Writing Sample: "AMDme"

I wrote the following article as an introductory piece the company's newly launched (at the time) advertising campaign. Since the campaign was somewhat esoteric in nature, it was important for Internal Communications to educate employees on the ad strategy in addition to stimulating interest, understanding and support for the ad campaign. The story was published in print (newsletter) and online (Intranet) for all AMD employees.

"AMD me" reaches out to Tech-Savvy Pathfinders

Chances are you know at least one. Expert, aficionado, connoisseur are some of the words you might use to describe them. They are the kinds of people you go to before you make a decision on an important purchase. Be it a PC, cell phone, digital camera or any number of electronic gadgets, these folks know what's good and what's bad, what to look for and what to avoid, and they always seem to know a lot more than you do about what you're about to buy.

They are people from all walks of life that you count on for this kind of advice. Without them, you might feel like you are groping around for a light switch in a dark room. They are people who seek out and understand the latest and greatest technologies before most people do. They are the "tech-savvy pathfinders," and they are here to find the light switch and turn it on for you.

A "tech-savvy pathfinder," or TSP, might not think of himself or herself as such, but that is the name that McCann-Erickson, AMD's advertising agency, came up with to describe the audience that the new "AMD me" campaign is targeting. As part of the overall effort to build AMD's relevant and differentiated global brand, "AMD me" launched worldwide in more than 15 countries on Sept. 16 with a print and Web advertising campaign that should ultimately garner more than 285 million impressions worldwide in 2002.

Already industry pundits are weighing in on the "AMD me" campaign. An article by Jack Aaronson of Customer Relationship Marketing Strategies cited the Web portion of the "AMD me" campaign as a best-practices example. For a direct link to the full story, click here.

McCann-Erickson identified publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Popular Science, BusinessWeek and PC World and Web sites such as CNET, Tom's Hardware, Ziff Davis Network and Anandtech as the best outlets to reach tech-savvy pathfinders and increase their familiarity with AMD. Since a TSP can be of any age, income, geography or education level, the "AMD me" advertisements will be seen in these top outlets, in addition to IT-oriented publications such as CIO, eWeek and Computerworld and will appear in different languages such as French, Swedish, Spanish, Russian, and Japanese, to name a few. The ads feature TSPs presenting a challenge to get more out of technology, and then answer that challenge with the phrase: "AMD me." For
complete details on where and when the ads will run, visit amdonline/news/advertising.

Maximizing the advertising investment

So why is AMD targeting this particular audience? The answer boils down to issues of influence and leverage. AMD's advertising budget for the campaign is relatively small in comparison to its chief competitor.

This basic financial limitation forces AMD to find a craftier way to ignite demand with end-users. And by effectively targeting a group of people who can influence the purchase of many others, AMD actually increases the effectiveness of the campaign by the factor of as many people that act on their advice. This process of influencing product purchase maximizes the return on the investment of AMD's advertising dollars.

Investing in tough times

But these are tough times, you might be thinking, why are we spending this kind of money when we are in cost-containment?

"This is the kind of thing where you go to sleep at night, take a deep breath, and think about it really hard," said Hector Ruiz at the October "Breakfast with Hector" meeting in Austin. "Our brand is incredibly important. We must educate and create the brand that truly reflects what AMD is all about and what we are going to be. So, even though at a modest and somewhat modulated effort, we intend to continue the brand campaign."

"We all must look for ways to decrease spending and increase efficiencies," said Bob Kennedy, director of Corporate Branding. "We will continue with strategic programs such as branding and advertising, which are critical to our long-term success. However, in the coming months, these efforts may be concentrated on fewer areas. These efforts position AMD for success when times get better and are part of the foundation for the company that we want to be going forward."

What's next?

The first phase of the campaign is now complete, and phase two began in the second half of October with ads targeted at the desktop and mobile markets. This will continue in support of the launch of AMD Athlon™ 64 and AMD Opteron™ processors in the first half of 2003, when AMDers can expect to see new ads supporting the most important product launch in AMD's history.