We’re on a roll here lately at Intel. We’ve launched a stunning new Core Processor Family, we’ve done a great job of continuing to build our brand through media executions like the Super Bowl and March Madness, and we’ve been recognized for our leadership in innovation by Business Week, Fast Company as well as showing leadership among the most admired companies in the world. Today, Forbes recognized us for being in the top ten most reputable companies. It feels great to work for a company that is so widely recognized for Innovation, Reputation, and Quality. One subnote, Forbes should probably take a look at our site to ensure that they have our official logo – that ‘dropped e’ hasn’t been around for quite some time!
Well, I guess we ARE the Sponsors of Tomorrow… last year, Business Week had us ranked as the #33 most innovative company. After a long year in the middle of the pack, we’ve surged forward. It’s been a great year. We’ve released a major brand campaign, a new product line, and have gotten some great press to boost our visibility. Oh yeah, and we knocked the socks off the Street earlier this week with our Q1 earnings announcement. Looking forward to cracking the top 10 next year…
As an employee and shareholder, it always pleases me when we successfully navigate our analyst call and the stock actually goes up (that’s rare). Today beat everyone’s expectations. Here’s the snapshot:
First-Quarter Results
Revenue $10.3 Billion
Gross Margin 63%
Operating Income $3.4 Billion
Net Income $2.4 Billion
EPS 43 Cents
That took the Street’s breath away and pushed our stock into territory we haven’t seen in a while. Granted, that’s not saying a ton if you’ve been tracking our stock the last couple of years, but any north bound growth is a big deal during these financial times. What I’m most pleased about is the fact that our CEO, Paul Otellini, paints an optimistic picture for our near term outlook as well:
“The investments we’re making in leading edge technology are delivering the most compelling product line-up in our history, said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. These leadership products combined with growing worldwide demand and continued outstanding execution resulted in Intel’s best first quarter ever. Looking forward, we’re optimistic about our business as Intel products are designed into a variety of new and exciting segments.”
I’ve been a Blackberry user for a long time – a really long time. I’ve become a master of the ‘intuitive’ text feature (with only one phrase being the bane of my existence, but that’s another story) and I’m a fan of the small form factor of the Pearl 8110 – it fits easily in your front pocket, does most everything I need it to do, and is a very reliable device.
However this year, as in years past with Intel, I’ve been asked to take the lead on a new media vehicle and explore all of our options for marketing and advertising programs in that space. Hence, my Blackberry got a mate – in the form of an iPhone. Now, I’ve been a long time ‘listener’ but have made the transition to first time ‘caller’…to use a radio talk show line. I’m not convinced that I’m going to be excited about carrying two devices (although many of my counterparts already do it), it is a necessary evil to be proficient in the trends of the mobile web. Next step – securing an Android device…
We’re pretty excited about the opportunities that are presenting themselves in the mobile space and are intent on creating some innovative and first mover programs that bring the Intel brand to a ‘third’ screen. We’ve already done some good work in the Americas with our iPhone app and our Global team has partnered with a leading mobile agency and a leading web-based streaming music company to create a compelling mobile experience that gives iPhone users a unique ’station’ modeled after the 3 types of ‘Core’ processors – each providing a unique listening experience. This is the first time a custom channel has been developed for a mobile device on Pandora – kudos to our Global team for making that happen.
Stay tuned – it’s going to be an exciting ride on the Mobile Web for us this year.
One of the really great things about working at Intel is the fact that I get to work on some amazing programs. As a GIGANTIC sports fan and an ardent user of great technology, I have been spoiled this year. Not only are we announcing and launching a new family of Intel Core processors, we are doing so around major events in the first half of the year. First, there was the Super Bowl. Next was last Sunday’s first ever foray in the Academy Awards. Starting this Sunday, we are unveiling a major relationship with CBS and their coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourney – aka, March Madness. Don’t let me tell the tale, rather read what Stuart Elliott’s (New York Times Advertising columnist) take in today’s Media Decoder blog. We’re very happy with this coverage – Mr. Elliott did a nice job capturing the essence of a very complicated integrated media effort. I’ll be watching the whole tourney – from Selection Sunday, to the Play-In game, the National Championship game on April 5th in Indianapolis.
It’s award season…and I am not just talking about the Oscars. You’ll have to wait for Sunday night’s telecast to see our spot in broadcast.
Following FastCompany’s list of most innovative companies (Intel was ranked #14), Fortune Magazine released it’s list of the world’s most admired companies for 2010. Intel comes in at #31 – up two spots from last year. I think the first comment in our section says it best:
“Of course Intel should be admired .. one of the best companies based in Silicon Valley working with the greatest minds in the world .. life as we know it would never have been the same with out Intel’s innovations…”
Slipping a little from last year, but still making the top 20 – Intel ranks well in Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2010. Fast Company focuses in on Single Chip Cloud Computing but that only scratches the surface of the innovation going on in this company. Consider our design wins in Health Care, our new 2010 Core Processor Family and on an entertainment level – our Sponsors of Tomorrow advertising campaign. All great stuff coming out of the halls of Intel.
We’ve been out of the mix in terms of being an advertiser in the Super Bowl for more than a decade (12 years to be precise). This past Sunday, we changed that in a big way – debuting two new ads (Lunch Room and Generations) during the game and again in the post-game show (which we were also the primary sponsor of). Not only did we have an exciting game to watch, but as an Intel employee it gave me a great sense of pride to see our name on such a grand sporting stage. The team that I work with did a great job of pulling all of this together – we’ve all been working very hard to make this happen and to see it come off without a hitch was fantastic. If you haven’t seen our newest spot, featuring Jeffrey the Robot, I’ve embedded it below. We also spent a great deal of time promoting through the social graph, as ComputerWorld notes in an article released Monday.
I am a big fan of media partners that go the extra mile to make an experience good for the client. We recently did a pretty cool execution with Digg around our new product announcement at CES. We worked with Chas Edwards and the Digg team to create ‘content’ ads and ‘digg’ ads that offered up a great value to the customer – aggregation of the best stories coming out of CES, in multiple places our target audience consumes content. Yep – that’s right – we aren’t forcing them to come to Intel.com, rather, we’ll bring that content directly to them…wherever they are by offering a teaser link that drives them to a content hub on Digg (see below, credit ChasNote). As I’ve stated before, driving people to Intel.com is not my first priority. Bringing them great content (from Intel) in their natural browsing path, is. We’ve done that in our program with Digg.
At long last, Intel made the list again for Fortune’s Top 100 companies to work for. For 2010, we come in at #98. It’s been quite some time since Intel has made this list (we were on it from 1998 through 2004 with positions ranging from 65-28), although last year we were recognized as the #23 company to work at in terms of developing strong leaders. A great quote from that recognition was spot on, in my assessment:
“The companies that made the cut have one thing in common: They know that investing in their employees isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.“
We’re on a roll here lately at Intel. We’ve launched a stunning new Core Processor Family, we’ve done a great job of continuing to build our brand through media executions like the Super Bowl and March Madness, and we’ve been recognized for our leadership in innovation by Business Week, Fast Company as well as showing leadership among the most admired companies in the world. Today, Forbes recognized us for being in the top ten most reputable companies. It feels great to work for a company that is so widely recognized for Innovation, Reputation, and Quality. One subnote, Forbes should probably take a look at our site to ensure that they have our official logo – that ‘dropped e’ hasn’t been around for quite some time!
It’s award season…and I am not just talking about the Oscars. You’ll have to wait for Sunday night’s telecast to see our spot in broadcast.
At long last, Intel made the list again for 