14 DAY TRIAL // In a recent blog post, the Santa Clara, California-based Intel has explained its latest branding strategy for its current and upcoming products, confirming the launch of the much anticipated Core i5 and the new Core i3 series of processors. According to the world's leading chip maker, customers should expect a simpler branding strategy, focusing on the company's successful Core brand. The upcoming solutions will be designed for the entry-level, mid-level and high-level markets, each of the new brands addressing a new segment.
According to a recent blog post by Intel's Bill Calder, the chip maker is moving to a simpler marketing strategy, as it wants its customers to know exactly what they are buying. This is why the upcoming products will be part of three new families, namely the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7. As for the manufacturer's other non-Core products, Intel says that the Celeron will remain for entry-level computing at affordable price points, Pentium for basic computing and Atom for new devices, ranging from netbooks to smartphones.
The new strategy follows in the footsteps of the company's recently launched ad campaign, “Sponsors of Tomorrow,” which is aimed to provide users with a better perspective of what Intel has to offer. However, according to Bill Cader's blog post, the new Core i3 and Core i5 names are just modifiers and not brands. “For example, upcoming processors such as Lynnfield (desktop) will carry the Intel Core brand, but will be available as either Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 depending upon the feature set and capability. Clarksfield (mobile) will have the Intel Core i7 name,” Cader said in his blog post.
Centrino will be phased out from Intel's processor family as early as next year. However, the company will maintain the Celeron brand for its other products, including Wi-Fi and WiMAX. In addition, the vPro technology will be maintained, as it will be available on Intel's upcoming business parts, like Core i5 vPro and Core i7 vPro.
For a better understanding of the chip maker's perspective on its own new branding, be sure to check out the video of Deborah Conrad, vice president and director of corporate marketing, explaining the strategy.