Behind HP's Partnership with Paul Mccartney

IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT

July 11, 2011 800/834-4850 | www.IEGSR.com

ONE-ON-ONE Brand On The Run: Behind HP’s Partnership With Paul McCartney

B2B sponsors seek compelling stories to showcase services and compelling hospitality venues to share those services outside the office.

Over the past year, Hewlett-Packard Co. has embarked on one of the company’s largest and highest-profile partnerships: A multi-dimensional tie-in with Paul McCartney.

The partnership afforded status as the exclusive global sponsor of last year’s “Up and Coming” tour and McCartney’s 2011 “On the Run” tour, the latter of which kicks off July 15 at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

The larger partnership includes HP designing and building a cloud-based digital library of the former Beatle’s music catalog, photo and other content archives for his music publishing business, MPL Communications, Ltd.

Although HP markets products for both consumer and business markets, the company is largely using the McCartney tie as a B2B platform to demonstrate its technological expertise and to build relations with customers and prospects.

IEG SR spoke with Scott Anderson, vice president, customer communications, HP enterprise business, about the goals for the partnership and how it is activating the relationship.

Below are edited excerpts from the conversation.

IEG SR: Why has HP partnered with Paul McCartney? What does the company hope to accomplish from a marketing perspective?

Anderson: In September 2010, HP announced its intent to work with MPL Communications on the development of a digital library. In May 2011, we announced the launch of Paul McCartney’s private cloud-based digital library and highlighted MPL Communications’ journey to becoming an “Instant-On Enterprise.”

HP is delighted to help MPL design, plan, build and host McCartney’s cloud-based digital library. In doing so, we are not only helping to preserve and extend a priceless collection of assets, we are also demonstrating what can happen when business and technology become one and the same.

In a world where immediate gratification is the new norm and where everything is becoming mobile, connected, interactive and immediate, HP delivers a unique set of solutions to help businesses transform and succeed. HP refers to businesses or governments that embed technology into everything they do as Instant-On Enterprises.

Helping MPL Communications push technology boundaries in the entertainment industry offers a great opportunity to showcase an Instant-On Enterprise in action.

IEG SR: How did the partnership originate?

Anderson: MPL Communications reached out to the HP Enterprise Services organization with a high level vision of the digital library idea they wanted to pursue.

The goal was to design and build a state-of-the-art digital library for over one million priceless items. That includes more than half million photographs, including Linda McCartney’s iconic photos of ’60s rock musicians; years’ worth of video footage from live concerts; thousands of videotapes, roles of film and reels; hundreds of music recordings; a roomful of McCartney’s original paintings; and thousands of pieces of memorabilia.

IEG SR: So this is an example of cloud computing technology?

Anderson: Yes. Cloud computing offers on-demand access to an elastic pool of assets, including services, applications, servers, storage and networks. It’s the elasticity that makes a cloud a cloud. You scale up or down as needed and pay only for what’s used.

HP designed a hybrid delivery solution for MPL Communications that consists of an off-premise, cloud-based model, combined with the company’s redesigned and expanded on-premise IT infrastructure.

This solution provides MPL with the flexibility required to deal with its rapidly expanding library and ensure the security of McCartney’s priceless assets. MPL will house a copy locally of the digital library to reduce the organization’s dependency on the speed of the local telecommunications system to upload or download assets from the private cloud.

The private cloud enables MPL to extend its business operations beyond its data center in London and protects the library from the risk of natural disaster or unexpected downtime.

IEG SR: How is HP leveraging the partnership with business customers?

Anderson: Customers are interested in hearing about how HP has helped MPL Communications build the digital library. The conversation highlights many of HP’s unique solution areas, such as information optimization, cloud and hybrid delivery and enterprise security and converged infrastructure. It’s a great starting point to discuss those technology areas.

We have developed a Web site to tell the story (www.HP.com/Go/McCartney) and highlight the solutions used to build the digital library. On the site you can find videos of McCartney explaining why he is building the library, as well as a combination of McCartney’s team and HP’s team discussing how the library was delivered.

HP also has created a number of communications assets to build awareness of the site and get the story out to a broader set of customers. It is a compelling story for many customers, who are both McCartney fans and leading technologists.

IEG SR: How do the concert tour sponsorships factor in?

Anderson: The tour offers an excellent opportunity for HP to host a small number of customers at various shows. Customers get to see a legendary artist perform and learn how HP is helping MPL Communications transform McCartney’s media business.

McCartney’s tour team has supported HP’s hospitality program on all fronts and have created an environment that is fun and productive for everyone.

Our customers and partners also were provided with the rare opportunity to attend a private McCartney concert at the recent HP Discover event in Las Vegas.

Source Hewlett-Packard Co., Tel: 650/857-1501

July 11, 2011 800/834-4850 | www.IEGSR.com

CATEGORY UPDATE Favorable Exchange: Overseas Destinations Sponsor More U.S. Properties

Audience travel research, ability to promote activities and culture of foreign destinations are key to attracting sponsorship in the category.

Sponsorship activity on behalf of foreign tourism councils (“Overseas Tourism Marketers Book More U.S. Sponsorships,” 11/8/10) continues to gain momentum.

Although once largely focused on pro sports teams, foreign government bodies are increasingly aligning with other types of properties to promote their locales as vacation destinations for U.S. travelers.

