HP to enter advertising arena with ‘HP Media Network’: Reports

New Delhi: Tech manufacturer, Hewlett Packard, is entering into the ad biz, converting their laptops and other tech services as ad inventory. 

With advertisers looking for novel and targeted ways to reach consumers, HP is banking on its myriad devices and services to be an ad platform. According to a report by Adweek, the tech company has been pitching to advertisers on an ad network monikered HP Media Network. 

As per the pitch deck, HP is claiming to reach a global monthly audience of 830 million users across more than 100 million devices. The tech conglomerate also mentioned adding 2 million new devices each month, on the global scale. 

HP seems to be walking down the same path that OEMs and TV manufacturers treaded, morphing their devices into ad inventory. 

Adweek reported that the ad business, HP Media Network will sell ads that appear on HP’s computers and applications. 

“HP is also using its first-party data to sell some offsite ads through adtech firms including Microsoft and Kargo, according to two ad executives with direct knowledge. HP’s ad products also include placements within email and social campaigns, according to the pitch deck,” the platform reported. 

An example of ad inventory that HP Media Network will offer is called ‘Toast.’ The ad, in this template, will appear in the lower right-hand corner of a laptop screen. It can feature a logo, a call to action, or a short message, the report mentioned. 

HP had used the aforementioned format to promote holiday deals on its products, resulting in more than 5 million views, and a 2.6% clickthrough rate. 

As per the pitch deck, HP’s ads will be targeted through the device data. For instance, HP will be able to identify people who have downloaded or installed a certain software service and hence, targeted ads can be allocated in the new-found direction. 

In addition, HP is also planning to roll out its own free ad-supported TV service (FAST), which will include ad formats that are prevalent on streaming services. HP Media Network will be able to offer ads that run for 6, 15, and 30 seconds; pause ads, carousel ads can also be offered to advertisers.