NEWS: SMI Group lands first Euro job for Intel rival

Advanced Micro Devices, the main rival to the microprocessor giant,

Intel, has appointed SMI Group to handle a project for its first major

push into Europe.

AMD is understood to have seen a number of agencies, including Delaney

Fletcher Bozell and GGT Advertising, for the drive, which is thought to

be worth pounds 5 million.

The project is believed to be the launch of the K6 processor, a

challenger to the de facto industry standard, the Intel Pentium chip.

AMD is relatively unknown in Europe, and its marketing budget is a

fraction of the dollars 1 per head Intel is thought to have spent on its

brand in western Europe.

SMI created a virtual network on the Internet earlier this year, which

helped it to bag the pounds 20 million pan-European Olivetti PC account.

Claes Berglund, marketing communications manager at AMD Europe,

commented: ‘The virtual network was a critical factor, allowing us to

share information and creative work on a global basis.’

AMD has yet to appear on European television, although it debuted on US

TV in October, with the line: ‘AMD @ work.’ SMI will work closely with

the client’s US agency, Hill Holiday.

According to Alex Letts, chairman of the SMI Group: ‘Whatever the

project is, it will obviously bring us into conflict with Intel, but

there is room for more than one player in the market.’

This article was first published on Campaign