What I knew before visiting Intel
Intro and Expectations
I did not have high hopes for this visit, for I am not someone that is naturally inclined to like technology and software-based locations. While I’m sure that interests the info systems and computer science majors, as a marketing major I am not personally intrigued by such things. I was going to look for the bright spots in this visit though, and try to take something useful form it all.
Visit
I was delighted to see that our presenter, Katherine Kepler, worked in the marketing department and would speak on the marketing side of things at Intel. This immediately interested me, for as I had mentioned previously, marketing is what really interests me. This speaker was arguably my favorite of the entire trip, for her bluntness and honesty was a refreshing refrain from the forced positivity so many speakers prior had tried to convey. She would be frank when explaining what areas she felt Intel can improve on, from social media to overall product effectiveness.
Kepler explained how Intel values its employees. Intel actively works to create a healthy work-life balance for its workers and offers extremely flexible scheduling. Kepler told the class directly that as a mother, she would not continue to work for a company that would take up too much of her time with her family. The value of work-life balance was one that came up with increasing prevalence throughout this trip, and it is an important aspect of Silicon Valley employees that often gets looked over by outsiders. These workers have tough, busy jobs that can drain their energy. It is important that companies give them ample time off to clear their heads and explore their surroundings. This could ultimately boost productivity, and more and more CEOs in the Valley are understanding this.
The speaker showed us some of the fields in which Intel was looking to move in on in the future, and I asked her about one of these: 5G connectivity. She said that while this was something that would not be employed until the next Summer Olympics, she expressed her concerns about how that will play out. She then showed us a couple of Intel commercials that ran during the Super Bowl just a few months ago. They both featured Jim Parsons, with one featuring LeBron James and another one featuring Serena Williams. I found it interesting that athletes would team with Intel. Intel was a company based in software and microprocessors, not exactly the first things that come to mind when we think of professional sports. However, Intel's reasoning behind including these stars in their ads was sound. These recognizable figures were designed to highlight how essential Intel processors are in the everyday lives of regular people. Every laptop and phone has such processors, and people ought to recognize that, it was a new marketing strategy from Intel, and one that I found resonates more with me than previous campaigns.
Post Visit Actions
I connected with the speaker on LinkedIn and did some further research on 5G connectivity. While it is certainly a long way off, the prospect is lighting up the faces of tech CEOs everywhere. Now that I got an inside scoop at Intel, I will be watching out to see how it develops in the future. Kepler really drove home the importance of work-life balance, and now I will focus on not burdening myself too much in the future with 60-80 hour work weeks.
Key Takeaways
- They were a software-based company that largely sold microprocessors
Intro and Expectations
I did not have high hopes for this visit, for I am not someone that is naturally inclined to like technology and software-based locations. While I’m sure that interests the info systems and computer science majors, as a marketing major I am not personally intrigued by such things. I was going to look for the bright spots in this visit though, and try to take something useful form it all.
Visit
I was delighted to see that our presenter, Katherine Kepler, worked in the marketing department and would speak on the marketing side of things at Intel. This immediately interested me, for as I had mentioned previously, marketing is what really interests me. This speaker was arguably my favorite of the entire trip, for her bluntness and honesty was a refreshing refrain from the forced positivity so many speakers prior had tried to convey. She would be frank when explaining what areas she felt Intel can improve on, from social media to overall product effectiveness.
Kepler explained how Intel values its employees. Intel actively works to create a healthy work-life balance for its workers and offers extremely flexible scheduling. Kepler told the class directly that as a mother, she would not continue to work for a company that would take up too much of her time with her family. The value of work-life balance was one that came up with increasing prevalence throughout this trip, and it is an important aspect of Silicon Valley employees that often gets looked over by outsiders. These workers have tough, busy jobs that can drain their energy. It is important that companies give them ample time off to clear their heads and explore their surroundings. This could ultimately boost productivity, and more and more CEOs in the Valley are understanding this.
The speaker showed us some of the fields in which Intel was looking to move in on in the future, and I asked her about one of these: 5G connectivity. She said that while this was something that would not be employed until the next Summer Olympics, she expressed her concerns about how that will play out. She then showed us a couple of Intel commercials that ran during the Super Bowl just a few months ago. They both featured Jim Parsons, with one featuring LeBron James and another one featuring Serena Williams. I found it interesting that athletes would team with Intel. Intel was a company based in software and microprocessors, not exactly the first things that come to mind when we think of professional sports. However, Intel's reasoning behind including these stars in their ads was sound. These recognizable figures were designed to highlight how essential Intel processors are in the everyday lives of regular people. Every laptop and phone has such processors, and people ought to recognize that, it was a new marketing strategy from Intel, and one that I found resonates more with me than previous campaigns.
Post Visit Actions
I connected with the speaker on LinkedIn and did some further research on 5G connectivity. While it is certainly a long way off, the prospect is lighting up the faces of tech CEOs everywhere. Now that I got an inside scoop at Intel, I will be watching out to see how it develops in the future. Kepler really drove home the importance of work-life balance, and now I will focus on not burdening myself too much in the future with 60-80 hour work weeks.
Key Takeaways
- The job you expect to get out of college will not always be the one you end up with
- It is important to make a dull product appear sexy in your campaigns.
- Intel must continue to find ways to improve their product
- Intel is working towards a potential 5G future
- Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential