Link: A Tech Company’s Campaign to Burnish Its Brand

The NYT article above is about the new ad campaign for Intel created by Venables Bell. It’s only a rebranding campaign in the loosest sense. Intel hasn’t changed their target demographic or what they do. In fact, they probably will never have to (barring some huge unforeseen event). Instead, under the advisement of Venables Bell, Intel is changing the “how” instead of the “what” of their message.

We’ve all seen Intel Inside for many, many years now. People know of Intel, even if they’re not quite sure what the company produces or why they’re important. But the problem is that in modern times, it doesn’t really matter if a computer is equipped with an Intel chip or not. In fact, the only ripple in recent memory in the everlong battle for processor market share was when Apple began offering Intel processors. Let’s face it, nobody will win this war unless one party goes bankrupt. Some people will always buy AMD. Some will always stay loyal to Intel. And others will find the third way.

The point is that when you can’t advertise your product, per sé, you have to appeal to consumer feelings. When that intermediate computer buyer walks into BestBuy and is looking at the specs of all available computers, that Intel Inside sticker has got to incite feelings of warmth and goodness inside that potential customer. It’s simple as that. And the easiest vehicle to achieve that? Humor.

So will this ad campaign be successful? Depends on Intel’s goals. I personally don’t think there will be much change in Intel’s market share (but I also think that a big name like Intel needs to rebrand itself too vehemently), and I highly doubt the minds over at Venables Bell don’t know this. So if their collective goal is to foster good feelings about the brand (as it should be), then how funny and memorable the commercials are will be the sign of success.