HP Launches New Ad Campaign

Date: February 22, 2010

New York, NY -- HP printers are coming to a theater near you? Yes, that’s right. According to the Brandweek website, HP has launched a new campaign for its TouchSmart printers that will be based out of movie theater lobbies. HP feels that being able to use the printer, rather than just hear about it, will be a more effective sales pitch.

The TouchSmart printer comes preloaded with applications like Fandango (where you can order your movie tickets in advance) and others, so it makes sense. Originally released in September, they launched ads on TV, but they wanted to go beyond just that.

According to Tariq Hassan, VP of marketing for HP, the ad, while extensive and informative was not enough to convey the benefits of such a printer. Brandweek quotes Hassan as stating, ‘The one thing we knew was touching was believing,’ and ‘It's such a different mind-set. It's a new printing distribution channel. We had to create more than awareness; we had to touch the consumer. The theater was a natural fit.’

This is not the first time HP has used a movie theater as a means of advertisement. However previous ad campaigns were not nearly as large as this current one. Set to run through Dec. 24, there is a 30 second commercial and other shorter pieces that run during National Cinema’s prefeature program on over 17,300 screens and Screenvision’s theater network. The ads are also being shown on 2,600 plasma screens in movie theater lobbies via National Cinema’s Lobby Entertainment Network.

That exposure was not enough for HP, and they have also arranged for live demonstrations of the product in 15 theaters in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami and Houston. The lobby demos last about six minutes and customers can get a $50 coupon which brings the printer’s price of $399 down to $349. The total number of product demos is expected to exceed 50,000 and the lobby setup is expected to be seen by 700,000 people over its duration.

BY ADAM HAIGH, Editor