HP: EPRINT LIVE

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Integrated Campaign Led by PR
Advertiser: HP
Product/Service: HP EPRINT
Senior Vice President: Caroline Titmuss (Porter Novelli)
Vice President: McKaela Moran (Porter Novelli)
Executive Producer: Ben Stein (Porter Novelli)
Director: Matthew Mills (Space Station)
Vice President: Amy Tokarski (Porter Novelli)
Creative Director: Ari Elkouby (Proximity)
Producer: Carter Edwards (Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre)
Account Supervisor: Sarah Brown (Proximity)
Creative Director: Rohit Sang (Crux Digital)
Associate Media Director, Social & Mobile Strategy: Mickey Mantas (OMG)
Strategist: Ann Lee (OMG)
Producer: Jason Dick (Proximity)
Media placement: Standard Ads - 4 Variations - Facebook - 21 January 2011
Media placement: Digital Video Ads - Google Display Network - 17 Janaury 2011
Media placement: YouTube RoadBlock - YouTube Homepage - 21 January 2011
Media placement: Event Ads - Facebook - 18 January 2011
Media placement: YouTube Promoted Videos - YouTube - 17 January 2011
Media placement: Promoted Twitter Account - Twitter - 10 January 2001
Media placement: Promoted Twitter Trend - Twitter - 22 January 2011
Media placement: Promoted Tweet - Twitter - 13 Janaury 2011
Summary of the Campaign
In January 2011, HP pulled off a one-of-a-kind experiential event that bridged the gap between the digital generation and the printed page – tackling the company’s biggest competitor – perceived irrelevance of the printer.
Our challenge was to wake-up people to the relevance and simplicity of HP ePrint technology and get them to experience it across social networks. We had to create an idea that would spark content, engage people on a personal level and build an understanding and advocacy for the technology – enter ePrint Live.
HP ePrint Live put viewers in the director’s chair – enabling them to ePrint improv skit ideas via e-mail to an HP ePrint-enabled printer on stage. The two-hour show, hosted by comedian Rob Riggle, was performed in front of a live audience in New York City and was simultaneously streamed to YouTube, Facebook and a mobile site. For five days following, actors from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre continued to accept skit suggestions to rapidly create custom comedy shorts.
The company integrated earned, owned and paid media activities to socialize HP ePrint. The result was a swell of conversation and advocacy rates that launched from 6 to 50 percent.
The Situation
In 2010 HP introduced printers that could talk to the cloud through a service called ePrint; a downright genius technology that allows people to print from any device, virtually anywhere in the world. After a significant retail investment and advertising campaign, HP recognized that in order to make people understand that printing had changed they would need to activate mass trial and generate awareness.
The younger generation is accustomed to not printing; shifting their perceptions is critical to the future of this category. We decided to develop a unique program that would grab their attention.
The Goal
The goal was to socialize ePrint with the mobile generation in an interactive way to drive and measure understanding and advocacy for the technology. We wanted to go beyond creating ‘buzz’ to generate new sharable content hand-in-hand with the viewers to personalize the experience and give the program longevity.
We created a branded entertainment experience that explored new territory and became a marketing story in itself. It was critical for HP to utilize a range of social channels to grow awareness, encourage participation and trial, as well as build sustainable, active communities for the future.
The Strategy
Our strategy was to socialize ePrint on a mass scale and ignite new interest in printing through a fun, experiential event. Grounded in powerful customer insights and focusing on future behaviour change, we created a program where our target audience lives and through channels with built-in audiences to amplify the content.
Key PR activities included:
• Multi-faceted social influencer campaign including YouTube teaser videos and owned media engagement
• Live event execution (full entertainment show with musical acts and celebrity host)
• Media and blogger relations that secured NY Times, Bloomberg and Mashable features
As the first crowd-sourced live comedy show on YouTube we had to ensure the conversation was engaging and the content was rich throughout the live show and five days of activity.
Execution
Buzz – We engaged YouTube personalities Charles Trippy and The Fine Bros to create teaser videos promoting ePrint Live, which received unprecedented attention. A YouTube homepage countdown and reveals by Mashable.com and the New York Times heightened anticipation. Community managers on Facebook and Twitter engaged followers, accompanied by ads on Google and Facebook, and a promoted Twitter campaign to reach wider audiences.
Main Event – A two-hour live streaming show hosted by comedian Rob Riggle with audience inspired skits performed by the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre. The show streamed across YouTube, Facebook, and a mobile site, with a call-to-action to participate. YouTube musical acts Mike Realm and Stuckey and Murray also performed.
Momentum – Five days of rapid response with the UCB recording custom comedy shorts picked from the 5,000 ePrinted suggestions. Videos were posted on the video channel and sent back to the viewer to share across networks.
Documented Results
We rose to the challenge – we made ePrint worth considering and worth talking about. We more than doubled the cumulative conversation around ePrint, to reach an all time high and advocacy for ePrint mentions shifted from 6 to nearly 50 percent.” Social engagement also increased, with more than 32,000 new Twitter followers, 11.7 million in Tweet reach and more than 62,000 Facebook page visits. The campaign was featured in 133 outlets including online, print and broadcast.
The program achieved 1 billion impressions, 2.3 million total video views and nearly half a million minutes of engagement in one day. Viewers sent ePrint suggestions at a rate of 25 a minute during the live show and tuned in for an average of 19.5 minutes; engagement time comparative to a TV sitcom but with a highly targeted and engaged audience, all for the price of one TV commercial.