Coverage 2006
Publication: Mad.co.ukDate: 4 December, 2006
In an article entitled, 'Blogging: It's a trust issue', Brendon Craigie commented: "Terms like 'user generated content' and 'blogosphere' have invariably confounded, scared and excited those of us in the marketing and communications industry. An unchecked, seemingly uncontrollable phenomenon has arisen and the communications industry as a whole has not been quite sure how to deal with it.
Perhaps the best way for companies to view the blogging world is for it to be perceived as an early warning system. After all, companies spend tens of thousands of pounds every single day to gain feedback on their products or services, and here you have a community of 115 million (and growing) consumers feeding back their likes, dislikes and commenting on every little nuance of your products and services. Blogs cannot be wiped out, and though they can be ignored, to do so could be perilous. This study shows that the conversation will continue - and grow - with or without the 'deliberate' participation of the brands." For a full copy of the story, please click here.
Publication: PR Week
Date: 24 November, 2006
Once again PR Week has picked up on the steady stream of new business coming into Hotwire. In this week’s issue, PR Week covers the fact that email archiving specialist Waterford Technologies has appointed Hotwire as its UK PR agency.
“There is no clear leader in this market in the UK at the moment, and we see this as an opportunity for us to grab that role,” said Waterford vice-president Europe, Malcolm Etchells, confirming Hotwire's appointment.
The client will be managed by Hotwire’s applications & services practice, which is led by Alex MacLaverty.
Publication: Marketing Week
Date: 23 November 2006
Following the success of the Hotwire-Ipsos MORI Blogging survey UK regional director, Brendon Craigie drafted an article for Marketing Week entitled ‘Brits don’t buy the brand blog’ in which he discussed the increasing prevalence and use of blogs, along with the varying levels of awareness in different parts of Europe. With a 91% awareness among internet users, France as revealed as the most ‘blog savvy’ nation in Europe compared with 61% awareness across Europe as a whole.
In the article Brendon warned against a blind rush to target bloggers. Although people trust blogs almost as much as newspapers, he stressed the need for a thorough, well researched and planned approach to any campaign targeted at the ‘blogosphere'. For a full copy of the story, please click here.
Publication: Financial Marketing
Date: 15 November 2006
Scott McLean, head of Hotwire's banking & finance practice in the UK, has been concerned by the number of companies who neglect to plan for crises, and which have suffered the consequences. Examples, particularly in the banking and finance worlds, range from lawsuits over spilt tomato sauce to leaked explicit emails which have travelled the world.
As a result, he is passionate about helping companies avoid the pitfalls that come from lack of preparedness. He penned his thoughts recently for Financial Marketing magazine - you can read them here.
Publication: iBusiness
Date: 10 November 2006
Study: Blogs influence people’s intention to purchase a product
Nearly every third German online user refused to buy a product after reading negative comments about it in blogs. A study states that blogs and user generated content influence people’s intention to purchase a product. Also Web 2.0 is changing newspaper position as trustworthy source of information. The study by Ipsos and Hotwire clearly shows that Web 2.0 is influencing people’s intention to purchase a product.
31 percent of European internet users trust other onliners and price compare sites like Kelkoo and Dooyoo. A quarter of Europeans consider blogs a trusted source of information, still behind newspaper articles, but ahead of television advertising. 56 percent would buy a product if they find positive comments about it online.
"The influence of blogs and user generated content on purchase decisions is obvious", says Hotwire. "The trust in user generated content is very high and attacks newspapers as trustworthy sources of information."
Publication: Reuters
Date: 10 November 2006
Blogs becoming force in advertising. International news agency Reuters covered Hotwire / Ipsos MORI’s recent report on the impact of blogging, highlighting the high level of trust UK internet users place in citizen journalism. The article points out that more people trust comments on blogs than advertising or direct emails.
"Blogs are becoming a force to be reckoned with as a means of advertising products,
according to a survey. Blogs, or weblogs, are a more trusted source of information (24
percent) than television advertising (17 percent) and email marketing (14 percent), the
survey commissioned by Hotwire, a technology public relations consultancy said"
Reuters also picked up on other key findings from the report, including that the UK is lagging the rest of Europe when it comes to blog-awareness; and that blogs have a direct impact – both positive and negative – on consumer purchase behaviour. For a full copy of the story, please click here.
