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Intel makes marketing push for Centrino chip

By Reuters
San Francisco, 28 Sept 2004
Intel yesterday launched a global advertising campaign for its Centrino notebook computer chips, aiming to boost sales of a brand that has brought the world`s largest chipmaker more than $3 billion in revenue since its start last year.

Intel does not sell directly to consumers but its "Intel Inside" marketing campaign has made it a household name, allowing it to charge a premium compared to chips from rival Advanced Micro Devices.

Last year Intel spent $300 million to launch Centrino in its "Unwired" marketing campaign, promoting wireless networking and improved battery life.

The new advertising push features performance artists Blue Man Group and will appear on prime-time network and cable television, mainstream magazines and Web sites and billboards, said Intel worldwide advertising manager Sean Connolly. The campaign will continue through early next year, he said.

The Centrino brand refers to a bundle of three Intel chips: a Pentium M microprocessor, a supporting chip set and a wireless communications chip.

Intel sells the bundle at a price premium, though some PC makers have elected to use non-Intel wireless chips in their products.

Notebook computer sales are growing faster than desktop computers, as battery life, Internet connectivity and portability improve. Growth is expected to be especially strong in Asia, and Intel`s Centrino ad campaign will target the Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese media markets.

Other targeted markets for the campaign include the US, the UK, France, Germany and Australia, Connolly said.

"Centrino is definitely the focus of our consumer communications and broad-based communications," Connolly said. "It is job number one for advertising."

Intel, which would not disclose the cost of the new campaign, spent $4.3 billion last year on marketing, general and administrative expenses, according to the Santa Clara, California-based company`s financial statements.

Many PC makers share marketing expenses with Intel as part of the "Intel Inside" programme, a loyalty programme that rival AMD has criticised as anti-competitive.

Intel`s largest customers are Dell and HP.

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