Bloggers Increase HP Laptop Sales 85%

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 by Janet Thaeler

Bloggers Increase HP Laptop Sales 85%

It’s uncommon to see sales increase by double digits. HP had a new laptop called Dragon. Sales were flat after trying traditional marketing. So they decided to try another way – engaging bloggers. A quick way to do that is to send bloggers an ultralight $5,000 laptop to give away to one of their readers.

Nine months after launch, the 15 pound laptop with a 20.1-inch screen and 500-gigabyte hard drive wasn’t selling that well. HP hired social media marketing firm Buzz Corps Inc. and they brainstormed with bloggers and HP to come up with the campaign.

Scott Ballantyne, vice president and general manager of the personal systems group at HP, said:

“The technology keeps changing and people keep chasing the next social technology. The key is to remember that social media is about people talking and interacting with people. Technology can help with distribution. But people need to remain at the center.”

Here’s what they did. They called it 31 Days of the Dragon. They contacted 31 tech bloggers with influence (based on number of links, Google ranking, and recommendations from other bloggers) to give away 31 laptops in 31 days. So essentially a month of contests. Each blogger made up their own rules about the contest but each agreed to promote the contests of everyone else in the group.

The result was that the first five pages of Google results for searches on HP and HP Dragon were blog posts about the contest. According to HP they had over 380,000 links to the 31 sites discussing the contest. Bloggers got over 25,000 contest entries and an average 150% increase in traffic. Here’s the kicker though – almost 85% increase in sales of a computer that was released nine months ago!

I spoke to Chris Aarons at Buzz Corps who told me how HP was not doing any social media prior to engaging them. Today they showcase their employees blogs and have HP blogs, videos, and podcasts. He explained how PR firms typically get the inital push on a product. Social media campaigns keep the buzz going or in the case of HP – they resurrect it.

I was impressed with the collaborative approach that Aarons described – it’s quite high touch. Normally people wonder how to get ROI from blogs – this shows it can be done.

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56 comments on “Bloggers Increase HP Laptop Sales 85%”

seo tool Says:

September 30th, 2008 at 9:54 pm

dang… HP tore sales up through that move. im excited to see what marketing idea they can come up with next.
-jack
Offline Business Starts To Go Online - HP Increase 85% of Laptop Sales from Bloggers Promotion! » Ultimate iWealth Says:

September 30th, 2008 at 11:59 pm

[...] Tech Business Giant – HP has increased 85% of their laptop sales as according to Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim, I think their success will definately bring more offline company to the online [...]
Jayson Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 1:51 am

Amazing! That’s an incredible approach and one that will likely be repeated over-and-over again. Just one more testament to the power of blogs, bloggers and social media.
Lucas Ng Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 2:02 am

I love social media marketing campaigns with successful ROI numbers attached.

Too often we hear of social media campaigns with only the vaguest results.

Sounds like a very well executed strategy.
kouji Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 3:22 am

wow. well done hp. it’s good to hear that a strategy which they put some thought into actually reaped concrete results.

kouji’s last blog post..halimbawa ng haiku
Social media marketing: la pubblicità sui blog può aumentare le vendite? Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 7:37 am

[...] La HP, il famoso produttore di hardware, rilascia un nuovo portatile. Dopo 9 mesi, le vendite raggiunte tramite il marketing tradizionale non sono incoraggianti. La HP si affida allora ad un’agenzia che sviluppa una campagna social media: coinvoilti nel progetto, 31 bloggers di prestigio specializzati in nuove tecnologie. Risultato? Le vendite del notebook HP uscito quasi un anno fa, sono aumentate dell’85%! [...]
Chetan Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 8:09 am

The 31 days of the dragon was a great one which made a lot of influence in bloggers minds.

Chetan’s last blog post..You’re No One If You’re Not On Twitter – the Twitter song
Zurpit Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 8:17 am

That was a great idea on their part so they could increase their sales
Mike Collins Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 8:42 am

Great example of a company think outside the box and being rewarded. Based on HP’s success, I bet we’ll see a lot of similar contests in the near future.
Andy Beal Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 9:09 am

A great case study, thanks Janet!
Nicole Price Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 9:12 am

Mind blowing strategy. Worth emulating for many products. I however wonder whether smaller businesses will be able to get such results, even assuming that they get such influential bloggers to plug for them.

