HP unveiled an updated version of its modular Performance Optimized Datacenter (POD), expanding its capacity with a "double-wide" design that joined two 40-foot containers. The new EcoPOD could use outside air to cool up to 44 racks of servers, addressing cost and environmental concerns.
HP needed a way to promote the revolutionary technologies at trade shows, where their customers were specifically looking for solutions.
The bulk of the marketing for this product was done at trade shows, however given the EcoPOD’s huge dimensions and weight, transporting it from city to city and across continents was too expensive and complicated. HP needed a tool with all the information about the product and technologies that was also self-explanatory. The closest experience possible to the real-life one.
We created two personas based on the research around the users. The user problem was relatively similar, however their technical knowledge of the product was vastly different.
The CTO had a clear understanding of the specific needs and costs of their companies, but didn't know anything about the product. They cared about many more specifications than the other user.
The engineering consultant was more familiar with the product, but they recommended the product to different stakeholders, each with unique goals. They needed a tool that could quickly and easily explain the benefits and technologies, that could also dive deep into details when needed.
Their goal was to gather all the necessary info to make a purchasing decision. From tech specifications to cost comparisons and in-depth explanations of the new technologies. All in one place.
Their goal was to have the tools to explain the benefits of the product in a friendly manner, without an overwhelmingly technical interface.
Create a user-friendly solution that was simple enough to work as a self-serve information booth during trade shows and events, but was also capable of delivering highly technical details.
Have a tool that could be used during events, and also as a website to share with potential customers.
Make it light enough that it could be shipped around the country via regular channels.
We created an microsite that included a fully interactive 3D model of the datacenter. The user could rotate it to reveal the different hotspots that in turn displayed relevant content when activated.
The overall visual style was light, using a lot of white, green and blue to give the user a feeling of lightness. Blue skies, white clouds, and a blue surface that conveyed water, etc. The outside renders of the datacenter were also white.
These design decisions served different purposes. The first one was first to show the product as a clean one, addressing sustainability concerns of younger customers. The second one was to show the product operating far away from any other infrastructure, emphasizing its self-contained features.
We created 3D and 2D animations to demonstrate the systems and features of the product within the different hot spots.
The default for the site was "Overview", which was the simplest and more engaging portion. We then created different tabs within the site to display the technical specifications for the users that needed them.
One of the biggest selling points of the product was its reduced carbon footprint, but at the same time it was a heavy, metal-made machine. The object itself was not visually aligned with the trends of sustainable communications from other products and companies. Shooting video would not have delivered the desired message.
This product involved the use of technologies that had not been used before on this kind of product, so there was no benchmark to look to in terms of visualization.
The client already owned the equipment for their trade show booths, so we had to conform to the specifications of it. The devices for this to be running on had touch-screen capabilities.
We conducted interviews to understand our customers, and also interviewed their customers to understand how important some of the new features were. The main features were performance and scalability. Then came sustainability, efficiency and cost. Both users cared about all features, but to different extent.
Given the unique properties of the product and its price point, the niche they were targeting was already very specific. It was mainly CTOs of large industrial companies with the need for quick and easy deployment of additional processing power. Demographic and behavioral segmentation returned a very homogenous mix. The one thing that was different was age, and as such potential customers belonged to different generations.We added psychographic segmentation to identify different beliefs around sustainability and environmental responsibility. While we were creating a single solution, it allowed us to address the motivations of all customers.
While a lot of different companies offered pre-built modular data centers, the HP240a could be fully built-out and tested in as little as 10-weeks, way faster than industry standards.
Adaptive cooling and energy efficiency features using outside air meant the unit could be deployed in a wide variety of environments without major preparations, making it really useful for companies looking to extend the capacity of their existing infrastructure.
We emphasized ease-of-deployment, efficiency and cost-savings.
At first we included technical spec sheets within the hot spots, which made the content too excessive for some of them. Also, not all users were interested in that. Sales reps in particular wanted the flexibility to show/hide them.
We solved this by placing the more technical content inside tabs, so only if they were looking for it they would find it.
Some of the video content was too long, and people in line would walk away after waiting for a certain amount of time without using the experience.
We solved this by including a link to book a demo. The customers would leave their email address and then receive a link to the website version of the experience and access to a sales rep.
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