindshare, aided by the highprofile launches of the )entium( 7*++:9 and )entium( )ro 7*++!9 microprocessors. $he advertising results were stunning. /ennis -arter comments, "% believe that there has been a lot more 7industry wide9 advertising because of the %ntel %nside( program than there would have been otherwise. $hat has helped to create more )- demand. %f you believe that advertising works, then more people are getting educated about the benefits of the )- because of the %ntel %nside( program." By the late *++2s the program was widely regarded as a success. %ntel's innovative marketing helped broaden awareness of the )-, fueling consumer demand while prices continued to plunge. $his paved the way for the )- to become more commonplace in the home, emerging as a business, entertainment and education tool. %ntel became a lightning rod for this electronics revolution. hen %ntel's "Bunny )eople"@ characters danced their way across the $ screen, during a break of the *++1 6uperBowl, "they became nothing less than the whimsical icons of a gogo )- industry," according to =dvertising =ge. =fter si? years, and almost two decades in the )- business, %ntel had arrived in the public consciousness as a worldclass player. %ts brand was known worldwide, its name synonymous with the computer industry. hile the %ntel %nside( )rogram continues to evolve, it will remain true to its heritage of promotingC "technology leadership," "&uality" and "reliability." $hese features will be as important to online users and highend server buyers today as they were to the desktop computer buyer in the *++2s.
For more information about %ntel, see www.intel.comJintel . For more information about jobs within %ntel, see www.intel.comJjobsJ or for %ntel %nside( )rogram specifically, contact /olores Baum at 7!2#9 1I*+*:. =bout %ntel %ntel 7N=6/=KC %N$-9 is a world leader in computing innovation. $he company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the worldLs computing devices. =dditional information about %ntel is available at www.intel.comJpressroom and blogs.intel.com. %ntel, %ntel %nside, )entium, ;eon , Bunny)eople and %tanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of %ntel -orporation or its subsidiaries in the Dnited 6tates and other countries. 4ther names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
