AMD: The changing face of advertising?

Nigel Dessau

As we move through this century, the face of business changes, making way for new trends such as cloud computing and the all important social media, which is fast becoming a popular choice for Chief Marketing Officers (CMO's).

In an age where processes such as social media and viral marketing are becoming just as critical to an organisation's marketing strategies as more traditional forms of messaging, CMO's run a real risk of becoming saturated by marketing options. But at the end of the day, they have to consider their rate of return.

Over the course of four decades, AMD has had to adapt to the changes in technology, advancing as quickly as other technology companies advance.

In an exclusive interview with Meettheboss.tv, Nigel Dessau, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of AMD spoke about his responsibility to the companies global marketing, brand and communications campaigns and strategies.

Challenges facing AMD

For AMD, the challenge facing them is PC-buyers, who are either 'processor aware' or 'processor unaware'. They are faced with the challenge of six billion PC-buyers who are 'processor unaware', despite the billions that have been spent on advertising by companies like Intel.

"Our biggest competitor has spent billions of dollars trying to market to those [who don't understand these kinds of technologies]. But you know what? I bet if you did the research ten years later you would find the same numbers of people are processor unaware as they were before,"Dessau said to Meet The Boss.

AMD has long been dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions both at work, at home and at play. Now, as the company looks to 2010 as a key opportunity to build on the strategic changes the company has already made, the way AMD is marketing itself has to play a part in that.

"It's simple to say, it's not so simple to do necessarily. We're all under resourced currently and under budget, and we need to work out how we argue for more? How do we argue that the company invests in marketing and in go-to-market versus traditional engineering or sales? The answer lies in demonstrating that for every dollar we give, we give and we give back more."

What's more, says Dessau, marketing has to lead the way, has to inspire, and has to create excitement about a brand.

"You have to create a proper marketing career structure. There are some very basic things you have to do when you are creating any role in a company, but knowing that you're there and supporting them and backing them and helping them solve their problems when they need you is the most important thing."

AMD focuses on making the metrics work, that the money they are investing into advertising, is bringing them a return on their investment.

For the full interview with Nigel Dessau, visit Meet The Boss TV

Jodie Humphries

Jodie Humphries graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA Hons in Creative Writing in 2008. She has worked for GDS Publishing for the digital group since July 2009. She has previous experience with writing for the web, running her own website since April 2007.

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