Intel Corp. this week announced its new marketing campaign called “Sponsors of Tomorrow”. The campaign will promote Intel’s brand name, not a specific product, for the first time in Intel history. It is logical for Intel to advertise its own name first since the company is transforming from microprocessor company to platforms and solutions company.

“For more than 40 years Intel has been delivering tomorrow’s ‘normal’, and our new marketing campaign is a way for the world to be made aware of this fact. We’re hoping to convey that we’re not just a microprocessor company, but a move-society-forward-by-quantum-leaps company,” said Deborah Conrad, Intel vice president and general manager of corporate marketing group.

The multi-million-dollar marketing campaign is the largest for Intel since “Multiply”, the September 2006 campaign that supported the then-new Intel Core 2 Duo. “Sponsors of Tomorrow” is expected to have a lifespan of 3 to 5 years, and was created by Venables Bell & Partners in San Francisco. It is the first campaign for Intel by the agency since being awarded Intel's master brand account in January.

“Most of the world knows Intel as a huge, multi-national chipmaker, but the company is much more than that. The more we learned about Intel, the more we realized how narrow our perception had been. This company is forging the future in so many unfathomable ways, and what a shame it is that the general consumer has no idea,” said Paul Venables, the agency's founder and co-creative director.

Intel needs the new campaign not only to inspire interest towards new technologies, which is likely to boost sales of various devices, but also to boost importance of the Intel brand. Years ago Intel only sold microprocessors, but nowadays the company supplies various technologies (as parts of its platforms), core-logic sets, system-on-chip products, software and other products. Intel is very close to enter the market of consumer electronics with its Atom and other chips and will soon release its discrete graphics processors. Therefore, the best way of advertising Intel’s products is to advertise the brand itself.

The phased launch begins May 11 in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. The campaign debuts in China and India later this month, and in June is scheduled to be introduced in the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. Additional parts of Latin America and Africa are scheduled for June introductions, and Brazil and Japan are slated for August and September, respectively.

Retail campaigns encompass a range of executions, from merchandising materials and in-store demos to online ads and training for retail salespeople. The essence of "Sponsors of Tomorrow" will also be incorporated into Intel's online materials developed to assist consumers researching PC purchases. A heavy internal campaign is already underway at Intel campuses throughout the world.

Tags: Intel, Business