Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) will soon have a new chief marketing officer, Steven Fund on whom the company is relying for restoring the shine that the brand enjoyed once. To make the work on new CMO easier, the chipmaker is cutting down on the jobs in its marketing department.
Job cuts part of previously announced plans
A report from Reuters citing two people close to the company have informed that in recent weeks about 40 marketing employees have opted for the voluntary incentive packages to leave the company. Kevin Sellers and Nancy Bhagat are the marketing vice presidents at the company and are about to leave soon before Fund joins as the Chief Marketing Officer.
Chuck Mulloy, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) spokesman informed that the company previously announced a plan of reducing its workforce by 5% and said that those who have left fall under this plan, but he chose not to disclose the number. Mulloy, also, said that the exits are not due to certain problems existing in the marketing department.
In February, during an online discussion on Reddit, CEO Brian Krzanich said that to get back the ‘coolness’ Intel once enjoyed, it is necessary to revamp its marketing.
Intel losing brand popularity
The commodity electronic components were seen as premium products due to the massive success of the ‘Intel Inside’ campaign launched in 1991. It was very common to find a sticker saying ‘Intel Inside’ on almost all the PCs. However, lately, the brand has been struggling to maintain the popularity. The PC market is crumbling due to the rising popularity of other gadgets such as the smartphones and tablets. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is the largest chipmaker for the PC and is struggling to revitalize its brand.Interbrand, a consulting firm, allocated the No.9 position to Intel in 2013, in its global ranking, which was two spots down from the No.7 position it secured in 2011.
Deborah Conrad worked with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) for 27 years and left in March. Conrad will be replaced by Fund, who will join the company in June, as the new chief marketing officer, and will report to Krzanich. Fund lacks technology experience, but has helped build successful brands at Pepsi-Cola and Procter & Gamble. The insiders have mixed opinion about his success at Intel.