Nicole Price’s last blog post..100th Post: Style for under $100
New Online Marketing Model First? » Marketing Productivity Blog » Blog Archive Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 9:30 am

[...] When everything we come up with replicates the Offline model but doesn’t work as well – take Display advertising, for example, which is the business model most every “new” idea uses – then how would you expect to get any respect? Seriously, it looks ridiculous from outside the small world (Marketing budget-wise) of Online. Think about it. What other medium relentlessly pursues a failed business model so persistently, hoping something will change? There are exceptions, of course. But most of these exceptions play in such a small sandbox they are irrelevant to the broader scope of Marketing (example). [...]
SEO Forums Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 10:08 am

nice innovative technique of promoting your product and increasing sale.

SEO Forums’s last blog post..CPM question
» Can Blogging Make A Difference - Ask HP - Scotland SEO Blog Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 10:43 am

[...] post on Marketing Pilgrim highlights the whole campaign. What is the overall effect on HP: I spoke to Chris Aarons at Buzz [...]
The HP Dragon bloggers : ShinyRed Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 10:53 am

[...] Pilgrim covering the activity quote Scott Ballantyne, VP & GM of the personal systems group at [...]
San Nayak Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 10:58 am

Great Janet..

I am a Dell guy but i love the strategy they followed to boost their selling. Finally a definite proof that works.

San Nayak’s last blog post..A Wednesday – Best Hindi Movie of 2008
The HP Dragon bloggers « Jazamatazz Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 11:15 am

[...] Pilgrim covering the activity quote Scott Ballantyne, VP & GM of the personal systems group at [...]
Wil Reynolds Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 11:21 am

Janet, great findings, great post. Definitely sharing with the crew here at SEER, if I get a second I’ll post it on our blog too. What I like is the actual TRACKING of efforts, not just doing SM b/c it is COOL, but because it can lead to real business results.
Jim Kukral Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 12:34 pm

Awesome post here and thanks for this. So hard to find actual case studies of social media success. Would like to see a follow up on this with more of the nitty gritty details of how they did it?

Jim Kukral’s last blog post..Make More Money! Value Yourself Better
Chetan Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 1:41 pm

Jim, you should check the website of 31 days of the dragon and see how HP got really popular among bloggers.

Chetan’s last blog post..Motorola Motorokr E8 mobile phone review
Janet Meiners Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 5:29 pm

Thanks for the great comments. Buzz Corps obviously “gets” the blogging community and can build relationships between bloggers and companies. No small feat.

This was not only very hands on but it took expertise, creativity, and a large investment of both time and money (they work 3-12 months on most campaigns). On all sides.

In my experience though most companies aren’t willing or ready to invest this deeply (but want the results).

I’m encouraged that we’ll see more partnerships like this as marketers realize the influence bloggers can have on their businesses and learn to navigate the culture.

Janet

Janet Meiners’s last blog post..Pilgrim’s Picks for October 1
Utah SEO Pro Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 6:42 pm

Wow, that’s a huge jump. I definitely see this kind of thing being a trend in the future for corporate companies.

Utah SEO Pro’s last blog post..Social Media Expert Quiz
Dennis Edell Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 6:49 pm

HP rises to the top yet again

Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Coming Soon? Yes They Are I Swear – I Need Your Advice First!
WebMetricsGuru » Making a Case for Social Media - are we doing a poor job of Marketing Social Media? Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 7:54 pm

[...] there are cases of clear Social Media ROI such as Bloggers Increase HP Laptop Sales 85% (as reported in Marketing Pilgrim) but you have to work hard to find [...]
» HP Rides A Viral Marketing Success Social Marketing Journal - Social Media Marketing Blog Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 11:31 pm

[...] demonstrated how a viral marketing campaign using blogs can become a huge success on many fronts. Marketing Pilgrim reports on HP’s use of 31 of the top tech blogs and how HP partnered with them to deliver a [...]
PS3 Says:

October 2nd, 2008 at 3:43 am

Giving away $150,000 of 9 month old laptops could have been a disaster but fair play to HP for speculating.
Goran Web Design Says:

October 2nd, 2008 at 4:23 am

Blog are the most popular sites on the web with massive communities that would bring a huge boost for any marketing campaign.
indir Says:

October 2nd, 2008 at 4:46 am

thanks good post and blog
Christmas Guy Says:

October 2nd, 2008 at 7:09 am

Awesome! It is an unbelievable technique; the one that will be followed for a long time, I think. It perfectly proves how powerful blogging, bloggers and social media are.

