Submitted by Dentsu CreativeAgency IPI Score 84/100

Intel Project Athena: #MoreThan

Influencer Marketing

Dentsu Creative paired 15 micro-influencers with a 2,500+ buy paid media campaign to build awareness and purchase consideration for Intel's Project Athena laptop certification among 13.6 million Mobile Go-Getters.

3.06%Purchase intent
14.6KHashtag mentions
90%Positive sentiment
370MPaid media impressions
768%Hashtag mention increase
15% above goalImpressions vs goal

About the campaign

Intel faced a structural marketing problem with Project Athena: it is a certification program for OEM laptops rather than a consumer product, and the laptop category defaults to spec comparisons that leave lifestyle-oriented buyers cold. Intel's own research defined the target as the Mobile Go-Getter, an addressable audience of 13.6 million people who live outside conventional boundaries and prefer collected, shareable experiences, and Dentsu Creative's strategy rested on the insight that this group will seek out more information themselves if their curiosity is sparked by relatable, experience-led content rather than brand broadcast.

The agency built a network effect around 15 micro-influencers who created content surfacing the Project Athena experience in lifestyle terms, educating followers on certification features without leading with technical detail, organised under the #MoreThan hashtag on X. A substantial paid layer backed the creator work, with more than 2,500 media buys and 90,000 media placements trafficked across paid and organic social channels.

Dentsu reports the campaign delivered 370 million paid media impressions, 15 percent above goal, along with 14,600 #MoreThan mentions that rose 768 percent in the final two weeks, 90 percent positive sentiment and a measured purchase intent of 3.06 percent. All figures are self-reported by the agency, and no downstream sales data was disclosed.

Case in 60 seconds

Intel needed to build awareness and purchase consideration for its Project Athena laptop certification in a crowded technology category, without relying on spec-driven advertising that would fail to resonate with a lifestyle-oriented target audience.

Intel's defined Mobile Go-Getter audience, estimated at 13.6 million individuals, responds to shareable, experience-led content rather than product specifications, making social-first, creator-led storytelling more appropriate than broadcast advertising.

Dentsu Creative built a network effect using 15 micro-influencers to surface the Project Athena experience through lifestyle-relevant framing, organised under the #MoreThan hashtag on X and amplified by a large paid media buy.

Fifteen micro-influencers created and shared content educating the audience about Project Athena features in lifestyle terms rather than technical detail, supported by more than 2,500 media buys and 90,000 media placements trafficked across paid and organic social channels.

The campaign delivered 370M paid media impressions, 15% above goal, 14.6K #MoreThan mentions with a 768% rise in the final two weeks, 90% positive sentiment, and a measured purchase intent of 3.06%. All figures are self-reported by Dentsu Creative and have not been independently verified.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Intel defined its primary target as the Mobile Go-Getter: people who live outside conventional boundaries, require technology that lets them thrive in any moment, and have a preference for collected and shareable experiences. Intel's own research placed the addressable segment at 13.6 million individuals.
Technology marketing in the laptop category defaults to specification comparisons and performance benchmarks, which risks leaving a lifestyle-oriented, socially active audience cold. The Mobile Go-Getter audience needed to see what a certified device would do for their lives, not for their benchmark scores.
Intel's Project Athena is a certification program for OEM laptops rather than a consumer-facing product, making it harder to build direct emotional relevance. Intel also needed credit as a laptop innovator, which required earning the audience's interest rather than simply announcing a certification standard.
Based on the available evidence, Intel positioned itself as an enabler of a mobile lifestyle rather than a components manufacturer, using Project Athena as the proof point that the PC ecosystem had been reinvigorated for people who work and live on the move.
Dentsu's strategy rested on the insight that Mobile Go-Getters would seek out more information if their curiosity was first sparked through relatable, experience-led content. Creating enough intrigue to prompt self-directed discovery was stated as a core brief objective, which shaped the decision to lead with micro-influencer voices rather than brand broadcast.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Organic social content created by 15 micro-influencers
  • Paid social media placements (90,000 trafficked)
  • #MoreThan hashtag on X (Twitter)
  • Broad paid media buy across social channels

Partners

  • Dentsu Creative (lead agency, campaign strategy and management)

Participation mechanic

  • Micro-influencer content creation and posting under the #MoreThan hashtag
  • Audience exposure to paid and organic social content designed to prompt self-directed information seeking about Project Athena

Creator role

  • 15 micro-influencers created lifestyle-relevant content surfacing the Project Athena experience and educating followers about certification features without leading with technical specifications

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult typeConfidence
Paid media impressions370MReachAgency reported
Impressions vs goal15% above goalReachAgency reported
#MoreThan mentions on X14.6KEngagementAgency reported
Hashtag mention increase768%EngagementAgency reported
Overall positive sentiment90%SentimentAgency reported
Measured purchase intent3.06%ConsiderationAgency reported

Why Dentsu Creative's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Matching message format to audience preference: Dentsu's brief defined Mobile Go-Getters as people who favour shareable, experience-led content. Leading with micro-influencer lifestyle framing rather than specification-led advertising aligned the creative approach with the audience's stated consumption habits, which is consistent with the high positive sentiment figure reported.

  2. 2

    Micro-influencer networks can seed branded hashtags at scale: the 15-creator network generated 14.6K #MoreThan mentions and a 768% spike in the campaign's final two weeks, suggesting that concentrated creator activity can build organic momentum that paid amplification then extends.

  3. 3

    Pairing creator reach with a large paid buy bridges relevance and scale: the 370M impressions figure, 15% above the stated goal, indicates that the organic influencer layer and the paid media buy worked together rather than in competition, with each addressing a different constraint (credibility vs. reach).

  4. 4

    Framing a technical certification through lifestyle benefits rather than features can make an invisible product category legible: Project Athena is a back-end certification, not a consumer-facing product, yet the campaign generated measurable purchase intent (3.06%) by connecting the certification to experiences the audience already valued.

  5. 5

    A defined, research-backed audience segment (13.6 million Mobile Go-Getters) provides a shareable strategic anchor that aligns creative, media, and measurement decisions across a complex campaign.

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