HP ran a controlled experiment to measure what marketing added
Two matched groups of 250 enterprise accounts, one receiving ABX journeys built from AI-upcycled content
Marketing under the microscope
Inside HP, a debate was rumbling. Does marketing drive real value, and can you measure it? Sales teams felt the pressure in the pipeline. Finance wanted to see it in the numbers. For marketing, it was time to move from influence to incrementality.
HP had evolved. Perception hadn’t. The company had expanded into meeting room solutions and enterprise services, but most commercial buyers still saw HP as “the laptop company.” Hybrid work had fractured traditional IT buying cycles, and with Windows 10 approaching end-of-support, a rare window opened for high-value upgrade and cross-sell conversations. Before the campaign could prove value in the market, it had to earn confidence inside HP.
A test built to earn trust
A third-party consultant was brought in to co-design the experiment, ensuring statistical balance and methodological rigor. Matched test and control groups were structured with HP sales leaders across industry, account size, buying stage and past engagement. 250 accounts received ABX campaigns. Another 250 received none.
Smarter segments for sharper journeys
HP’s data science team analyzed purchase history and behavioral signals across the 250 test accounts to surface three segments, from lifecycle-driven buyers nearing a device refresh to IT-led teams prioritizing operational efficiency. Each received a customized journey.
Content at scale, powered by AI
Instead of building from scratch, HP’s content library was audited for reuse potential. A model trained on HP’s editorial standards and segmentation insights refreshed 20 assets in under two weeks, some of them two to three years old.
Designing for cohesion during brand evolution
HP’s integration with Poly introduced visual complexity, and legacy assets from both brands varied widely in design. Every asset was aligned to HP’s evolving Visual ID system, across emails, guides, landing pages and ads.
Targeting the full buying committee
HP’s media team identified 25 buyer roles across each of the 250 test accounts, from CIOs and CMOs to finance and ops leaders. Delivery ran across programmatic, paid social and syndication, engineered to drive engagement across the buying committee.
The debate ended
Marketing didn’t just prove its value; it ended the debate. The gains were immediate and measurable, validating marketing’s role in driving sales velocity and customer re-engagement.
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