If Intel has a secret weapon, it would have to be Deborah Conrad, Intel’s VP and GM of the Corporate Marketing Group. Nanz Inc admires her branding prowess.
For those of us who have been or are in corporate jobs, we recognize that climbing the corporate ladder requires a lot of time, effort and sacrifices. This can be even more challenging in an IT hardware industry. However, cutting against the grain is Conrad, who is widely admired for her vision and her ability to break out of the box when marketing Intel.
A Silicon Valley celebrity, she created and directed Team Apple (and orchestrated all aspects of the Intel and Apple business from sales down to product engineering and market development). The marriage between Intel and Apple brought a new dimension to Intel’s business.
(For Nanz Inc, it has made this tripartite effort with Intel, Sony VAIO and us possible, and allowed for a fresh new look in joint marketing.)
Conrad spearheaded Intel’s “Sponsors of Tomorrow” marketing campaign. She told Forbes.com that “for more than 40 years, Intel has been delivering tomorrow’s ‘normal’, and our new marketing campaign is a way for the world to be made aware of this fact. We’re hoping to convey that we’re not just a microprocessor company, but a move-society-forward-by-quantum-leaps company.”
One of the ways she’s succeeded in doing that is by showing off the Intel employees that have really changed the world. One of them is Ajay Bhatt, who invented the USB (who can live without USB these days?). Working with San Francisco ad agency Venables Bell, Intel came up with this great “Rock Star” ad which has been viraled all across the world. It shows engineer Ajay Bhatt (played by a modest-looking moustachioed Indian actor) being greeted by paparazzi, crazed reporters and beautiful women like a major rock star – that’s the kind of hero Intel celebrates. This was just the first of a series of funny commercials that has worked to sell the people, the innovation and the spirit behind the brand.
What’s more, in a move to engage consumers, you can read stories, play games and win ultra-thin notebooks on Intel’s website.
Watch Conrad talk about her work at Intel — inspiring for any team player, male or female.
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