NBA analyst Kenny Smith. Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich. And a cow. An actual cow.
Intel's latest effort to expand beyond its core PC market has taken an unlikely turn onto reality television, where Krzanich joins celebrity guests and technology inventors on a cable TV show called "America's Greatest Makers."
America's Greatest Makers
What
: Reality TV show featuring Intel technology and do-it-yourself inventors.
Next episode
: 9 p.m. Tuesday on TBS.
The show's first episode, alternately goofy and geeky, highlights the challenges Intel faces as it seeks to identify new markets for its computer chips and as it works to stay in the public consciousness at a time when the tech industry is constantly shifting. The TBS cable channel has scheduled eight episodes; the winning team gets $1 million.
On stage for last week's premiere, Krzanich evaluated contestants alongside Smith, a celebrity judge and former NBA player, now a mainstay on and mainstay of pregame and halftime broadcasts (Shaquille O'Neal will appear in a future episode).
Contestants they judged included teens from the Portland area who were eliminated in the first episode, and a team from Ashland who call themselves Team HerdDogg. Their invention is an ear tag for cows that monitors the animals' health, and an accompanying device that collects the data and reports it to a rancher.
On the first episode, filmed months ago at a studio in Burbank, California, they joked about the "Internet of Herds" supplanting the Internet of Things and brought a cow on stage to show off their technology. They won plaudits from the judges for an inventive and practical concept and advanced to the next stage, which will be broadcast Tuesday night.
"The idea of the show is wonderful, the fact that tech is such an integral part of people's lives these days," said Jeff Platt, 59, one of the Ashland inventors. "I hope that the show is a success just to get people excited about making things."
Intel remains one of the world's best-known companies. The widely watched Interbrand ranking of the top brands ranks Intel No. 14 overall, popularity that dates to the phenomenally popular "Intel Inside" campaign that established the Intel microprocessor as a premium component in personal computers.
Yet Intel now faces formidable challenges, in its business and its identity. The PC market is in steady decline and, while Intel's data center business is thriving, the chipmaker has made little headway in finding a home for its technology in smartphones or other new consumer technologies.
A marketing campaign that kicked off with the Super Bowl seeks to inject Intel into popular culture through a partnership with Lady Gaga, Intel chips in extreme sports and now the reality TV show. Krzanich has sought to connect the company to the "maker movement," independent inventors crafting homespun inventions.
"America's Greatest Makers" represents an extension of that strategy. The show's tagline brands it as "An Intel Experience," and the rules require contestants to incorporate a chip Intel calls Curie, a low-power module designed to bring computing power to wearable devices.
"What any brand is trying to do these days is to connect with their audiences and give them a sense of shared vision," said Doug Lowell, a longtime advertising executive, now an instructor at Portland State University.
The TV show and this year's marketing campaign don't accomplish that, in Lowell's estimation. He said the show comes across as "self serving," with Krzanich front-and-center, pushing what Intel wants from audiences rather than the other way around.
"The biggest challenge you're going to have is for people to feel like this was made for them, not for Intel," Lowell said. "We'll have to see if they can do it."
Melissa Brandao, 47, another member of Team HerdDogg, said she was invited to participate in the TV show after attending a Maker Faire at the White House last year. She won't talk about how her team did on the show (filming is complete), but said it was a terrific experience. Intel offered engineering assistance and arranged technical support from experts at the University of California at Berkley.
"This is a great opportunity," she said, "to take something from a concept, back of the envelope, to design."
-- Mike Rogoway
mrogoway@oregonian.com
503-294-7699
@rogoway