Dell’s reputation for dull, tactical advertising could soon be over. Its latest TV commercial, which begins rolling out in Asia over the next few months, shows spike-heeled, drill-wielding supermodels assembling Dell’s thinnest laptop to date, the XPS.
The commercial is so flamboyant, so un-Dell-like, it makes last year’s rebranding by Hewlett-Packard, ‘The computer is personal again’, look a little stale.
But given Dell’s recent slate of troubles, the timing of its global marketing makeover and concurrent global holding company review couldn’t be better. Dell’s first financial blow came last year, when HP overtook Dell as the world’s number one PC manufacturer. Global market share also fell from 16.5 to 16.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year, from the year before.
Meanwhile, in Asia-Pacific, including Japan, Dell’s share dropped from 10.9 to 9.9 per cent in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same time last year. HP, on the other hand, saw its market share surge from 10.5 per cent to 14.5 in the same period, according to IDC. “The challenge in Asia is that consumers tend to want to touch and feel a product, and pay with cash,” says Bryan Ma, research director of personal systems, IDC Asia-Pacific. “They want instant gratification rather than waiting a few days to receive their shipment.”
Given the XPS commercial, created by Mother, there’s little question that the company understands the need to improve its advertising output. But after three creative reviews in the last 12 months, and another holding review underway, does Dell know what it wants from its agencies? Sam Burd, VP of marketing for Dell Asia-Pacific and Japan, moved to Asia ten months ago to convince us that they do.
After nine years with Dell - spanning Texas to Eastern Europe - Burd took over the regional position barely 10 months ago. He admits that in the past, the company relied on advertising its price points and technical specifications. “We’re really changing the way we advertise this in the market, to make sure it’s very clear to customers that we’re addressing their issues and needs,” he says.
“What you’ll see with our new advertising is a lifestyle feel which reflects our belief that you can have great technology and great products, models that are pretty cool looking. Dell has been growing its business very aggressively in Asia. We’re working on more messages that appeal globally and are tested in this region.
Meanwhile, Dell’s corporate solutions, which make up the bulk of its business, will also become more simplified. “These days, CIOs are under pressure to have flat budgets and tech solutions. We are all about understanding our corporate clients’ needs and delivering innovative solutions.”
But apart from spreading Dell’s new look and feel across the region, Burd spends his days launching products which “really appeal to our customers”. For instance, more investment is being spent on product design. “One big trend is a desire for more personalised computers and designs that fit with the lifestyle of the user. We expect to continue along this path over the next couple of years.”
The aim is for Dell customers to be more involved in this process too, he notes. “We’ve launched a lot of new ways for customers to contact us and put in their ideas of what Dell should do. We have three million customer interactions daily.”
One noteworthy initiative came out Idea Storm, a proprietary customer feedback channel. Following the rollout of Windows Vista in January, Dell consumers complained that they preferred the older operating system, Windows XP. Dell listened. “While a lot of our competitors shifted everything to Vista, we decided to offer both,” Burd says.
So where does this leave Dell’s trademark direct-to-consumer model? “Our heritage is about dealing directly with consumers,” Burd says, “and we’re still able to scale this very well.”
However, after some hesitation, he admits that the company is exploring retail partnerships in Asia. This has already begun in Japan, where two months ago Dell secured a distribution deal with Bic Camera, a national retail chain.
“We’re going through a lot of changes,” says Burd. “All this investment in design and customer feedback channels comes at the right time for us to transform the offerings we have, and the way our customers perceive us.”
Sam Burd’s CV
2006 VP of marketing, Dell Asia-Pacific and Japan
2004 VP of product design and marketing, Dell Worldwide product group
2003 director and general manager, Dell Networking Business, Dell Worldwide product group
2000 director of marketing, Dell Europe, Middle East and Africa
