I'd like to see this ad. <gg> Jeff
Asyst Brings Martha Stewart Panache to Chip-Equipment World
San Francisco, Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- It's hard to spice up the semiconductor-equipment industry, that enclave of ion implanter machines and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition processes that built the world's 31.9 billion chips last year.
Asyst Technologies Inc. is giving it a shot. Playing off the success of home-improvement aficionado Martha Stewart, the company commissioned a 30-second TV commercial that features a perky hostess crafting ruined silicon wafers into a vase for dried flowers and using chip rejects as serving platters for sauteed chickpeas.
The point: Unlike stenciling a beat up driveway or whitewashing an aging Adirondack chair, there's no way to ``pretty up'' mistakes in chip-making.
Asyst, whose automation tools prevent scratches on the wafers that form chips, ran the commercial on eight San Francisco Bay Area stations last month during the morning news and late-night shows such as David Letterman to draw techies to its booth at Semicon West, the industry's biggest new product showcase.
``It's a small part of the promotional budget, but as Martha would say, `It's got a lot more panache,' '' said Liz Baird, the consultant who crafted the idea.
Asyst's shares fell 17/64 to 19 15/16 on Friday. With the stock price down 42 percent since the show started on July 10, the Fremont, California-based company may be considering how to best arrange potpourri and candles to dress up the shares.
Aug/05/2000 10:02 ET |
