Dell Teams with Inspiring Entrepreneurs to Roll Out First Global SMB Marketing Campaign

    --  Take Your Own Path Campaign Features Real Business Heroes
    --  Campaign Spans Seven Countries and Five Different Languages

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dell, a leading IT provider of hardware and services for medium and small businesses worldwide, today announced the global expansion of its Take Your Own Path (TYOP) campaign, which features pioneering entrepreneurs and showcases their use of Dell technology to help make their businesses successful.

Take Your Own Path distinguishes entrepreneurs as "heroes," and is being introduced in the U.S., Japan, Germany, China and the UK following its initial successes in India and France. The campaign celebrates these entrepreneurs with joint local, national and global exposure through a variety of advertising and PR initiatives, including billboards, print advertisements and broadcast efforts. It is also being integrated with Dell's online marketing efforts, expanding on its Small and Medium Business Solutions Center and engaging in conversations on social media fronts such as Direct2Dell, Twitter and Facebook. In addition, the TYOP heroes are sharing their success stories at various small business events worldwide.

"Dell has always believed that it takes an extraordinary person to launch and run a business. We understand the potential of medium and small businesses to transform the global economy and the Take Your Own Path campaign underscores Dell's commitment to supporting individuals with a big idea," said Paul-Henri Ferrand, VP of global marketing for Dell Small and Medium Business. "Today, Dell celebrates the many achievers and dreamers who dare to forge ahead in their own way with a view of how they could change the world, pushing boundaries and ultimately, leading the global economic recovery."

The TYOP heroes have taken innovative approaches to building their businesses, with Dell technology being a key enabler of their success.

"Our primary focus is on supporting high-impact entrepreneurs around the world," said Linda Rottenberg, CEO and co-founder of Endeavor. "Dell clearly understands the needs of entrepreneurs who take risks and bet big on business success. We're excited to participate in this one-of-a-kind campaign."

Intel and Microsoft are committed to entrepreneurs' success and have joined Dell in supporting the Take Your Own Path campaign.

"The Take Your Own Path campaign reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of both Dell and Intel. We are proud to honor the Heroes who are part of the campaign through our support of this innovative marketing campaign," said CJ Bruno, vice president and general manager, Intel Americas.

"Microsoft is proud to work with Dell on the Take Your Own Path initiative," said Rich Reynolds, general manager of commercial marketing for the Windows Business Group at Microsoft Corp. "Time is money, and businesses are telling us that they save time, which can mean real money, with Windows 7 Professional. Together, Microsoft and Dell have engineered our products to assure out-of-the-box compatibility designed to help small and midsize businesses achieve their goals."

U.S. Take Your Own Path Heroes include:

    --  Cakelove, Warren Brown - Warren is the founder of Cakelove, a retail
        baked goods company and cafe. A successful entrepreneur that graduated
        from law school but left the field to follow his real passion for baked
        goods, Warren since had his own show on the Food Network and has been
        listed as one of Inc. Magazine's 'Top 26 Entrepreneurs That We Love.'
    --  Endeavor, Linda Rottenberg - Linda is the CEO and co-founder of the
        non-profit group that identifies and supports high-impact entrepreneurs
        in emerging markets. Endeavor has helped its entrepreneurs generate more
        than 96,000 high-quality jobs and in 2008 alone, $3.15 billion in
        revenues. In 2008, Linda was named one of U.S. News & World Report's
        "Best American Leaders."
    --  LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman-Reid is the Founder/CEO of LinkedIn, a
        business-oriented social networking site founded in December 2002 that
        is mainly used for professional networking. As of May 2009, it had more
        than 40 million registered users, spanning 170 industries and 200
        countries. A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second and
        executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members.
    --  Lonely Planet, Tony Wheeler - Tony is the Founder of Lonely Planet
        guidebooks. In 1972, after a six month Asia overland trip from Europe,
        Tony and his wife Maureen arrived in Sydney with 27 cents left. In late
        1973, they started Lonely Planet Publications to publish Across Asia on
        the Cheap, the story of their trip from London to Australia. Since then,
        Lonely Planet has grown to become the world's largest independent
        guidebook publisher with more than 500 titles in print, over 400 staff
        and offices in London and Oakland as well as the head office in
        Melbourne.
    --  SewWhat, Megan Duckett-Megan is the Founder/President of this visual
        design workshop for custom-sewn theatrical draperies and fabrics
        specializing in the entertainment and special event industries. With no
        formal business training, Megan turned a gift for working fabrics for
        the stage into a model of business creativity. She saw early that
        investing in powerful hardware and custom workflow software could set
        the stage for a significant business capability and rapid growth.
        Megan's innovative use of technology led Dell to award her its 2007
        Small Business Excellence Award.
    --  TecAccess, Debra Ruh - Debra is the Founder/CEO of TecAccess, a provider
        of accessibility consulting and staffing solutions. Using her successful
        career in information technology and drawing inspiration from her
        daughter with Downs Syndrome, Debra has grown TecAccess into a
        profitable multi-million dollar company that is the most awarded
        provider of professional accessibility and usability testing and
        training, workforce solutions, targeted marketing solutions, focus
        groups and usability studies in the world. For TecAccess, technology is
        an equalizer and enabler that allows companies to look at people as
        potential employees regardless of disability. In addition, the company
        utilizes a one-of-a-kind telecommuting model that allows employees, many
        of whom have disabilities ranging from intellectual, mental health to
        physical disabilities, to work from their homes, rehab facilities, and
        hospital rooms.
    --  Thinkwell Design, Joe Zenas - Joe is one of the co-founders of Thinkwell
        Design, a firm that specializes in the turnkey design and production of
        one-of-a-kind experience-based theme parks, resorts, destinations,
        attractions, museums, exhibits, live shows and environments. The nature
        of their creative-focused business means that Thinkwell relies heavily
        on the most effective and reliable hardware, the most powerful machines
        with the most advanced features. Through their partnership with Dell
        they are able to acquire custom built, pinnacle performance machines at
        a factory direct value price.

Additional information can be found at www.dell.com/takeyourownpath.

About Dell

As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is committed to helping small and medium businesses solve their technology challenges, ease business pain points and draw greater value from IT. With ProManage-Managed Services, Optiplex, new Latitude laptops, the designed-for-small business Vostro line, energy-efficient PowerEdge servers and Small and Medium Business Solutions Center, Dell is here to support entrepreneurs every step of the way.

    Source: Dell Inc.

Released September 3, 2009