It’s a classic “dog bites man” story, because for most of their existence, Intel had a brand value that consistently outpaced AMD’s. Dennis Carter, Intel’s former CMO, significantly enhanced the value of the brand under the leadership Andy Grove. Dennis Carter created constructs such as the Bunny People while leveraging a generous budget to generate interest in Intel products.
Carter was no different than many C-level managers in that he did not train his subordinates well. Intel’s huge brand advantage has been eroded over the past few decades. In the latest Kantar Brandz report AMD and Intel were ranked 41st, 48th and 49th respectively in the list of 100 most valuable companies. Apple was number one, Nvidia sixth. Let’s discuss how this happened and what it means for AMD, Intel, and the PC and server industries going forward.
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Intel Inside: Marketing Legacy
Intel Inside, a program that my wife ran for a while, was one of Intel’s most powerful assets. Intel used to have the most recognizable brand name.
The majority of us do not know who makes the processors for our appliances, electric vehicles, or EV engine, but we should be concerned about who made the battery, since they are not all the same. Tesla drivers might not know the manufacturer of their batteries if asked. However, Tesla has revealed that Panasonic is responsible for them.
This recognition was not achieved overnight. Dennis Carter put in a lot of work during the 90s. Apple, under Steve Jobs’ leadership, is the only tech company that invests in marketing. Most other companies do not. They also hire engineers who aren’t well-versed in their job as CMOs.
Intel received a tremendous amount of marketing support, because brand value is directly related to consideration. Apple’s number one position in the world is directly linked to its success on the market. McDonald’s current financial performance and its ranking of five might be an exception.
It reminds me a story that my grandfather used to tell me as a child. The story was about William Wrigley Jr., the founder of Wrigley Company. He was aboard a train powered by steam engines in the early 1900s. Wrigley was at that time the largest confection company in the world. Wrigley’s young assistant, who was like many other new employees just out of college, thought that his degree made her an expert.
Wrigley looked at him and asked, “Why do you spend so much on advertising?” Wrigley was already the leader in his industry. Wrigley asked him, Why don’t they stop adding coal to the engine, given that this train is travelling at around 60 mph?
Marketing is not just necessary to achieve leadership, but also to maintain it.
AMD Moves Ahead Of Intel
AMD may not be a marketing powerhouse but, under Lisa Su’s leadership, it has excelled in execution. Its products are problem-free, and they have met or even exceeded expectations. AMD has made strategic purchases to close the competition gap. Not with Intel, but with Nvidia.
AMD has not traditionally been a leading brand. However, its consistency in execution has helped to grow and maintain its value. Intel’s brand value declined due to lack of funding and lack of attention on its unusual marketing of ingredients.
You can see that in the Kantar Report I linked, Qualcomm comes out on top, followed by Intel. AMD is close behind at 41. Qualcomm is in the lead due to its Snapdragon chipset and recent marketing campaigns to increase its PC offerings.
The reason that most of these brands are in the 40s is because they have a high-quality product. market development funds The (MDF) program is not working at the moment.
These programs were unique because they provided money to OEMs for marketing products that contained parts supplied by the vendor who supplied the MDF funds. Over time, OEMs have started to use MDF funds as a supplement for margins, and to reduce marketing costs, without much pushback from their vendors.
This divergence of funds crippled programs. Intel invests more than any other vendor in these programs, but vendors don’t use the dollars to their intended purpose, which results in Intel getting minimal consideration or demand benefits. These funds are being used to give vendors redundant discounts, which has led to the failure of the program.
Intel is doing a better job and is helping to develop the chip manufacturing industry in the United States. It needs to get back to the efforts Dennis Carter put in with his Intel Inside and Bunny People campaigns to regain that once impressive brand glory.
Wrapping up Technology’s Big Problem
People skills are not well known amongst engineers who run tech companies. Marketing is also about people skills, but on a larger scale.
Windows 95 was the best-marketed tech product ever, but also showed that Microsoft did not understand marketing. Microsoft refused to repeat this program even though it was a huge success because the support staff couldn’t cope with the volume.
It would have been better to fix the support. It collapsed instead and removed the people who were responsible for the success of Windows 95. It did the same with the Xbox team a few years later. This is partly why Microsoft Zune, and Phone, were such failures.
After Dennis Carter’s departure, the CMOs that followed him destroyed Bunny People. They also nearly destroyed the value of Intel Inside. They did not understand the importance of protecting and building the massive brand value Intel once had. Every C level executive should be an industry expert, not a transplanted Engineer who treads on water.
I think that the entire tech industry has learned this lesson the hard way. Dell recently moved up to 81st position in the Kantar Brandz survey. Lenovo, HPE, and HP did not make the list. The tech industry isn’t alone in experiencing the effects of under-marketing. Tesla is the highest-ranked automobile brand, with a ranking of 26. It’s the only U.S. auto company that made it into the top hundred.
Companies with poor brand management are likely to continue experiencing a less than stellar financial performance until they reverse the trend. It’s sad to see Intel Inside deteriorate so much. I hope Intel can regain the focus and drive needed to restore its brand’s former status as a quality symbol.
Nvidia Qualcomm and AMD should be commended for their successful implementation!
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Hyundai 2025 Ioniq 5-N electrified sports car
The first time I saw this vehicle was when I watched a drag racing between two cars. IONIQ 5 N Tesla Model 3 Performance, its nearest competitor. The Hyundai not only felt faster, but it was also more enjoyable to drive.
In an interesting twist, I had once told Ford’s former CEO that he needed to learn more from Tesla on this “fun thing” and warned him that if this didn’t change, he might soon be out-of-a-job (and it did).
Hyundai Ioniq has a price of just under $7000 but delivers a lot of performance. It can reach 641 horsepower. There is a drift optimizer that works and a boost switch.
The car has a range of 220 miles. It’s great for the drag strip and around town, but not so good if you want to go on a long trip. It also has realistic simulated shifts and decent fake engine noises, which makes the game more fun. And its fast hatchback design makes it a lot more practical than other performance cars.
CarWow raced The Ioniq 5N against a $300,000. Lamborghini Aventador SV. Lamborghini won, but only by one car length and at a cost close to five times that of the Hyundai. The Hyundai may have been overmatched in one area, but not another. series of racesHyundai is an excellent performer.
I love my Audi E-Tron GT. My car is not a drag racer, but does 0-60 mph in 3.6 second (the newer model is faster, at 2.9 second). Also, my Audi 2022 would be beaten by the Hyundai. Hyundai’s Ioniq 5-N is currently the most affordable and fun electric vehicle available. It sets a new standard in electric car success.
Ford, GM and Stellantis could learn something from Hyundai that they have clearly not learned from Tesla. Fun sells.
