Interview with Cooler Master – Part 1When one thinks of Cooler Master, what is the first thing that comes to mind? I’m sure some of you said Power Supplies, others would have said Cases, and yet others would claim CPU coolers as the driving force behind this successful Taiwanese Component Manufacturer. The truth is, the company has done so well and been around for so long that all those answers are right and more; they also make laptop coolers and fans, in fact anything to do with powering, housing and cooling PC’s, these guys have covered it all.
Looking at the market for all of those products I mentioned, you have to think to yourself how on earth do they expect to stay on top in such a crowded market, especially with all the other name brands out there such as Chieftech, Lian-Li, Thermaltake, Silverstone, Zalman and others.
I spent some time finding out more about Cooler Master’s current marketing strategy, their future goals and also a bit more about some of the team who are trying to put the name Cooler Master into the forefront of every enthusiast and gamer’s mind. Let me introduce the newly formed team and divulge some of their game plans.
I met Raymen Wu, an executive within Cooler Master’s Marketing Department and his colleagues, Coco Lee and David Jarlestedt. They are the new generation of Marketing Managers for Cooler Master HQ based in Taiwan, and of them, Raymen was the designated spokesperson for this interview who guided me with his colleagues through some of the new strategies that Cooler Master will be taking on.
TweakTown:
Hi Raymen, can you tell us a bit about your role in Cooler Master and some of your responsibilities?
Raymen Wu:
My main focus is to build up our global PR team and make sure Cooler Master messaging and products reach the IT media worldwide. Don’t get me wrong, our PRs were doing a good job; it’s just that we’re trying to have more synergized efforts now. So, this means I get to work closely with our staff at each regional office and local partners to ensure Cooler Master products get their fair share of exposure. Other things that I’m working on include helping Coco and David with the launch of upcoming gaming products and 3rd party co-operations.
TweakTown:
Hi Coco, please tell us what is your position at Cooler Master and where do you fit in the team?
Coco Lee:
Well that’s easy, I have been with Cooler Master for some months now, and we are in the process of integrating some new and exciting ideas into our global marketing strategy. My role is to co-ordinate and facilitate some of the larger campaigns such as the Kode5 Global Gaming Sponsorship. What this means is that Cooler Master, along with Corsair and Gigabyte has contributed to all Kode5 gaming events staged throughout the world (21 countries in total).
In fact, Cooler Master was chosen by the Kode5 organization to help design the official Kode5 Rebel Tournament PC, a project aimed almost exclusively at raw and rugged performance so that the pros competing in Kode5 can trust the hardware every time and stay focused on the task at hand. For end-users, there is a heap of Cooler Master goodies and products on display and also up for grabs at these gaming events.
TweakTown:
You mentioned a bit earlier that gamers are going to be a big part of Cooler Master’s focus into the future. Why?
Coco Lee:
Gaming is an extremely huge market with many manufacturers trying to get a piece of the action. It’s easier said than done, but with David, Raymen and I, we complement each other well with each one of us having different areas of expertise when it comes to gaming. This has helped us to start associating gaming with some of our Cooler Master products; leading to our upcoming gaming line. Also, with a lot of these gaming products, our engineers are working closely with some very experienced people from within the gaming and eSports community to develop leading-edge technologies and features that can then be incorporated into our mainstream products.
