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May 8, 2009

Intel "Sponsors of Tomorrow " Focuses Us on Its Own Brand Naming

The news that Intel is going to focus on its core brand name is sure to be well received in the industry.

Their "Sponsors of Tomorrow" advertising initiative is going worldwide in hopes that it will remind people everywhere about the core brand name and get them looking for the "Intel inside" slogan again, a tagline that was sidelined while the company touted its many (confusing) sub brands.

This is their biggest push in three years and the Wall Street Journal has already posted the ads that seek to make geeky glamorous. Intel is an "ingredient brand" as one executive says, but it is important enough that consumers want to ensure they have computers that use it.

What I find interesting is the fact that Intel depends so heavily on those little stickers pasted right on the computers themselves. This is really where the consumer interacts with the brand, as we never actually see an Intel chip (microprocessor, sorry). We may like the idea of having Intel inside, but many of us do not really know what Intel does or sells - but as long as we assume that a computer bearing an Intel sticker is better than the rest, then the battle has been won.

The new badges (Intel doesn't appear to use the word "sticker" for obvious reasons) do include the word "inside"and are a slightly different shape than the old ones, but the words "Intel" and "Core" are foregrounded.

Again, this strategy focuses on the brand name and its people rather than the countless number of products Intel sells, trying to give meaning to the slogan "Intel inside."

This is partly due to the fact that consumers are moving away from super powerful PCs and are more interested in how the machines they buy can be useful, which is also creating space for smart phones and mobile web books.

I'd even be willing to bet that the majority of consumers leave Intel stickers on for bragging rights. And that is why they get harder to pull off the longer they have sat on the computer case.

Technorati Tags: Intel, Intel Slogan, Intel Brand Names, Product Names, Marketing Campaign, Intel inside, Microprocessor

Posted by William Lozito at May 8, 2009 8:55 AM
Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Consumer Electronics | Industry | Marketing | Naming | Product Naming | Slogans | Taglines | Technology

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