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Intel, AMD Face-Off at Race Track

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 January 2006, 21:00 CST

By GOH THEAN EU

COMPUTER chipmaker Intel Corp is taking its rivalry with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc to the race track.

Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, will be providing technology to German carmaker BMW Group, its dealer networks, as well as its motor sports division - BMW Sauber Formula One Team.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team unveiled its maiden car to over 500 journalists and guests in Valencia on Tuesday, in which Intel is an "official corporate sponsor" for the race team.

Intel believes that Formula One is the right platform to reach out to its global target audiences.

Intel vice-president Ann Lewnes said the company chose BMW and Formula One because, among others, it is the most-watched motor sports event with about 150 million viewers, and it is strongly dependant on technology.

In an interview with Business Times, Lewnes said Formula One is also a sports of passion, and through it the audience will be able to relate to the Intel brand much easier and make the brand more "emotional".

Rival chipmaker AMD is currently a partner and sponsor for Ferrari F1 team. It also markets the Acer-made Ferrari branded notebook computers, which runs on AMD chips.

Asked whether consumers can expect to soon see a BMW-branded notebook as well, Lewnes said: "Stay tuned."

She added that marketing is one of the key differentials that drives the company forward in the competitive environment, and it will be using Formula One venues to promote its product and technology.

Exact breakdown on the company's marketing activities was not revealed, but it was reported that the chipmaker spent about RM21.39 billion on marketing, general and administrative activities (MG&A) last year.

In its filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, it said it expects to spend about RM24.81 billion on MG&A this year.

As part of the comprehensive multi-year partnership, the chipmaker will support BMW in standardising the IT infrastructure in the worldwide BMW Group data centres and providing IT solutions to BMW's 3,000 dealers worldwide.

To support the mobility of its staff, the German carmaker will convert its corporate notebooks to Intel Centrino mobile technology- based system.

Lewnes said the company will also be working with BMW to develop an industry specification that will allow for seamless integration of third-party devices into BMW vehicles, which will change the experience of driving.

The German luxury carmaker bought the Sauber team in June 2005, when it was the engine supplier for the Williams racing team. The Sauber team finished eighth out of 10 Formula One teams last season, while Ferrari finished third behind champion Renault and McLaren.

The new season will start in March in Bahrain, followed by Malaysia a week later.

Source: Business Times; Kuala Lumpur

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