A powerhouse around the world, Hitachi was a a small player against the established leaders in the U.S. server market when they launched their Blade Symphony product.
It called for an integrated and disruptive campaign, with online marketing, print advertising, and public relations, centered around two groundbreaking microsites, each dedicated to one of the two server flavors.
The “Sell Your CTO” campaign revolves around an engaging Flash website with a vintage medicine-show design sensibility that provides (on your own familiar desk) all the tools you’ll need to sell Hitachi’s cutting edge server to your skeptical boss, including a handy cheat sheet to bring to the meeting.
The “Origami” site embodies Hitachi’s server features in a series of symbolic origami folds (once again strewn about your messy desk) that come to life, and unfold to present key technology features and benefits in ornate Asian poster graphics.
Both campaigns allow users to follow a flitting hummingbird that perches on the Hitachi global corporate site when you link through for more information.
Also developed as part of the campaign was a new identity for the software resident on Hitachi servers. Their Virtage software is immediately recognizable to those in the know as virtualization technology through the visual device of the vanishing point A and V in the logo treatment.
Initially developed for the splashy launch period, the Hitachi Blade Server websites remained online for nearly three years and have helped establish Hitachi’s domestic server business.