Case studies are an important learning strategy in business classes as they provide an opportunity for you to critically analyze events that have taken place in real-life businesses. This develops your critical thinking and research skills as you research the competition and industry in which your business resides with an end goal of formulating a recommendation for the challenges faced by the company.

Evaluate the case below and respond to each of the questions below using both theory and practical managerial thinking as well as supporting research.

Intel (pp. 59–60)

1. Discuss how Intel changed ingredient-marketing history. What did it do so well in those initial marketing campaigns? How did Intel manage to develop a strong customer relationship with their target market?

2. How has the industry in which Intel resides been doing over the last 5 years?

3. Who are the top three competitors of Intel, and what are their advantages/disadvantages with respect to their product/service development?

4. Evaluate Intel’s greatest risks and strengths as the industry moves out of the personal computer (PC) era. Identify the next steps that Intel needs to employ in order to maintain its competitive advantage.

In formatting your case analysis, do not use the question-and-answer format; instead, use an essay format with subheadings. Your APA-formatted case study should be a minimum of 500 words in length (not counting the title and reference pages). You are required to use a minimum of three peer-reviewed, academic sources that are no more than 5 years old (one may be your textbook). All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased material must have accompanying in-text citations.

Text book being used is Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.) [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/978132359151

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 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 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.