OCTOBER 1 2008
AMERICANWAY 31
“It’s CoMMoN kNoWlEdgE
in the mar-
keting industry that old models are not
working as effectively as they used to,” says
Jones. But that doesn’t mean Dell is help-
less. “You blog. You build searchable con-
tent on your site that people candownload,
provide a forum for people to get back to
you, aggregate information from customer-
project an image,” he says. “We’re trying
to have a dialogue with our customers and
develop our relationshipwith them one by
one by one by one. That is a different phi-
losophy. Andwe’re looking to be perceived
differently in three years.”
In some respects,Dell ismoving intoun-
chartedwaters. But so is everyone.
seehow it performs. That’s trueof consum-
ers as well as in business-to-business. You
checkunder thehood.”
In real time.
“Things happen faster,” says Tichy, “and
they’remuchmore transparent.We live ina
worldof instant communication.”
And failurealways lurks in the shadowof
everymajor success.
INthEspACEof
a fewshortyears, abrash,
boundless Dell went from being number
one in the country’s consumermarket,with
akillerdirect-to-consumer sales strategy, to
being a falteringnumber two, draggingbe-
hind theresurgentHewlett-Packard.Toadd
insult to financial injury, Dell has always
been seen as lagging behindApple in style;
the gray-tinged mass marketer has never
come close to commanding thekindof avid
devotion the technogentsiahavegivenSteve
Jobs’sproductwizardryatApple.
But the company is trying to shake
things up.
Dell is devoting $4.5 billion over three
years to partner withWPP to create a new
global integrated-marketing agency, which
will have 1,000 employees who will eat,
sleep, and breathe Dell image and Dell
marketing. Dell will be the first client of
thenewagency,whichwill likelyhaveaddi-
tional clients over time. The companyorig-
inally dubbed the move (officially called
Enfatico) Da Vinci and is definitely look-
ing for some Leonardo-like genius help
with the image-rehab business. Even be-
fore Enfatico, though, there was an online
social-media strategy being implemented
— amovement to engage Dell’s global au-
diencewithblogs and to create awebpres-
ence that, by design, would seep into the
social-networking consciousness of Amer-
ica, where viral videos andmass buzz can
drive image makeovers and product sales.
And Michael Dell’s recent return to the
CEO post — Tichy rather scornfully says
henever really left—hasbeenheralded in-
side the computer giant as a virtual second
coming, one that will usher in a new era of
coolmachines.
“Are we trying to change Dell’s im-
age?” asks Dell’s vice president of global-
marketing services, Casey Jones. “Yes, one
customer at a time.
“Most brands are trying to constantly
Recipient of
four
consecutive
NYC’s
“GoldenApple
Awards”
for Food
Safety and
Cleanliness.
Wine
Spectator’s
“Best of Awardof
Excellence”
Since 2001
Who said you can’t be in
twoplaces at once?
Enjoy a trip toBrazil
without leavingNewYork.
The steakhouse even
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221West Broadway
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