Sony laptops have a sticker on them which says Intel inside this is an example of what

There’s an Intel sticker on basically every PC, generally impossible to remove without leaving some nasty residue. Macs also use Intel processors, so why don’t they have stickers?

Because stickers are ugly.

That’s reason enough for most Mac users, but to really work this out we need to ask why Dell, Asus and other PC makers put up with these stickers in the first place. And it’s the same reason PCs come bundled with software trials you don’t want: money. Intel pays OEMs to super glue those stickers in place so that people will know the Intel chip is in there.

Apple is seemingly happy to charge a bit more for their laptops if it means there’s no sticker cluttering things up, but companies making cheaper computers generally can’t afford to turn down the money.

So that’s the short answer: Intel pays PC makers to put that sticker there, and Apple is fine with not taking the cash. But this doesn’t answer why Intel pays companies to put those stickers there in the first place.

Why Intel Pays PC Makers to Put Stickers on Computers

Think of it this way: how often do you think about what brand of RAM your laptop has? What about the motherboard? If you’re like most people, the answer is “not at all.” And in the early ’90s, processors were the same way: people didn’t really think about them all that much, at least not in terms of brand preference. The “Intel Inside” campaign changed all that.

TV ads “informed” consumers about the amazing power of Intel processors, and specifically told people to look for computers with the “Intel Inside” sticker. To make sure the stickers were there, Intel handed out discounts and even cash. PC makers, who have always faced small margins, happily took that deal, and to this day most new computers come with Intel stickers.

Those stickers helped make Intel the leading processor maker for three decades. They’re the main reason the average consumer is even familiar with the Intel brand. The campaign was so effective, in fact, that Apple spent money in the late ’90s attacking it.

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From Mocking Intel to Using Their Chips

Macs only started using Intel in 2006; before that, Apple’s computers used the PowerPC chip as part of a deal with IBM and Motorola. Apple constantly argued these processors were faster than Intel’s, and in the late ’90s they aired TV ads arguing just that. A memorable one put an Intel chip on the back of a snail.

According to Ken Segall, who worked on the ads with Apple, it didn’t matter whether these ads actually convinced anyone PowerPC chips were faster. The idea was to get the argument out there, and potentially even provoke a reaction.

Needless to say, Intel was not amused by any of this. An Intel web page went up, refuting Apple’s numbers with different benchmark results. Lawsuits were threatened. Steve dreamed that Intel would take the bait. He imagined images of our Intel snail splashed across the world’s business publications.

The lawsuit never happened, but Intel wasn’t exactly thrilled with the ads, or Apple in general. At least, not until 2006.

Jobs: Stickers are “Redundant”

In 2006 Apple announced its transition to Intel-based chips. They even made an unbearably pretentious ad to announce this, calling every PC “dull little boxes performing dull little tasks.”

The change made people wonder: will Apple be putting stickers on Macs? Steve Jobs was asked about this, and said no.

We’re very proud to ship Intel products in Macs. I mean, they are screamers. And combined with our operating system, we’ve really tuned them well together, so we’re really proud of that. It’s just that everyone knows we’re using Intel processors, and so I think putting a lot of stickers on the box is just redundant. We’d rather tell them about the product inside the box, and they know it’s got an Intel processor.

That’s been the party line ever since: Apple is happy to work with Intel, but doesn’t see the need to overtly point the chips out. At least one MacBook Pro box we have here at Geek HQ, from 2011, includes an Intel Inside badge on the side of the box, but the 2016 MacBook Pro’s box has no Intel logo on it whatsoever. And no Mac has ever shipped with a sticker attached the computer itself. It’s not likely that will ever change.

Photo credit: Hamza Butt


Apple refuses to put Intel stickers on its computers, even though there’s Intel inside. In doing so, it leaves millions of dollars a year on the table. from apple

> "Well, the Pentium M was just a refreshed PIII"

I respectfully disagree. These are direct quotes from the Wikipedia article mentioned above. The Pentium M (Banias) was an innovation of increasing the (maximum) speed vs. power ratio. Intel chose not to extend to x64 because they wanted to market an entirely different 64-bit architecture, the Itanium processors.

I am very pleased that AMD came out with it and forced Intel to do the same, but the Pentium M was (for microprocessors) a true innovation.

"The Pentium M coupled the execution core of the Pentium III with a Pentium 4 compatible bus interface, an improved instruction decoding/issuing front end, improved branch prediction, SSE2 support, and a much larger cache. The usually power-hungry secondary cache uses an access method which only switches on the portion being accessed..."

"Other power saving methods include dynamically variable clock frequency and core voltage, allowing the Pentium M to throttle clock speed when the system is idle in order to conserve energy, using the SpeedStep 3 technology (which has more sleep stages than previous versions of SpeedStep)..."

"...Pentium M varies from 5 watts when idle to 27 watts at full load..."

Take the quiz test your understanding of the key concepts covered in the chapter. Try testing yourself before you read the chapter to see where your strengths and weaknesses are, then test yourself again once you’ve read the chapter to see how well you’ve understood.

1. Most exported consumer products are adapted in some way to suit the needs of people in different countries. True or false?

