Paris, 15 October 2007 -  Hotwire, the international PR consultancy specialising in technology, was been awarded the Top Com d’Or 2007 at this year’s Grands Prix Top Com Consumer 2007, presented at the international training centre, Négotia, in Paris 11 October 2007.

Le Top Com Consumer award annually recognises the best communication strategies in France in the consumer brand space.  This year, Hotwire has been awarded first prize for its campaign, “Honey I’ve lost the kids” designed and implemented for Western Digital.
Western Digital is a market leader in the external storage market.  Already well established amongst OEM partners, the company’s objective was to extend its presence across the consumer market in Europe and, in particular, France.

As part of the selection process, the PR team was called before a jury of communication experts to present and defend its candidature.  Christophe Goudy, Hotwire account director, presented the themes of the campaign around the acronym LOVE:

1.      L “Letting users know” - Around a comprehensive journalist load and testing programme
2.      O “Opening up beyond technology” - Explaining and illustrating the benefits of the products to the consumer; going beyond the technology
3.      V “Visionary” - Describe the environment where such products could become truly indispensable
4.      E “Enthusiasm” - Win the hearts and minds of journalists and potential consumers to make purchase a real priority

“Rejecting the product-based approach traditionally favoured for technology launches, we focused solely on the needs and expectations of potential users of external storage,” said Goudy.  “Retaining images of loved ones – and the potential crisis of losing them – provided the perfect imagery with which to highlight the benefits of Western Digital’s consumer range,” he added.

“Thanks to Hotwire’s daring approach to bypass the product and go straight to the consumer press with ‘needs and issues’, Western Digital has secured number one position in the French external storage market just 18 months after launching there.  Mission accomplished!” said Daniel Mauerhofer, EMEA Public Relations Manager, Western Digital.
This is Hotwire’s third TopCom award including, in 2005, the TopCom de Bronze Consumer for its programme for GPS navigation vendor, Mio Technology.

About Hotwire
Hotwire is an international public relations consultancy established to provide innovative business and consumer PR services for the technology industry. 
Hotwire has six specialist practice areas: applications & services, banking & finance, consumer, digital media, enterprise & electronics and telecommunications. The company has offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid and Milan. 
Since its foundation, Hotwire has won a number of prestigious awards across Europe.  The awards recognise the campaigns Hotwire implements for its clients as the most creative in our industry and include Best Pan-European Programme at the 2007 Sabre Awards, Best Technology Campaign at the 2007 PRWeek Awards, Best PR Campaign in France at the 2007 Sabre Awards and the 2007 Top Com Trophée for PR, Consumer Category. 
Hotwire has also been recognised as a great company and fantastic place to work winning the International Consultancy of The Year at the PRWeek Awards 2007 and being named the Best Consultancy to Work For in the 2007 Holmes Report.