Last Updated on 08/01/2023 by てんしょく飯
Intel Corporation held a press conference in Tokyo on August 1 to explain the company’s future culture and marketing efforts.
It starts with Intel” is Intel’s new slogan.
In his presentation, Kunimasa Suzuki, President and Representative Director of Intel Japan Corporation, stated Intel’s intention to develop a Japan-originated internal culture on a global scale: “We are no longer just a company that sells semiconductors to customers, but a company that solves problems together by putting ourselves in the customer’s shoes.
Pat Gelsinger will return to Intel in the U.S. to take over as CEO in 2021. According to Kunimasa Suzuki, Intel’s internal culture has changed dramatically since then, and the company is now doing things that were not possible under the previous culture. For example, he cited the improvement of the supply chain to solve geographical problems, the promotion of Moore’s Law, and the democratization of AI, and said that these changes are being brought about by management.
On the other hand, the activities of the Japanese subsidiary have been promoting DcX = Data Centric Transformation (making data meaningful and thereby transforming the business of the company) in the company, which is its own initiative. One example is the Intel Connection held on July 19-20, where they have been working with companies to enumerate DcX challenges and discuss solutions.
When asked why Intel, rather than other companies, is implementing and promoting DcX, Suzuki replied, “Because Intel is in a neutral position. For example, the keynote speech on the first day of Intel Connection included the secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party and a director of Digital Garage, and the keynote speech on the second day included a discussion among executives from Fujitsu, Hitachi, and NEC. It is not often that such a wide range of people are brought together.
Intel has only sold semiconductors (CPUs) to its customers and appealed to them, saying, “Isn’t this great! But from now on, Intel will put itself in the customer’s shoes. From now on, however, we will put ourselves in the customer’s shoes and instead of showing what we have, we will answer what the customer wants and appeal how our technology can help solve the customer’s problems.
This is called value-based selling, a phrase found in the dictionary, and I believe it is an important corporate culture for achieving the goals set by Pad Gelsinger. We would like to spread this in-house culture, which originated in Japan, globally in the future,” Suzuki explained.
Of course, semiconductors such as CPUs are included in the “technologies that we own,” but Intel’s advantage is that it can propose solutions to customers that include the products (hardware/software) of various partners that incorporate these technologies.
In addition, there is also the option of foundry services (IFS), which Intel is currently focusing on. If the solution to the customer’s problem is not the semiconductor itself, but the semiconductor manufacturing technology, then Intel can propose that as well, based on the concept of value-based selling.
More time for people to do what they should be doing
Akiko Ueno, General Manager of Intel Japan Marketing Division, then introduced the marketing plan for the second half of 2023 based on the value-based selling concept.
As already mentioned, Intel’s first goal is to solve problems within the company, and the IT department is the key to DX (Digital Transformation) and DcX, which is what is needed for the company’s growth. However, the IT department is currently struggling to solve issues such as the need to support remote work, increased management of terminals, and increased server operation costs, and is not able to make the proposals to management that it should.
Therefore, Business PCs will continue to promote vPro technology, which is easy to manage, and increase awareness of the technology through promotions featuring VTubers and the formation of communities of actual users to increase opportunities for adoption. On the other hand, for servers, the company will increase awareness by providing accelerators suitable for various workloads, preparing articles that explain the benefits of the latest servers in an easy-to-understand manner, and increasing opportunities for people to experience the solutions.
In addition, the government is working on “developing human resources to foster digital human resources,” increasing the number of case studies of local governments, increasing opportunities for other local governments to learn from the know-how of the implementation, and increasing opportunities for the government and private companies to connect the “dots” and “points”. Intel is also working to create digital human resources by connecting “dots” and “points” such as governments and private companies and making matches between them.
Marketing to individuals will also be developed from the customer’s perspective. In fact, most people do not buy a PC because they want to buy a PC, but because they want to achieve something they want to do. However, in the process of doing so, they may be confused as to “which PC can achieve what I want to achieve? We don’t want people to feel that they have no one to talk to and that choosing a PC is not fun (……).” They hope to solve this problem by providing Web content that allows users to list all Evo-compliant PCs.
Recently, self-built PCs have been booming again, especially among young people, and one store clerk told us that he had not been asked about self-built PCs for a long time and could not answer the question. Intel is planning to offer a Meister training program in the near future, with three courses available: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The beginner’s level can be obtained even by elementary school students, and Intel hopes to convey the fun of self-made PCs through these activities.
Incidentally, Intel has split its CPU brands into “Core Ultra” and “Core” and removed the “i” brand from Meteor Lake, and this is another measure to appeal to consumers in an easier-to-understand manner.
He also mentioned two more concrete examples of “what we want to achieve with PCs”: “game playing” and “content creation,” the former to be exhibited at the Tokyo Game Show 2023, and the latter to be promoted through the provision of partner equipment to creators via the Blue Carpet Club program. The former will be exhibited at the Tokyo Game Show 2023, and the latter will be promoted by providing partner equipment to creators through the Blue Carpet Club program.
It starts with Intel. This is Intel’s new slogan. Ueno emphasized that “to (i.e., with)” is the key word in this translation.
I visited a semiconductor back-end fab not long ago, and I was reminded once again of the meaning and responsibility of having a fab, as it is the fab that supports and is supported by the people of the region. The same thing applies to marketing. I realized once again that it is important to support partners who manufacture, sell, and use the semiconductors, rather than just saying “semiconductors are made” and selling the product is the end of the process. What we are doing is no different from what we have done in the past, but the addition of the word “with” deepens the meaning of the phrase,” he said.
Intel’s shift away from being a mere semiconductor company is accelerating.
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