Intel is preparing a marketing strategy that will brand desktop PCs with a similar label that made its Centrino notebook technology a household name, according to sources familiar with the company"s plans. The new desktop marketing strategy will include two separate brands, one for the digital home and one for the digital office. Consumers will hear about the benefits of Intel technology for streaming video, wireless media serving, or securing a PC. Corporate customers will be pitched PCs that can be centrally managed and partitioned, in addition to the security features, these sources say.
The concept has worked well for notebooks. Centrino is a brand that represents three Intel products. Notebook vendors that sell Centrino notebooks are selling systems with the Pentium M processor, the Intel 855 chip set, and an Intel Pro/Wireless chip. Those vendors get additional money from Intel for advertising campaigns where Centrino notebooks and the Centrino logo are featured prominently.