Faced with an unprecedented global pandemic and more people working from home, IT departments saw cyber security threats across the U.S. jump +400%. Suddenly, it was no longer enough to have the office network and big servers protected. When you’re out of the office, the threat is much broader. And computers doing double duty as gaming devices or school classrooms are ripe for data breaches and other security threats.

And while many professionals are beginning to return to the office, most are embracing a permanent hybrid model that includes some days at home. Security is a top worry for the hybrid workforce, with cyber threats growing exponentially. Cybercriminals are more sophisticated, organized, and determined than ever, and they have their sights set on your endpoints.

Four years ago, HP introduced The Wolf as a hacker character played by Christian Slater. Now, Slater reprises his role in the fourth iteration of the charmingly sinister hacker character. The new chapter shows Slater's Wolf hacker infiltrating a mother’s work computer at home while her oblivious son plays video games on the same device. The initial hack spirals to include printers, networked colleagues and even the woman’s office IT department. By breaking down the worst-case scenario, the ad content emphasizes how one decision can lead to a catastrophic security meltdown, all of which is preventable with the right security measures in place.

HP saw an opportunity to deliver a fresh perspective on Cyber Security at home. We leveraged a provocative message with a cinematic narrative to raise the alarm for the cyber security needs of IT and Chief Information Security Officers, and alert a wider range of end-users. HP placed the topic of cyber security on centre stage in the style of a red-carpet event and ensured that when interested audiences looked for solutions, we answered their call with an impactful voice. Scale and premium execution were pivotal to succeed as HP sat out to become the `Leader in Endpoint Security’ among IT and Business Decision Makers from small to medium business, as well as large enterprises. As part of the brand offering, which is targeting both consumers and businesses, HP also created the new HP Wolf Security logo and visual ID for the integrated brand to highlight the security protection.

With HP`s global in-house media team established just over a year ago, we created a high-profile cross-market initiative to re-launch the HP Wolf Security platform. The team executed a fully integrated program following a single consistent communications strategy, deployed across 14 countries. HP's media effort tapped into credible sources and behaviours of the IT and Business Decision Makers audience to position HP as a leader in endpoint security. We executed media across premium big screen video environments, event-based digital OOH executions, audio partnerships, immersive paid social experiences, thought-leadership programs, and account-based-marketing. We leveraged cross-market negotiation power with global digital partners where it made sense and tapped into local paid media outlets to further our credibility and relevance. The combined effort of paid and earned media programs created an active cyber-security dialogue and maximized local impact.

The initiative helped HP Wolf hit FY21 and FY22 brand equity targets and reinforced HP’s status as a leader in cybersecurity solutions (IPSOS 3rd Party Study Results, April-Oct 2021)

For “Leader in Endpoint Security”, HP has gained the most ground increasing 4pts globally and moved up to the #2 spot

During the same time, prominent competitors have lost security equity in critical countries with up to -5pts drop in leadership attribute

Overall, unaided awareness is up +2pts compared to launch period. Those who claim to be aware of Wolf HP Security are more likely to find HP meaningful, and especially different:

`Is a leader in computers` +23 pts (above all primary competitors)

`Is a brand that I hear a lot of good things about` +21pts (on pair with #1 competitor)

`Is an innovative brand` + 15pts (still below #1 competitor but bridging the gap)