Case in point: The Indonesia Tourism Board recently aligned with the ING New York City Marathon, while the Bermuda Dept. of Tourism has signed a new tie with the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

In addition, the National Aquarium late last year brought on the Costa Rica Tourism Board (“Birds Of A Feather: Properties Team Up To Gain New Sponsor,” 7/5/11) as a new partner.

The growing popularity of sponsorship among overseas tourism promoters has prompted some rightsholders to place more focus on the category.

“Travel, culture and tourism is one of the categories we have worked really hard on over the last five years,” said Ann Crandall, executive vice president, business development and marketing strategy with New York Road Runners, owner of the ING New York City Marathon.

“Running is a global sport, and many consulates and tourism boards want to use running as a means to get people to go their country. We provide a platform to educate consumers about those countries’ food and culture.”

To showcase its tourism-related partners to runners and others, NYRR last year rolled out Int’l Taste of Travel, a two-hour event that touts the culture, cuisine and music of its travel partners.

The Int’l Taste of Travel—which takes place on the Friday night before the marathon—last year featured flamenco dancers and food from the Andalucia region of Spain. The Andalucia Sports Bureau is a marathon sponsor.

The Int’l Taste of Travel this year will promote Andalucia, Indonesia and a yet-to-be-concluded third destination, Crandall said.

Indonesia also receives exposure on the Daily Cool Down video section on www.NYRR.org. The spot features Olympic runner Carrie Tollefson interviewing a representative from the Indonesia Tourism Board and her visit to an Indonesian spa in New York City.

Representatives from the Indonesian government and the Indonesian Running Assn. will run in the marathon, Crandall added.

Tips on Selling the Tourism Category Below, IEG SR shares tips on how rightsholders can secure and work with sponsors in the travel category.

Know your audience. Properties can identify likely foreign tourism councils to approach by conducting research that tracks the travel activities of participants, attendees and other stakeholders.

Help promote endemic activities. The NYRR credits its long-running sponsorship from The Scottish Government to using running and hiking as a hook to grab the tourism board’s attention.

“We knew they were trying to get people to go to Scotland for reasons other than playing golf or drinking whiskey,” said Crandall.

The government ended up titling The Scotland Run, a 10K race that happens in conjunction with its Scotland Week celebration in April.

Keep an eye open for new airline service. The National Aquarium reached out to the Bermuda Dept. of Tourism after noticing a new flight to the country by AirTran Airways out of Baltimore, said Jeff Dow, the aquarium’s director of marketing partnerships.

Sources National Aquarium, Tel: 410/576-3800 New York Road Runners, Tel: 212/860-4455

Category Update

July 11, 2011 800/834-4850 | www.IEGSR.com

OPINION Digital Technology, Social Media And The End Of Endorsements

Editorial Director Jim Andrews’ latest observations, insights and advice.

Marketers involved in athlete and celebrity endorsements have always taken risks with their brands, associating them with human beings and all of their attendant frailties.

The risk of course was calculated. Despite the spectacular flameouts that are still top of mind—Accenture and Tiger, Pepsi and Madonna, etc.—over the years, most endorsement deals have gone off without a hitch. Whether they delivered a return on investment is a separate question—there is conflicting research regarding the ability of endorsements to influence consumer thought and behavior—but certainly the majority of deals did no harm.

But in a new era where every one of us carries the ability to document, record and broadcast anything and everything we see, the new level of scrutiny/loss of privacy faced by athletes, celebrities, politicians, etc., has changed the game. The phrase “in the public eye” has taken on an entirely new meaning.

This really hit home with me over the weekend when I read a piece by Rick Telander in the Chicago Sun-Times (http://www. suntimes.com/sports/telander/6412923-419/gordon-beckham-sorry-for-gay-slur-but-he-should-know-better.html) about an incident involving Chicago White Sox player Gordon Beckham. The 24-year-old scratched a note in the infield dirt for his buddy Chris Getz, second baseman for the Kansas City Royals, to see when Getz took the field against the Sox at U.S. Cellular Field last week. “GETZ IS GAY! GB” read the note.

Meant as a private joke between friends, it was observed by fans who quickly shared it with the world. The facts of what is a very minor—yet still offensive—incident in the pantheon of bad behavior, are not what struck me. It was the reaction in the article by both Beckham and Sox general manager Ken Williams. You can see each man realizing just how far this has all gotten and recognizing the foolishness that something a pro athlete does can be considered “private.”

Now couple that non-blinking public eye with the capacity of digital and social media to exponentially raise the ability of our heroes to embarrass themselves without help from anyone else (hello, Brett Favre!), and we can clearly see there are many more mines in the field than ever before for both the endorsers and the brands that would associate with them.

While I am not predicting the immediate demise of all endorsement deals, I believe our new culture will greatly diminish the appetite for such relationships on the part of both personalities and marketers.

Already well-paid celebrities and athletes will think longer and harder about the value of such deals to them. For many, adding another entity to the long list of those to whom they are obligated—and to whom they will need to apologize for even the slightest misstep—may not be worth the extra dollars.

For marketers, the mathematics in the risk calculation have been re-figured. While some will still take the leap, many others will turn to other options over which they have more control.