Case studies
Client: Siemens Home & Office Communication Devices France SAS
Campaign: Introducing the Gigaset brand to consumer journalists
Siemens Home & Office Communication Devices France distributes Gigaset products across France in three categories: Home Telephony (DECT, Wi-Fi, VoIP), Home Media (TNT adaptors) and Home Networking (Powerline adaptors). The company became a 100% owned subsidiary of Siemens in October 2005, and asked Weber Shandwick to help it raise media awareness of the Gigaset brand.
To put the company in front of as many journalists as possible from the consumer, electronics, distribution and trade media, Weber Shandwick organised a product open day at the chic Plaza Athénée Hôtel on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. The team planned the event with IT specialists, including installing a TNT antenna, a direct ADSL link, and plasma screens. Journalists played with the products, talked to product managers about the technology, and interviewed Siemens Home & Office Communication Devices France's CEO and sales manager.
The event was attended by 45 journalists, and triggered a steady stream of coverage of Siemens and Gigaset in leading French publications. The products appeared everywhere from TV listings to consumer electronics magazines and high-end home and lifestyle magazines.
