Friday, March 23, 2007

Hewlett Packard(China)-IPG Case Study: An "Out of this World" Launch

Based on my analysis, Burson-Marsteller did an excellent job, in opinion, with the Hewlett-Packard China and IPG collaboration on an integrated launch. In 2003, HPC and IPG introduced a completely new range of digital imaging products designed for every Chinese household. A key element of the announcement included a breakthrough pricing strategy that would enable HPC to offer top quality products at competitive price points. As an IT brand better known for its commercial printers, this would be one of the most significant assignments globally and strategically for HPC to penetrate the consumer home market in China.

Burson-Marsteller (B-M)-Beijing was appointed to lead the six-month PR-led launch campaign that served as a platform to start establishing Hewlett-Packard as one of the leading consumer IT brands in China. BM worked on all elements of the campaign including ideation, strategy, planning, media relations and event management.

Strategy: To start shifting consumer perceptions, B-M designed an excellent strategy focusing on creating an emotional impact with Chinese consumers through an "experience-based" approach, which leveraged key findings from the market research. The strategy was comprised of three main pillars:

1. To demonstrate how Chinese consumers can be "at home with HP" by showing real people using HP.
2. To focus on HP's value by combining affordability message with innovation message.
3. To show the unexpected side of HP through an intimate understanding of consumers based on the affordability and experience of using HP's products.

B-M developed a creative core concept ("At Home with HP. Out of this World.") which anchored the campaign and was used as the event theme and in all communications collateral. The big idea was to recruit 99 real families across China and demonstrate first-hand how they can be "at home with HP" and receive a digital imaging experience that is "out of this world." Families had to submit their family portraits and stories, each standing the chance to be selected as one of the 99 families who will receive HP's newest home products.

The launch event kicked off on June 5, 2003 at the beautiful Soong Qingling Residence in Beijing, which was lined with poster-sized portraits of the families. Digital imaging and digital entertainment solution booths, designed around the idea of a home, provided journalists and families with a hands-on experience and a strong photo opportunity. The event was replicated on a smaller scale in Shanghai and Guangzhou. To sustain the momentum post-launch, B-M worked with key media to pitch and place family stories that demonstrated how real families in China have benefited from using HP's new products.

Results: 113 media across three cities attended the event, resulting in US$850,000 worth of print and broadcast coverage in over 215 outlets nationwide, including key consumer, IT and business media. This included several extensive high-profile feature stories and TV interviews in top tier media such as CCTV, BTV, People's Daily, Beijing Daily, Guangzhou Daily, China ComputerWorld and China InfoWorld. HP's consumer launch became a key talking point in the industry and media interest post-launch has been strong with additional stories generated focusing on the market impact HP has made in China.

The coverage has also resulted in three media awards, including PC Magazine's Editors Choice, China Computer World's Readers Choice and Chip Magazine's Editors Choice.

Consumer response in the six launch cities has also exceeded original expectations and sales targets. In a month since its launch, HPC managed to increase its PC market share from 0% in May to 4% by the end of June, placing it on par with the top six players in the market and the number one foreign home PC brand. In terms of brand share in units, HP managed to move from 0 to 5 units across seven cities, ahead of all the foreign brands.

What I think worked so well in this case study was the attention paid to details, research and strategy. B-M excelled at paying attention to what would appeal to the local audience in China, thus creating a campaign that was a success in the end. The results of the launch are a testiment to how well the event was executed and what a great job B-M did in their PR practices.

2 comments:

College Bloggers said...

Good case study, but you didn't have to put the lengthy version on your blog. Keep your blogs shorter, more conversational.

Unknown said...

Thanks - liked it. Flournoy is blowing smoke ;-)