I am not sure what the big deal is here: Intel has said it will change its logo, as well as its marketing strategy, to encompass its traditional products but other ventures such as devices and healthcare.
   It’s not a radical change, but radical enough to warrant the change in visuals. After all: it has a strategic direction that others might not expect; the environment has changed since the original marketing strategy was set; there is a change in marketing that seems to be supported by top management; the existing image is deemed incompatible with the desired one.
   We’re talking about the Intel brand being on the outside: ‘Intel outside’, rather than ‘Intel inside’.
   And overall, it’s a neat trick, and I wonder just how unexpected it all was.
   Intel began as a chip maker and consumers never saw its brand. It was strictly B2B.
   Then, it began to co-brand, with the ‘Intel inside’ logo. And now, this is the next step: Intel will have its own consumer products that extend its expertise as a chip maker on to devices.
   Technique: change and spend to reinforce the reasons for that change.
   When you have as much money as Intel, and you face a slow-down in revenues in the coming year, it’s worth trying to shift perceptions on a grand scale. I still prefer involving communities in brand changes, and managing their perceptions, but at the same time, this old-fashioned method has its place. It will be interesting to observe how well it is executed in this day and age of the consumer movement, and how, in six and twelve months’ time, impressions have shifted.
   My bet? It will be so successful no one will mention the change in half a year’s time. There will be sufficient internal changes, too, to signal the new Intel, given the indications of top-level support.
   And that was my first post of the New Year: it is 11 hours, 17 minutes in to 2006 here. posted by Jack Yan, 10:07 PM  permalink