True

False

2. Any USPs that today’s products have are most likely to be derived from additional services or from brand values than from physical product features. True or false?

True

False

3. Packaging is an important part of brand equity. True or false?

True

False

4. A line extension is usually a higher risk strategy than a brand extension. True or false?

True

False

5. Regular customers are loyal customers. True or false?

True

False

6. The Parker pen company make good quality pens and pencils. Their ballpoint pens come in various styles and with different coloured ink. Which ring of the total product offering model does the coloured ink fit into?

  1. core benefit
  2. core product
  3. basic product
  4. augmented product
  5. perceived product

7. Which of the following is a truly global (i.e. standardised) product?

  1. Coca-Cola
  2. Big Mac
  3. chicken tikka
  4. all of the above
  5. none of the above

Answer:

e. none of the above

8. Gerry is the product manager for a fruit drink. Competition is building and so his strategy is to encourage existing customers to become more regular purchasers and to build brand loyalty. He is introducing different flavours, different sized bottles and low calorie options. He is trying hard to keep the price down and this has helped him to find more distribution outlets for his product. It sounds like this drink is at what stage of the product life cycle?

  1. introduction
  2. launch
  3. growth
  4. maturity
  5. deletion

9. What is brand equity?

  1. the value of the brand
  2. the brand’s values
  3. the shareholders’ perception of the brand
  4. relative brand image
  5. the brand’s market share

Answer:

a. the value of the brand 

10. Speedy Sports manufacture athletics equipment and, until recently, sold only to wholesalers and export agents who sold the goods on. Now they have a website and can sell directly to consumers. In addition, several major retailers have approached them with orders. Consumers will be able to buy from retailers or from Speedy Sports Direct. Retailers will be able to buy from wholesalers, agents or the manufacturer. Some of the wholesalers are considering setting up their own direct sales operations. What is this an example of?

  1. supply chain management
  2. channel conflict
  3. distribution channel design
  4. a zero-level channel
  5. logistics

Answer:

b. channel conflict 

11. What is a ‘branded house’?

  1. a department store
  2. a company that sells multiple brands
  3. an alternative name for corporate branding
  4. a single master brand which spans a set of sub-brands
  5. a company that owns multiple individual and competing brands

Answer:

d. a single master brand which spans a set of sub-brands 

12. Why do many advertisements contain a pack shot?

  1. It is to help customers to recognise the packaging and remember the message of the advert.
  2. It is a legal requirement.
  3. It is a requirement of the advertising code of practice.
  4. It ensures customers will remember the advert and what product it was for.
  5. It is because packaging represents a major investment and should therefore be shown off at every opportunity.

Answer:

a. It is to help customers to recognise the packaging and remember the message of the advert.

13. What is pattern advertising?

  1. adverts for designer clothes
  2. adverts that do not show the product being advertised
  3. a sequence of adverts that tell a story
  4. abstract advertising designed to get around the advertising code of practice
  5. adverts that look similar but use different images and slogans for different audiences

Answer:

e. adverts that look similar but use different images and slogans for different audiences 

14. What type of brand is Tesco Cola?

  1. copycat brand
  2. own label brand
  3. public limited brand
  4. umbrella brand
  5. individual brand

Answer:

b. own label brand 

15. Why did the makers of the cleaning product Jif change its name to Cif?

  1. It was done as part of an international standardisation strategy.
  2. They were sued by the makers of Jif lemon juice.
  3. It was done because ‘cif’ means ‘clean’ in a number of languages.
  4. It was done as part of their product portfolio management – they had too many similar products.
  5. It was a printing error.

Answer:

a. It was done as part of an international standardisation strategy. 

16. Who tried, unsuccessfully, to re-brand themselves as Consignia?

  1. British Telecom
  2. Mercury
  3. Royal Mail
  4. Virgin Media
  5. The Home Delivery Network

17. Which of the following is part of a brand’s identity?

  1. name
  2. personality
  3. equity
  4. price
  5. audience perceptions

18. Sony laptops have a sticker on them which says ‘Intel inside’. This is an example of what?

  1. corporate branding
  2. dual branding
  3. piggyback branding
  4. multibranding
  5. co-branding

19. Little Piggy is a brand of upmarket sausages sold through independent groceries and butchers. The marketing team want to build on the brand’s success by broadening their product portfolio. They plan to start with Little Piggy pies. What kind of branding strategy is this?

  1. line extension
  2. range extension
  3. multibranding
  4. brand extension
  5. brand stretch

Answer:

d. brand extension 

20. Which of the following is a range brand?

  1. Gap
  2. Cadbury’s
  3. McDonald’s
  4. CK1
  5. Next

21. During the product’s growth stage, organisations should be focusing on building brand ______ and encouraging repeat purchases.

22. A global brand is unlikely to have a completely standardised marketing mix but it will have the same brand ______ all over the world and this will be expressed through a brand identity that is standardised as far as possible.

23. The marketing mix will be more effective if it is ______ (i.e. each element fits with the others so that there are no contradictory signals).

24. Organisations with trading partners or customers overseas have to agree on a ______ in which to price contracts.

25. Packaging is sometimes referred to as the silent ______ because of its marketing communications role.