We enlisted award-winning actor Christian Slater to star in “The Wolf,” a dramatic digital short film/series showing how a major company can be brought down through unsecured printers. Slater was chosen for his following among IT professionals from his role in “Mr. Robot,” a cybersecurity-themed TV program awarded for its realistic portrayal of global cybersecurity issues.

In “The Wolf,” Slater systematically hacks a financial company through overlooked print security vulnerabilities, from the mailroom to the boardroom. Everyday office happenings turn ominous as Slater exploits unsuspecting victims at every level who give him access to the company’s networks through unsecured printers. The story culminates with Slater metaphorically and literally releasing the company’s secrets to the entire world. Why? “Because he can.” These stories bring printer security vulnerabilities to the forefront with IT decision makers and the larger business community, shining a light on HP’s Print Security solutions.

Based on IT conversations we were seeing online, it was clear this audience loves entertaining content that portrays IT authentically.

Many pieces came together within a short timeline. Hollywood screenwriters, copywriters, and HP security experts collaborated on the script, ensuring an entertaining and realistic series. Christian Slater was identified and signed for his IT community following. Real malware code was written.

A movie trailer promoted the film on major social channels. The six-minute short film was broken into shorter 90-second episodes and retargeted so that users could watch each episode straight from their social feeds. Films lived on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, IT endemic sites, and a customized interactive branded micro-site. Paid media promoted the films and episodes globally, including paid social, partnerships with leading IT security news sites, social posts from Christian Slater, and a massive PR push including a custom movie poster and behind the scenes content.

“The Wolf” generated unprecedented awareness, 45,000 hours of video consumption in the first two weeks on YouTube and over 12.5 million views in the first two months. The initiative had 118 million earned PR impressions and received 66 editorial placements worldwide.

Andy Slawetsky of research lab Industry Analysts said, “It's the first thing I've EVER seen that really shows what a potential threat this is. WELL DONE!” The IT community confirmed the validity of the featured hacks on Reddit and in YouTube comments as the campaign garnered earned coverage in VentureBeat, Fast Company, Gizmodo, CNET, Adage, and PC Magazine.

On LinkedIn, “The Wolf” nearly doubled the platform’s benchmark .3% engagement rate rate at .6%—a crucial channel for the IT security community. On the IT website Spiceworks, “The Wolf" resulted in a 85% view rate, shattering its 54% benchmark.

The campaign has led to dozens of major sales opportunities for HP.