Christmas Guy’s last blog post..We Wish You a Merry Christmas Lyrics
SEO next Says:

October 2nd, 2008 at 4:54 pm

This is good news for the industry…
the trend has started… wont take a lot of time for many other companies to catch up with it.
Grazie ad un blog contest, l’ HP Dragon vola Says:

October 2nd, 2008 at 6:06 pm

[...] Bloggers Increase HP Laptop Sales 85%. Tags: blog, buzz marketing, contest, link contest, social media marketing [...]
Frozen Frogs - » Tempo di Co-Creazione > Conversation means CoCreation Says:

October 3rd, 2008 at 6:33 am

[...] Mauro ( che mi sogno ancora la notte* ) sottolinea il successo dell’operazione di HP che sicuramente va nella giusta direzione, anche se il momento piu’ decisivo [...]
Anthony.P Says:

October 3rd, 2008 at 7:55 am

cool marketing tactic, should set a trend soon.
Quinientos Doce Megas » Bloggers incrementan las ventas de Laptops HP en un 85% Says:

October 3rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm

[...] unos días leí este interesantísimo artículo sobre HP y las ventas de su laptop Dragon (que vendría siendo algo así como su gamestation portátil). Voy a resumir el artículo para los [...]
ULTRA STUDIO Blog » Blogaziende: guadagni dei blogger, guadagni coi blogger Says:

October 3rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm

[...] blogger non sono solo dei cercatori d’oro, ma stanno anche diventando una miniera: l’esperimento portato avanti da HP, ha permesso alla major di incrementare le vendite dei propri dispositivi laptop proprio [...]
Blogaziende: guadagni dei blogger, guadagni coi blogger | Reset Italia Says:

October 3rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm

[...] blogger non sono solo dei cercatori d’oro, ma stanno anche diventando una miniera: l’esperimento portato avanti da HP, ha permesso alla major di incrementare le vendite dei propri dispositivi laptop proprio [...]
iCalvyn Says:

October 4th, 2008 at 8:39 pm

I am consider hp supporter, all my notebook and PC are from HP, even mouse and keyboard and printer
QuickPWN Says:

October 6th, 2008 at 2:18 pm

The 31 Days of the Dragon contest got really nasty in the last 10 days. One person was so desperate to get this notebook that he lied and cheated in the contests.

QuickPWN’s last blog post..Install Flash Player iPhone App
kry Says:

October 8th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

Awesome post here and thanks for this.

kry’s last blog post..How to Build Backlinks
Broken Online Model Endcap » Marketing Productivity Blog » Blog Archive Says:

October 8th, 2008 at 8:13 pm

[...] Facebook widgets on Facebook or HP Notebooks to people reading specific tech blogs is not Marketing Genius, it’s shooting fish in a barrel. There’s no Reach, and these [...]
Social Branding (3 of 3) | brants Says:

October 9th, 2008 at 10:56 pm

[...] For their product ‘Dragon’, HP did a promo called 31 days of the Dragon. As part of this, they contacted 31influential tech bloggers to give away 31 laptops in 31 days. Each blogger ran a contest according to his rules, but also publicised others running the contest. With 3,80,000 links and 25000 entries, I would count it a success. (via Marketing Pilgrim) [...]
Check Page Rank Says:

October 11th, 2008 at 7:50 am

Blogger are making enough money to support a bank. Recent Bankaholic $15Million purchase is a good example.
Social Media Marketing: een omzetstijging van 85% | Tribal Internet Marketing - Weblog Says:

October 20th, 2008 at 5:17 am

[...] heeft deze actie nu eigenlijk opgeleverd? (Met dank aan Janet Meiners) Er zijn in totaal 25.000 mensen die hebben deelgenomen aan de verschillende wedstrijden. Alle 31 [...]
Opération de Rp blogueurs pour HP : un cas d'école! | Marketing 2.0 - Le blog de l'agence You to You Says:

October 31st, 2008 at 12:36 pm

[...] Source : Opinion watch et Marketing Pilgrim [...]
Michael Carnell Says:

December 4th, 2008 at 5:19 pm

Very cool. Nice that some large companies are learning the power of social media and good – not harmful or deceitful – ways to harness it.

