Case Study: Intel Amplifies Tech Brand Messaging, Gains Third-Party Credibility via Intel Advisors Influencer Group

As part of its 2010 Intel Advisors program, Intel armed its influencers with tools to execute a “Holiday Tech Giveaway” on their sites. This one is Blissfully Domestic, a blog founded by Alli Worthington.   Image courtesy of Ogilvy PR Worldwide

Company: Intel

Agency: Ogilvy PR Worldwide

Timeframe: Jan. - Dec. 2010

Customer research came to light a few years ago showing that consumers increasingly trusted each other far more than they trusted companies or corporate brands, hence the fast-paced growth of social networks that facilitate public sharing and word of mouth.

To help consumers become aware of the importance of Intel processors and other Intel technology innovations through people they could trust online, Intel, along with its longtime agency Ogilvy PR Worldwide, created its first social media advisory board in 2008, the Intel Insiders, renamed the Intel Advisors in December 2010.

Just as the Internet has evolved, so has Intel’s influencers effort.

“The program today to focuses less on finding social media pioneers than it did in 2008 and more on finding consumer digital lifestyle influencers who connect with Intel’s target consumer audience,” says Stephanie Luu, consumer tech PR/digital strategist, 360° Digital Influence Group, Ogilvy PR Worldwide.

According to Alison Wesley, PR manager at Intel, who works in tandem with her marketing and business counterparts, there are two key objectives of the program:

• Integrate Intel Advisors into Intel PR and marketing campaigns to amplify externally generated online word of mouth, and provide third-party credibility to Intel programs. 

• Leverage insights from the Intel Advisors to help shape product and campaign strategy and execution. Intel’s marketing and product teams meet regularly with the Intel Advisors to get candid feedback and input.

ADVISORS EXPOSED

Just who are the Intel Advisors and what do they do? The Intel Advisors represent some of the most influential personalities online and span across parenting bloggers, tech bloggers and vloggers. These Advisors reach a variety of different audiences—young adults, online entrepreneurs, social media experts, professional women and more (see sidebar for profiles of four high-profile advisors).

The role of an Intel Advisor in each activity or event varies from speaker, host or consultant to connector, ambassador or guest based on their interests and goals, says Luu. The Advisor shares with their audience their firsthand experiences, emotional connection to and personal interest in Intel. In turn, their audiences are authentically exposed to Intel’s messaging and its products. A key point: The Intel Advisors are transparent about their relationship with Intel, and disclose their involvement in Intel events and campaigns on their own blogs and social networks.

The program is anchored by four Ogilvy PR team members who spend much of their time on the project, and by Intel’s Wesley, who spends about a third of her time on the Advisors program.

TECHIE HEAVEN

For the campaign that began in January 2010, Intel provided exclusive access to Intel technologies, products, executives and events, enabling the Advisors to learn about Intel-powered technologies “from the source.” Advisors participated in major industry and consumer events on behalf of Intel, including the Consumer Electronics Show, SXSW, Computex and the Intel Developer Forum. They attended or contributed to consumer PR campaigns for back to school and holiday events, and at Intel they helped create events for media and bloggers, including the annual “Tech Heaven” innovation event.

“If you ask the Advisors, they would say that the best part of the program are the Intel events or industry events we send them to,” says Luu. “Intel-specific events like Upgrade Your Life or the Intel Advisors Kick-Off are successful in that it gives the opportunity to the Advisors to network among themselves, get to know the Intel/Ogilvy team they are working with and learn something new about Intel that they didn’t know before.”

WIDE ENGAGEMENT

That’s just the internal part. Throughout 2010, Intel developed a variety of external engagement activities with the Advisors to reach their consumer target audience and display how Intel technology can help consumers better pursue their passions. Specific activities included:

â–¶ Manic Mommies Escape in San Antonio, Texas: Intel connected with more than 200 moms on the topic of how technology helps women pursue their passions. Intel presented tips for selecting the right processor and then sent more than 90 women on a scavenger hunt using the location-based social network Foursquare for a chance to win a new Sony Vaio laptop with an Intel Core processor. This event generated nearly 200 tweets and photos.

â–¶ Intel’s Holiday Tech Makeover Giveaway: Intel provided Advisors with devices to execute giveaways on their blogs. Advisors then asked their audience to write, tweet or create videos to explain why they needed a Holiday Tech Makeover to win Intel-powered devices (see image). There were close to 100 responses in total.

â–¶ Facebook Chat: Intel hosted a successful Facebook chat on the Blissfully Domestic’s Facebook page and engaged and answered women’s technology questions.

â–¶ Event partnership: Intel partnered with the Advisors to help craft events at tech and social media industry events that married Intel campaigns with Advisors’ personal interests, such as Maggie Mason of Mighty Girl’s Chocolate and Champagne Wednesday, and a Civility event at SXSW, which amplified Intel’s Mobile Etiquette campaign.

â–¶ Tapping into Youth, Women: The Advisors connected the Intel team with youth, women and mommy bloggers to develop Intel’s “Youth Summit” for youth bloggers and the “Upgrade Your Life” event for women bloggers.

The most successful program components, says Intel’s Wesley, were those that enabled the Advisors to connect with their readers in an authentic way. “We were able to help start conversations about topics important to the Advisors’ community, and also bridged to how Intel provides solutions, knowledge or information they care about,” she says.

Another critical piece of the campaign puzzle, says Wesley, is the 1:1 relationship between the combined Intel/Ogilvy communications teams and the Advisor. “We need to work with them and their communities to help customize our story telling to their different audiences,” she says.

KEEPING CONTROL

The Advisors program’s lessons learned so far? “The cost was high—and we need to be prepared to say no to opportunities that may have provided good ROI but weren’t the highest priority for the overall goals of the program,” says Wesley. And, she adds, for a company as large as Intel, it’s hard to internally manage the program in terms of maximizing opportunities across the business units/groups. “We can’t be all things to all people, and need to have a streamlined and narrower focus.”

Despite these challenges, the results speak for themselves:

• As a result of Intel’s relationships with the Intel Advisors, Intel has found its products and messaging covered in a variety of new-to-Intel sites that directly reach and engage the consumer audience, including: Blissfully Domestic, Dad-o-Matic, Manic Mommies, PopGadget, Real Simple, Dad-o-Matic, Blissfully Domestic, PopGadget and more.

• Several successful videos from the Intel Advisors quickly reached well over 100,000 views with hundreds of viewer comments.

• The 2010 Intel Advisors reached more than 1.3 million people on Twitter in all, and those Advisors with blogs had an approximately combined 200,000 unique monthly visitors.

GOING MOBILE?

What’s next for the Intel Advisors? “We’re creating a streamlined, focused program with a group of digital influencers who reach a younger and more mobile audience,” says Wesley. Year four starts in early 2012, with a new group of Advocates, and we bet they’ll all have smartphones. PRN

[For more on cutting-edge social/digital strategies, attend the PR News Facebook Conference on Dec. 1 in Washington, D.C. Go to prnewsonline.com/conferences/facebookconference-dec2011.html.]

CONTACT:

Alison Wesley, [email protected]; Stephanie Luu, @Stephanie Luu; Gary Lee, [email protected].