HP South Africa is leveraging a free Internet for Life offer to create Web-based marketing opportunities for the company and its retail partners via a new HP Internet portal. According to Bruno Persic, retail channel manager at HP South Africa its free Internet connection for life offer had a two-fold purpose.
"We wanted to see SA get more connected and decided to do something about it by providing free Internet access for life," he says.
"At the same time we saw an opportunity to create unique marketing and sales opportunities for ourselves and our trading partners and offer visitors to the HP portal, through which these users will have to go when connecting to the Internet, special offers, competitions and the latest HP news as well as links to other key sites."
The use of the new HP portal will allow the company to segment its market and so be able to target buyers better on behalf of its channel partners. It will also enable the company to effect one-to-one marketing across the Web.
"We are the first IT vendor to come to market with a free Internet offer and it opens up significant e-business opportunities for us and our business partners, who will also be an integral part of the project," says Persic.
The free Internet connection for life offer is open to buyers of any HP hardware product bought at one of its authorised retail stores or from one of its e-commerce Internet partners. The offer could result in more than 10 000 new SA Internet users coming on stream by the New Year.
"This is totally unique in the SA computing sector and a world first for HP. It usually costs about R100 a month to have an Internet account in SA, but this offer, bar an R89 registration fee, is free for life," says Persic.
The HP products - PCs, printers, CD writers, scanners, handheld devices, cameras, pc`s and notebooks are available at retail stores such as Dions, Makro, Game, Incredible Connection and CNA or e-commerce sites such as Mega Shopper, Digital Planet and Kalahari.Net.
"While we`re treating this as a Christmas present for HP shoppers, the offer will run for some time next year. We want to get as many people as we can on board," he adds.
The company and several of the participating retailers are backing the offer with extensive advertising campaigns on TV, radio and print media.
The free Internet service, will run over Telkom`s SAIX backbone, which means that the extra Internet population will be easily accommodated. A help line has been established to aid new users.
There are 100 POPS (points of presence) located throughout the country so that the majority of users will be able to access the Internet for the price of a local phone call.
For further information, please contact the HP Customer Care line on 086000 1030 or visit their website at www.hp.co.za
Share
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to individuals and businesses through simple appliances, useful e-services and an Internet infrastructure that`s always on.
HP has 86,000 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $42.4 billion in its 1999 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.co.za