By Chris Nicholls

SYDNEY: Hewlett-Packard (HP) has launched the Australian leg of its new US$300 million global advertising campaign print marketing campaign, called “What do you have to say?”

The campaign, part of HP’s ‘Print 2.0’ strategy, has already debuted in the US and Europe. The Australian version will centre on two consumer-focused microsites, www.hp.com.au/gwen and www.hp.com.au/imagination.

The first site features pop star Gwen Stefani and asks visitors to use designs from her collection to create greeting cards, paper dolls, CD artwork or postcards. The second site is child-focused, with a special room children have to register to enter, and creative projects to complete. Both sites ask visitors to print out their results, pushing HP’s printer advertising message. 

HP has also identified what it calls ‘achievers’ to front a business-focused campaign, with each given a website to show how they use HP products.

Local businesses chosen include construction company Abey Homes, Ballarat Health Services and Camera House.

Vice president and general manager of HP South Pacific’s Imaging and Printing Group, Christoph Schell, said the Print 2.0 strategy would focus on the internet as a new way for people to share ideas.

“HP’s Print 2.0 vision aims to leverage the power of the web as a gateway for our customers to communicate, collaborate and publish their content in ways they could not before,” he said. 

The two websites will be accompanied by print, outdoor, and other online advertising, new product packaging and in-store packaging collaboration driving people to the websites.

HP also announced it would expand the “What do you have to say?” campaign to include the graphic arts and enterprise communities in 2008.