Michael Carnell’s last blog post..The Walls Are Transparent
Social media marketing: la pubblicità sui blog può aumentare le vendite? | Web Marketing Blog Says:

December 5th, 2008 at 4:23 am

[...] La HP, il famoso produttore di hardware, rilascia un nuovo portatile. Dopo 9 mesi, le vendite raggiunte tramite il marketing tradizionale non sono incoraggianti. La HP si affida allora ad un’agenzia che sviluppa una campagna social media: coinvolti nel progetto, 31 bloggers di prestigio specializzati in nuove tecnologie. Risultato? Le vendite del notebook HP uscito quasi un anno fa, sono aumentate dell’85%! [...]
User Generated Contests « Simon Harrow Says:

December 9th, 2008 at 5:48 am

[...] more about it here and comment, shout out and share. [...]
HP giving away USD300,000 worth of products through blogs | CLAUDIA.SG Says:

December 9th, 2008 at 12:11 pm

[...] I was interested to find out how HP increases its laptop sales by 85% using bloggers. [...]
Janice (5 Minutes for Mom) Says:

December 11th, 2008 at 4:31 am

We have worked on several campaigns with HP on our blog, including giving away laptops and printers with our Blogs Can Change Lives program.

Who better to reach with their messaging than people who are online! Our audience was thrilled with them.

Janice (5 Minutes for Mom)’s last blog post..Win YOUR choice of KEEN Boots, Shoes or Sandals!
Juha Says:

December 11th, 2008 at 4:35 am

Right… but what was in it for the bloggers? Did they do it for free? If that’s the case, HP must’ve got some remarkable mileage out of the campaign.

Juha’s last blog post..Newbie gardener notes
Franki Says:

December 11th, 2008 at 4:43 am

One would think that for company that’s closely aligned with the internet and it’s users (users need equipment to be able to use the net) – that online marketing and promotions should be the first rather then the latter (post traditional marketing).

Eitherway, the results were great and good to see that HP carry on further…
Top 10 Social Media Network Marketing Tips Says:

December 11th, 2008 at 6:43 am

This shows that things are coming along well to businesses, next thing you know you’re on someone else’s thoughts, and this is our thoughts on social media in the next 10 years top!
HP ar blogeru palīdzību palielinājuši portatīvā datora pārdošanas apjomus par 85% | onkulis.com blogs Says:

December 12th, 2008 at 1:11 am

[...] Marketing Pilgrim rakstā ir dots piemērs, kā kompānija HP ar blogeru palīdzību spēja sacelt interesi par 9 mēnešus vecu HP laptopa modeli Dragon. [...]
manu prasad » Social Branding (3 of 3) Says:

January 19th, 2009 at 3:25 am

[...] For their product ‘Dragon’, HP did a promo called 31 days of the Dragon. As part of this, they contacted 31influential tech bloggers to give away 31 laptops in 31 days. Each blogger ran a contest according to his rules, but also publicised others running the contest. With 3,80,000 links and 25000 entries, I would count it a success. (via Marketing Pilgrim) [...]
seo Says:

February 4th, 2009 at 3:40 am

That was a great idea on their part so they could increase their sales

seo’s last blog post..Have you worked out your Google Penalty Plan yet?
Social Media - Simple Steps to Get Started Says:

February 17th, 2009 at 6:22 pm

[...] I think of social media marketing success I think of HP’s success (http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/09/bloggers-increase-hp-laptop-s ales-85.html). I interviewed the agency who ran it and it was not only very high touch, but expensive. Probably [...]

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