HP launches multi-million pound campaign to maximise its growth. Jessica McGreal finds out more
HP aims ‘to be everywhere’ in the UK this autumn launching ‘Make it matter’, its biggest campaign for 12 years. People know about HP, so this two-month long campaign is not to raise brand awareness, but rather illustrate how the technology giant can help businesses of all sizes in the UK and Ireland overcome and embrace today’s IT challenges.
The brand’s multi-million pound activity is inspired by the fact HP is growing; with its share price on an upwards trend. The UK economy is another inspiration behind the timing of the campaign, with GDP growth up and unemployment and inflation down.
How to be everywhere
However, being everywhere is not an easy feat and to ensure this happens HP is working with multiple agencies, including AMV BBDO, OMG and M2M.
The campaign is centred on HP’s solutions in relation to mobility, cloud, big data and security. Consequently, four different executions have been created for each of these pillars, with specific personalised marketing activity. This will include ads screened on channels ranging from ITV to Sky Sports, in cinemas, in magazines and newspapers. It will also include a significant outdoor campaign, in high-impact digital and static formats across the UK, including Heathrow airport, tube stations, bus stops and roadside hoardings.
The activity will be supported by different content streams on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with the #Makeitmatter hashtag.
Speaking about the large number of channels used in the campaign, Miguel Adão, HP marketing director, UK & Ireland, explains: “[In large businesses and governments] it’s not one, it’s not two, it’s not three people making a purchasing decision, it’s up to seven on average – from the CIO all the way down to the different IT decision markers, financial, purchasing and procurement. They consume media in different ways. Some will read The Financial Times, some will watch The X-Factor and some will just be on their phone or tablet all the time. So we’re pretty much hitting our target audience in every way possible.”
Re-evaluating IT
But it’s not just the size of this marketing campaign that makes it stand out. HP has chosen to move away from the cold traditional IT approach to marketing and address business decision makers with content that creates a strong emotional connection, builds confidence and, ultimately, resonates.
By sharing human narratives about complex IT challenges HP hopes to force oganisations to re-evaluate their approach to technology.
Adão adds: “I’m really excited about this campaign. There’s a little bit of humour about it. It’s not outright funny, that’s not HP’s persona, but there is a little wink in some of the key spots.”
However, the brand understands marketing is not only about emotion and storytelling, realising the product, price point and deliverables have to be right to make sales.
Ensuring measurable results
The company has already received positive feedback from interviews with customers and partners as well as on social media. Internally, employees are embracing ‘Make it matter’ – even creating a selfie challenge where staff shoot self-portraits in front of the campaign creative.
But it’s not all fun and games. In order to ensure ROI on the activity is accurate, HP has put a strong measurement plan in place with quantifiable soft and hard metrics, in terms of pipeline growth and deals. The marketing team will be monitoring this quarterly because short campaigns have a long-term effect on purchase decisions that often have a six- to nine-month cycle.
Despite the activity ending on 31 October, HP will continue building on ‘Make it matter’ to avoid losing momentum. As a result, Adão is confident the brand will return in 2015 with a follow-up campaign.
