AMD is targeting its chipmaking rival Intel with the launch of a new marketing campaign targeted at channel partners and PC enthusiasts.
The campaign, dubbed “Ready, Willing and Stable,” arrives at a time when AMD has launched its Fusion Accelerated Processing Units and Intel has launched its Sandy Bridge processors. Both chips have been generally well reviewed, but AMD appears to be looking to take advantage of Intel’s much-publicized Sandy Bridge chipset problems with the campaign, referring to some of the “supply chain difficulties” facing channel partners.
“We’re reaching out to channel partners with a campaign to let them know that we’re there for them,” said Tim Martin, director of channel marketing at AMD. “We know they’re facing certain difficulties in the market, and we’ve got a lineup of great products that are very competitive.”
There seem to be two messages to the campaign – for the PC gamer/enthusiast, it’s a pure performance message, with a Web site that offers favourable comparisons between Sandy Bridge processors and systems built on AMD’s Phenom II chips and Radeon graphics cards. The message for partners is much more about support – the company is telling partners its products are not only competitive with those from its rival, but that they’re readily available today.
It’s worth noting that Intel has stated that there won’t be delays in production or delivery of systems despite the Sandy Bridge recall. But Martin thinks there’s an opportunity for the company to capture some share – and channel loyalty – in the meantime.
Along with a marketing and advertising campaign, the company is running a contest via Twitter, a further effort to raise awareness around its processors and graphics cards. The campaign is slated to run for the next eight to ten weeks, Martin said.
Martin described the campaign as an opportunity to take advantage of the changes it has made to its partner program over the last 18 months, including the launch of the Fusion Partner Program.
“We’ve spent a lot of time building roads, and now we’ve got an opportune time to build on those in the market,” he said.
The “ready, willing and stable” message may rip on Intel’s much-discussed Sandy Bridge chipset fault, but outside of its technology story, AMD has not exactly been a hallmark of stability recently, turfing its CEO Dirk Meyers last month after a feud with the board of directors, and more recently being named as a likely acquisition target – including one loud but mind-boggling rumour of a buyout by Dell.
