Intel is simplifying its branding strategy for microprocessors by limiting the number of names it uses in its marketing campaigns to just three chip classifications from the company’s Intel Core lineup. Older PC processor names such as Pentium and Centrino will be phased out as these earlier chips reach the end of their natural product lifetimes, Intel Vice President Deborah Conrad said. “We looked at all of the different brands we had on the market and realized there were too many and it was too confusing — so we really are going back to basics,” Conrad explained. “Truthfully, we are really trying to help the consumer make the best technology purchase they can.” Now More Than Ever When the chipmaker coined the phrase “Intel Inside” two decades ago, it was intended to help the consumer through a pretty confusing process, Conrad noted. “Computers were exotic, and people were buying their very first computer thinking, ‘I don’t

know whether this one is better than that one,’” she said. “So ‘Intel Inside’ was invented to help consumers through the process.” However, over the years Intel has muddied the waters by launching a variety of different names for its microprocessor products for PC applications. “We realize that the confusion we often created is preventing the consumer from getting the best value for their investment,” Conrad said. “It’s not that people are buying their first computer, it’s because they are buying their seventh or eighth and it hasn’t gotten any easier.” So for the past year or so Intel has been looking at how its processors come to market, from its entry-level products all the way up to its high-performance chips. Under the new branding strategy, Intel is taking the “same ‘good, better, best’ kind of approach” that consumers already know, whether “buying light…

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Intel Will Simplify Core Branding with Three Classes