The Campaign

It’s always a challenge for HP to find a way and go even further than accustomed media for their marketing efforts. For their latest campaign, HP wanted to find a way to go even further. In particular, they were looking to reach out to one of their most important and influential target consumer groups: high school students. They aimed to simultaneously cement HP’s positive brand values as a learning partner and innovator and also bring about social good. How could this be achieved? Presenting a narrative to high school students without being mistaken as another marketing tactic to sell something is strictly being governed by the Department of Education and The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board of the Philippines or MTRCB. This is the government agency responsible for rating TV and Film. MTRCB recognizes TV and Movie Media as indispensable tools for moral recovery and nation-building thus, as an agency it bestow strict rules and regulations especially marketing to young people and not be confuse as another marketing efforts.

Results

To reach the consumers at low cost, electronics companies place strong emphasis on print media than TV. Therefore, it will be more expensive to reach a focus group such as the high school students and their parents using forms of broadcast with visual images. So how did HP engage the high school students and convince parents to purchase HP products for their children? HP created new media for Philippine Literature and produced educational mini-films. Why Philippine Literature? We learned that students’ least favourite school subject was Philippine Literature. They were required to read classic books they find absolutely boring and study old verses written in archaic style of Tagalog they don’t understand. Why mini-films? In terms of media channels, high school students show a high level of cinema consumption visiting the cinema twice per month on average. They enjoy socializing with their friends but they continue to go out and watch movies with their parents to bond. Thus, parents were found to play an important role in students’ cinema consumption habits. HP decided to spark interest in the subject of Philippine Literature and engage with students through truly compelling branded content. For guaranteed reach, it partnered with the Department of Education to make it part of the students’ curriculum. The films were promoted similar to commercial movies with theatre runs. The films depicted modern adaptations of classic Filipino tales and aimed at encouraging pupils to gain a renewed appreciation for Philippine Literature. The other films tackled contemporary issues: internet addiction, teenage pregnancy and responsible online socializing. With the films relaying positive messages and promoting education, the brand story of HP was fully integrated into the narrative and message of every film. HP was portrayed as perfect companions to help students to do great in school.

HP created a new media for Philippine Literature through truly compelling films. To draw interest and engage the target market it depicted modern adaptation of classic Filipino tales, exactly the books required in the schools' subject. The films aimed at encouraging pupils to gain a renewed appreciation for Philippine Literature. Each film dealt with these often difficult personal issues in an engaging and relatable fashion, in the form of comedy-dramas. Actors are real-life students and popular actors\actresses. As well as being shown in secondary schools nationwide the films had commercial theater run and premiere night showing.

The campaign led to very positive results for HP. Majority of the students who have seen the film had a better understanding of the story. Despite aggressive efforts from its competitors, cumulative sales of the products showcased in the minifilms increased by 19% in October following the launch. Additionally, overall there was an average 13% monthly unit sales increased between November 2013 and January 2014. This compared favourably with the brand’s competitors; in the same period, monthly unit sales for Canon and Epson fell from -4% & -3%respectively. (Source: GFK RRT 2013) Benefits were also felt online in addition to the marketplace. The launch of the first film in September 2013 resulted in an additional 10,000 “Likes” for the HP Philippines Facebook page, boosting the brand’s strong online fan base. The films made the students appreciate Philippine Literature and no longer consider it as a boring subject. More importantly HP was portrayed as perfect companions to help students to do great in school.