The 300 million youths in China are an increasingly important sector of the country’s rapidly-growing consumer market and have become the focus of the entire IT sector. Hewlett Packard (HP) needed to develop a long-term and highly interactive and adaptable campaign to establish a strong connection with this key consumer group.
Key objectives of the campaign included:
- Building a unique personality and relevance for HP’s computer brand to drive awareness and preference among the target youth group
- Setting up and growing a database of youths for future sales and marketing initiatives
- Increasing sales of HP consumer Desktop PCs and notebooks
The target audience were consumers 18-25 who form the core of China’s youth market and are known to have USD135 billion in buying power.
Youth Campaign Wave I Finale
Strategy/Implementation
HP launched its ‘My Computer • My Stage’ youth campaign to provide a platform for youth to express their ‘inspiration to create’ and ‘desire to connect and share’. Wave I of this campaign called on young people to create and submit their own unique artworks. (Wave II, focused on hip-hop music and was launched in September). The heart of this entire campaign was an online campaign website (http://3w.hpmystage.com.cn/default.aspx) equipped with design tools to help the young artists with their creative work. Each month a reward was given for the best design. All submitted artworks were collated into a book to form the largest ever collection of modern artworks and design by young Chinese artists.
HP’s confident approach of allowing the target consumers to drive campaign content gave consumers free reign to post genuine comments and feedback about the campaign, product and brand through their blogs and online forum. Young people were given an active role in shaping the campaign based on the feedback obtained directly or indirectly. The campaign stayed relevant by translating youth’s creative designs into actual applications through unique initiatives such as with printed designs on t-shirts or mugs through the partnership with Snapfish, an online print portal.
Asia Pacific PR Awards - Certificate of Excellence/General
Consumer - Consumer Launch Campaign Category
Results
- Youth engagement
- Over 5 million unique visits to ‘My Computer • My Stage’ campaign website, with 37,100 design submissions and 80 student blogs
- Brand perception change
- 69% of youths surveyed felt that HP was a ‘cool’ brand with a 17% increase in market brand recognition
- Media position HP as the visionary leader in the youth segment
- Media coverage outcome (as at August 4, 2008)
- The campaign generated 600 articles, 10 TV broadcasts, 15 special columns
- Business outcome
- HP consumer desktop PC YoY growth rate is 92.3% in Q108, with 10.5% marketshare in Q108.
- HP consumer notebook YoY growth rate is 109.8% in Q108, with market share 21.4% marketshare in Q108.
- Award
- The HP Youth Campaign won the 2008 Asia Pacific PR Awards Certificate of Excellence under the General Consumer – Consumer Launch Campaign category