Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) SA is poised to take advantage of the economic downturn.
The company's local country manager, Imi Mosaheb, says the company will perform better than most during the economic downturn, because of a change in consumer behaviour.
“In hard times, consumers will turn to bargain buys and are more likely to disregard brand loyalty, which is good news for us,” explains Mosaheb.
AMD has traditionally positioned its products at a competitive price point, when compared with its industry rival Intel. Mosaheb says AMD's biggest hurdle lies in the fact that many consumers are brand loyal and would rather stick with the products they know than access new, even cheaper products.
However, he expects the situation to change with many more potential customers counting pennies when making a purchase decision.
The company recently revealed its new local marketing strategy to go direct to the consumer through brand awareness and education. According to Mosaheb, while many other companies are cutting their marketing budgets, AMD wants to push its own branding.
“Having a more visible presence in the market during this time when many others are decreasing theirs will also be a boon for us,” he explains.
While the company may do well to promote its brand, some market watchers are sceptical that the strategy will work. “Consumers are less likely to refresh their technology at all during this hard time,” commented one industry executive.
Locally, AMD has increased its sales by 17% (Q4 2008) and is starting to show a good brand following. The company also unveiled its latest platform offering, Dragon, which sports the Phenom II processor.
Mosaheb is hopeful that the platform will help the company drive consumer sales.
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