Last year, when Dell Inc. debuted its global campaign “The Power to Do More,” it chose Germany as the place to launch it. “Our competitors were entrenched in that market,” said Karen Quintos, senior VP-CMO, who oversees all of Dell's brand strategy and global marketing.
“We saw some amazing results five months out of the gate,” Quintos said, adding that in the areas of enterprise awareness, brand choice and lead generation, the company saw double-digit improvement. Media included TV, print, digital, social media and events.
Dell went on to strategically release the global campaign in other markets. Created by WPP's Y&R, New York, it shows the company moving from a PC manufacturer to a provider of IT services such as cloud computing, data storage and security.
In the fiscal quarter ended Aug. 3, Dell's PC sales were flat compared with the year-earlier period, while sales of its servers and networking products jumped 14% and its services business grew 3%.
Quintos remains upbeat about Dell's new growth areas and sees carryover between its consumer and IT business. One example is a commercial from Dell's educational line of business called “The Girl Who Can Fly,” which shows a girl using her laptop to create a video of herself flying.
“You see the blurring of lines between what's been a traditional consumer and a technology customer,” Quintos said. “The blurring is radically changing how people use their own devices.”
Events are important to Dell's marketing efforts. Last year's Dell World attracted more than 2,000 IT executives, a number the company hopes to double this year. Its Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network helps women connect with each other through events, Twitter, LinkedIn and online content.
Dell is making its mark in the healthcare market through the Dell Powering the Possible children's cancer initiative. Through the program, Dell helps in the fight against two types of childhood cancer: neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma.
The company's technology can greatly speed up researchers' ability to determine the right treatment or combination of treatments for a child, Quintos said.