In this series, features and series developer Heather Nicholls takes you behind the scenes of some of the most compelling brand activations and events.
In this edition, The Brand Partnership Group, the agency behind HP YOUniverse.
The Brief:
HP YOUniverse was created as a new retail experience for HP UK & Ireland with one clear purpose to celebrate individuals, build brand and product understanding, and establish an ongoing direct relationship with the retail community selling HP. Blue Square, a sales and marketing agency specialising in channel activation, training and live experiences, led the client relationship and wider activation strategy.
The Brand Partnership Group saw it as an opportunity to create something people-first, immersive and hands-on, giving store colleagues a more meaningful way to engage with the brand and its products.
The Execution:
This activation was a collaborative project and an important milestone as it marked the first joint activation across the strengthened Brand Partnership Group.
Blue Square was the lead agency, responsible for overall delivery and impact. They brought together the wider group to shape and deliver the programme. Ryse, a growth strategy agency, advised on the strategic approach.
The Brand Experience team at KRU Live designed and delivered the on site experience and provided the Brand Experts who, combined with the Blue Square field marketing team, brought the activation to life..
Cyphr, a digital experience and product business focused on connecting physical and digital journeys, developed and deployed the HP Crush app as the engagement layer of the experience. Built as a seamless and rewarding gamified platform, it helped users navigate the journey, complete challenges, deepen their connection with the brand, and create the foundations for an ongoing community.
Together, the group combined strategy, technology and human interaction to deliver a seamless and high-impact experience for HP.
The inspiration for the event came from putting retailer store staff at the centre of HP’s retailer engagement strategy.
Ryse’s strategy team interveiwed HP’s field force to better understand people’s passion points and shared interests. This insight fuelled YOUniverse as the central proposition – designed to celebrate individuality, driving genuine interest and interaction with this audience. The agency explained that this activation was not about creating a static showcase, but about building na environment where people could explore, participate and connect with the products in a way that felt very relevant to them.
Once the agency had the conecept of YOUniverse, the ambition was to create experiences at each event that ignited the audience’s core passions that were uncovered through the research. These focused on gaming, creativity, AI and a vision board that would support each and every attendee with their goals, personal or professional, for the year ahead.
The agency then shaped four interactive zones, each designed to tap into these areas, that were further elevated by the introduction of the HP Crush app, an interactive digital companion that navigated the attendees throughout the events with zone quiz challenges and leaderboards that resulted in prizes on the night and extended engagement beyond the events.
Once the agency had established this approach, the focus was on delivering a joined-up brand experience across all four cities powered by people.
The Result:
The event delivered strongly on both engagement and commercial impact. More than 375 frontline colleagues attended across Dublin, London, Birmingham and Manchester, and the response was extremely positive. With a 4.7 out of 5 post-event satisfaction score and measurable year-on-year uplift in key sales areas, it showed how effective experiential learning can be when it is well designed and well executed.
SJ Benham, CEO of Kru Live said: “Partnering with Blue Square to bring HP YOUniverse to life marked a real milestone for Kru Live, as it was the first time we had collaborated on an event together since joining the Brand Partnership Group. Blue Square led the activation overall, shaping the strategy and managing the client relationship, while Kru Live brought the brand experience expertise. With Cyphr powering the digital app element, it was a brilliant example of what the group can achieve together. From Dublin to Manchester, Birmingham and London, our team brought energy, warmth and professionalism to every stop, helping create an experience that genuinely connected with people.”
The agency explained that the biggest challenge was delivering a multi-city activation at scale while maintaining consistency, attendance and momentum at every stop. That was achieved through strong alignment across partners, close collaboration between teams and a clear shared focus on the audience experience from start to finish.
The activation delivered results across both engagement and commercial performance.
It attracted a strong audience, achieved high levels of participation through the HP Crush app and generated very positive satisfaction scores. Just as importantly, stores in attendance saw uplift across premium sales categories, underlining the activation’s value from both an experience and commercial perspective.