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Before it spun off its scientific equipment division, Hewlett-Packard asked us to generate demand for its line of protein sequencers (devices that determine the exact sequence of amino acids that constitute a unique protein molecule). Of course, this is a highly technical field-and thus the temptation, if someone were foolish enough to yield to it, would be to promote the product according to its technical specifications.

But interviews with the market reviewed, as they always do, the true emotional needs of the target audience. In this case, it was the hostility that protein chemists had for their tools. Ph.D.s would say, “The tools are so bad that it takes hours of tedious work just to get one reading. I can’t be creative and solve problems because my time is spent doing the work that should be done by the tool.”

We designed a campaign that echoed these scientists’ concerns back to them, heralding all the people who had won Nobel Prizes for protein chemistry: Linus Pauling and a dozen or so others. The message that so deeply resonated with its audience: Breakthroughs come to the people who have the right tool for the job.

The campaign generated leads for many millions of dollars of equipment.

Craig Shields Business, Science and Technology Hewlett-Packard, Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize, protein sequencers