Page 81 - Marketing Management

58 PART 1 UNDERSTANDING MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Today, Cisco continues to acquire companies— Questions
including 40 between 2004 and 2009—that help it
1. How is building a brand in a business-to-business con-
expand into newer markets such as consumer electron-
text different from doing so in the consumer market?
ics, business collaboration software, and computer
servers. These acquisitions align with Cisco’s goal of 2. Is Cisco’s plan to reach out to consumers a viable
increasing overall Internet traffic, which ultimately drives one? Why or why not?
demand for its networking hardware products. However,
by entering into these new markets, Cisco has gained Sources: Marguerite Reardon,“Cisco Spends Millions on Becoming Household Name.” CNET,
October 5, 2006; Michelle Kessler,“Tech Giants Build Bridge to Consumers.” USA Today, March 13,
new competitors such as Microsoft, IBM, and Hewlett-
2006; Marla Matzer,“Cisco Faces the Masses.” Los Angeles Times, August 20, 1998; David R. Baker,
Packard. To compete against them, it reaches out to both “New Ad Campaign for Cisco.” San Francisco Chronicle, February 18, 2003; Bobby White,“Expanding
consumers and businesses in its advertising efforts, into Consumer Electronics, Cisco Aims to Jazz Up Its Stodgy Image,” Wall Street Journal, September 6,
2006, p. B1; Burt Helm,“Best Global Brands” BusinessWeek, September 18, 2008; Ashlee Vance,
including tapping into social media such as Facebook,
“Cisco Buys Norwegian Firm for $3 Billion.” New York Times, October 1, 2009; Jennifer Leggio,
Twitter, and blogs. “10 Fortune 500 Companies Doing Social Media Right.” ZDNet, September 28, 2009.

Marketing Excellence move the Intel brand name outside the PC and into the
minds of consumers. In order to execute the new brand
strategy, it was essential that the computer manufactur-
>>Intel ers who used Intel processors support the program.
Intel gave them significant rebates when they included
the Intel logo in their PC ads or when they placed
the “Intel Inside” sticker on the outside of their PCs
and laptops.
The company created several effective and identifi-
able marketing campaigns in the late 1990s to become a
recognizable and well-liked 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.
In 2003, Intel launched Centrino, a platform that
included a new microprocessor, an extended battery, and
wireless capabilities. The company launched a multimillion-
Intel makes the microproces- dollar media effort around the new platform called
sors found in 80 percent of the world’s personal “Unwired,” which urged the wired world to “Unwire.
computers. Today, it is one of the most valuable brands Untangle. Unburden. Uncompromise. Unstress.” “Unwired”
in the world, with revenues exceeding $37 billion. In the helped the company generate $2 billion in revenue during
early days, however, Intel microprocessors were known the first nine months of the campaign.
simply by their engineering numbers, such as “80386” or As the PC industry slowed in the mid-2000s, Intel
“80486.” Since numbers can’t be trademarked, competi- sought opportunities in new growth areas such as home
tors came out with their own “486” chips and Intel had no entertainment and mobile devices. It launched two new
way to distinguish itself. Nor could consumers see Intel’s platforms: Viiv (rhymes with “five”) aimed at home enter-
products, buried deep inside their PCs. Thus, Intel had a tainment enthusiasts, and Centrino Duo mobile. In
hard time convincing consumers to pay more for its high- addition, the company created a $2 billion global market-
performance products. ing campaign to help reposition Intel from a brainy
As a result, Intel created the quintessential ingredient- microprocessor company to a “warm and fuzzy com-
branding marketing campaign and made history. It pany” that offered solutions for consumers as well. As
chose a name for its latest microprocessor introduction part of the campaign, Intel’s new slogan “Leap Ahead”
that could be trademarked, Pentium, and launched the replaced the familiar “Intel Inside” campaign that had
“Intel Inside” campaign to build brand awareness of its become synonymous with the Intel brand, and a new logo
whole family of microprocessors. This campaign helped was created.