Intel Corp. - Best Technology Campaign
Company: Intel Corp., Santa Clara, CA
Entry Submitted By: Ketchum
Company Description: Intel Labs is exploring news ways to overcome the world’s biggest challenges with cutting-edge technology innovations, leveraging its global network of researchers who drive ventures with the potential to transform how we securely compute, secure and communicate the data that enables machines think, learn and adapt and ultimately disrupt our digital economy
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year – Technology
Nomination Title: Intel Turns “Deep Tech” to “Must Read” Tech with Computers That Can Smell
The world of AI is confused, crowded and controversial. It’s tough to stand out and we needed the work Intel is doing to break through the noise. The company is forging its way into a new wave of AI called neuromorphic computing, which creates computer chips that emulate the neural structure of the human brain.
Despite having $3.8B in AI revenue in 2019, Intel was facing significant competitive headwinds. Industry competitors were marketing themselves as innovation leaders in the AI category. We knew the key to success lay in Intel Labs by showcasing the next generation of AI solutions being researched by Intel’s R&D organization.
The goal was to launch Pohoiki Springs—Intel’s newest neuromorphic research system which would be core to our future AI product roadmap— during Intel Labs Day, a showcase of the company’s most cutting-edge innovations. However, as COVID-19 started to spread, Intel made the decision to cancel the in-person event and we had to pivot our launch strategy into a virtual format.
With the media landscape dominated by COVID-19 and the cancellation of Intel’s in-person event, the team embraced the challenge and identified an opportunity to bridge two key neuromorphic research milestones to drive an integrated education and awareness campaign timed to the launch of Pohoiki Springs.
Intel coordinated an exclusive curtain-raiser story with the AI reporter at MIT Technology Review, one of the most highly respected technical outlets read by the c-suite and ITDMs. The story focused on a relatable future use case for neuromorphic technology—giving sensors the ability to “smell” the odors of hazardous chemicals which could be applied in security scenarios, like a replacement for bomb sniffing. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/03/16/905295/ai-intel-neuromorphic-chip-mimics-brain-to-smell/
Despite media saturation with COVID-19, neuromorphic stories broke through with readers. MIT Technology Review noted that their Intel neuromorphic article was a top 10 story of the week, ranking number 4 in readership across the outlet.
After the MIT Technology Review story ran, Intel pushed the “computers that can smell” narrative out widely and effectively set the stage for the Pohoiki Springs system launch.
Two days later, Intel unveiled Pohoiki Springs through a second exclusive story in The Wall Street Journal: CIO Journal spotlighting the business opportunity for the neuromorphic computing market. The story came to fruition over the course of a month of educational calls and briefings with Intel executives and industry analysts. Intel also offered the voice of one of their research collaborators, Accenture– recognizing they have a trusted perspective as a technology consultant to Fortune 500 companies.https://www.wsj.com/articles/intel-to-release-neuromorphic-computing-system-11584540000
In the first week that Intel introduced Pohoiki Springs, we recorded 430+ stories on our neuromorphic research. 97% of those articles included at least one Intel key message and more than 2/3 stated that “Intel’s neuromorphic computing has the potential to solve dynamic, complex problems more efficiently and accurately than conventional computing solutions.”
Further, Intel’s analyst community began to support Intel’s AI outlook and strategy. Moor Insights wrote:
“Intel certainly has a lot of irons in the AI fireplace… With all of this going on, one might wonder why Intel is pursuing yet another approach… Essentially, the neuromorphic computing disclosure signifies that Intel has fully embraced the ideas behind Domain-Specific Architectures… These days, each of Intel’s chips solve a specific set of problems, while supporting a common stack of open programming tools to ease development, experimentation and adoption.”
In the Wall Street Journal exclusive, one of the Gartner analysts Intel briefed under NDA stated neuromorphic chips would be the predominant computing architecture for advanced forms of artificial intelligence by 2025. This quote was then captured in a wide range of resulting coverage, from deep tech outlets like Fudzilla to business outlets like Yahoo! Finance – spotlighting the budding market opportunity for the technology. Citing that same 2025 industry forecast, Intel was named a Bull Stock of the Day by Zacks Equity Research.
Intel has seen a marked spike—a 77% increase—in inquiries for partnerships and collaborations related to neuromorphic computing.
MIT Tech Review Full Text: This article was secured from months of reporter communications and embargoed briefings. It debuts novel olfactory research and the potential neuromorphic chips have to be applied to better detect substances – such as chemical warfare gases, bombs or narcotics.
WSJ Exclusive Full Text: This piece was supported by the MIT Tech Review piece and primed reporters and our target audience to receive the news of the Pohoiki Springs system. The story came to fruition over the course of a month of educational calls and briefings with Intel and industry analysts.
Document of Key Quotes: Beyond the MIT Tech Review and WSJ pieces, this document demonstrates the full breath of coverage and sentiment of the hundreds of articles that followed.