Ad Campaign of the Week: HP Computer Show Ad Appeals to Tech Pros

Printing in color -- is it legal? Does it cost as much as a horse? These are some of the questions answered, sort of, in HP’s new line of ads that partner with the popular YouTube series Computer Show. Computer Show, which features discussions about new technology in a sort of vintage setting, is mainly popular in tech circles. But that’s what HP is counting on in marketing its printers and other office supplies to professionals. So what do everyday consumers think about these ads? And how many of them actually “get” the humor from the Computer Show style ads? Find out what 1,000 respondents had to say about HP and the new series of ads.

Office Supply Consumers

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest online survey, 18% of respondents said that they usually purchase office supplies and technology a few times per month. 22% make those types of purchases a few times every three months. And 31% make office related purchases a few times per year. Few respondents said they make office related purchases rarely or never.Of those who make office related purchases at least on occasion, 56% said that they use products from HP regularly. So it’s a fairly popular brand already with those consumers. In fact, HP was more popular with regular consumers than any of the other major brands listed.

HP Computer Show Ads

Overall, 25% of respondents said they would be certain or practically certain about choosing HP the next time they purchase office supplies or tech. And 33% said that it would be very probable. Those who viewed the HP Computer Show ad were just as likely to say they would be certain about choosing HP for their next purchase of office supplies or technology. They were slightly more likely to say that it would be very probable. But the difference was marginal. In addition, just 8% of those who viewed the ad said that they have watched Computer Show on YouTube before. Those consumers, though it was a small sample, were far more likely to say that they’d choose HP for their next office related purchase after viewing the ad. And they were also much more likely to purchase office supplies and technology on a regular basis than consumers as a whole.

HP Brand Attributes

In general, reliable, quality, dependable and innovative were the most popular words that consumers used to describe the HP brand. Those were also the most popular brand attributes among those who viewed the HP Computer Show ad. But those respondents were also a bit more likely to describe the brand as affordable, great and popular.

Key Takeaways

The HP Computer Show ads didn’t have a huge impact on consumers as a whole. But if the company keeps the ads on the channels that are likely to reach Computer Show viewers and those who have a vested interest in tech related content, it could have much more of an impact. That seems to be the company’s plan for now, especially with the ads aimed mainly at business users. But if the company attempts to branch out and use this ad format to target a wider consumer basie, it isn’t likely to have the same type of impact.You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: HP C310c & ENVY100_059 by TAKA@P.P.R.S under CC by-SA 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on August 23 via AYTM’s online survey panel.