Publication: PR Week
Date: 10 November
UK less blog savvy than the continent
Britons are lagging behind their European cousins when it comes to awareness of blogging, with only one in two adults having heard of the concept, research by Ipsos MORI has found.
This compares with 90 per cent awareness in France and an average of 60 per cent across the rest of the Continent. The research – commissioned by tech agency Hotwire – found people are increasingly trusting of blogs: 30 per cent of those polled considered newspapers to be their most trusted media, but 24 per cent favoured blogs.
This is ahead of television (17 per cent) and email marketing (14 percent). Fifty-two per cent of the 2,214 adults polled across the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain said they were more likely to purchase a product if they had read positive reviews from other consumers online.
Furthermore, 34 per cent of respondents said they had actually opted against buying a product on the back of reading unfavourable reviews on blogs.
Publication: PR Week
Date: 8 November 2006
"Britons are lagging behind their European cousins when it comes to awareness of blogging with only one in two adults having heard of the concept research by Ipsos MORI has found. The research - commissioned by tech agency Hotwire - found people are increasingly trusting blogs: 30 per cent of those polled considered newspapers to be their most trusted media but 24 percent favoured blogs." For a full copy of the story, please click here.
Publication: The Holmes Report
Date: November 2006
Hotwire has been declared ‘Best Consultancy to work for’ by the prestigious Holmes Report.
Last year's ‘European Technology Consultancy of the Year’ has not been resting on its laurels. Revenues were up 64 per cent in 2005 and are growing at a 40% rate in the first half of 2006.
Hotwire client Justin Vaughn-Brown, director of marketing for Workshare comments, "Hotwire possess a rare range of qualities that make them a joy to work with. The firm is proactive, dedicated, insightful, down to earth and unafraid to challenge our accepted wisdom when developing plans. What's equally impressive is the way in which the quality of the team and its approach is consistently high across all three key European offices."
Publication: PR Week
Date: 2 October 2006
Hotwire has been appointed by pop-guru Mike Stock to help launch his new talent-spotting website ishouldbesolucky.com. Stock hopes to sign six acts through the site in the next six months. “The future of the music industry is definitely online, with downloads now of central importance, and sites like MySpace giving people a platform,” said Paul Naphtali, head of consumer at Hotwire.
Publication: PR Week
Date: 22 September, 2006
PR Week’s David Murphy spoke to PR experts across the UK to get their views on press events, and whether they were worth the expense. Hotwire’s head of consumer, Paul Naphtali, was one of the people he spoke to.
For technical products in particular, the press trip has become more important, says Paul Naphtali, head of consumer at technology PR firm Hotwire. “If journalists don’t understand the product, consumers won’t either,” he says.
“Sitting journalists in a room with a PowerPoint presentation might look like a cost effective way of briefing them, but if it doesn’t get the message across it’s a waste of time.”
Publication: PR Week
Date : 22 September 2006
Campaign: Data analyst adds Cup gloss to stat creation. “Following a nine-month B2B comms campaign this summer, Global intelligence software company Information Builders asked European retained agency Hotwire to raise UK brand awareness beyond trade media and boost sales of its product in Britain.
During the World Cup, hits to the Information Builders website rose from an average of 80 to 2,000 a day. The ontheball section of Information Builders' website was ranked fourth in MSN's top 30 alternative world cup websites.
The company is unable to reveal how many sales came from the campaign, but marketing manager Dave Armstrong says: ‘Hotwire tapped into our desire to raise our profile by doing something different, yet still keeping a tangible link to our core business.'
Nuts sport editor Gershon Portnoi says: ‘The great thing was accessing the latest World Cup information on the website in a spreadsheet format.'”
For a full copy of the story, please click here. PR Week has a circulation of 16,326.
Publication: PR Week
Date : 22 September 2006
Hotwire to aid pop producer in online talent hunt
“Mike Stock - who found fame and fortune as part of legendary 80s pop-producing trio Stock, Aitken & Waterman - is using Hotwire PR to promote his new online venture.
ishouldbesolucky.com, billed as a cross between X-Factor and MySpace, launched this week. It provides free web space for pop-star wannabes to post their music, videos, photos and blogs.
Stock and his team of talent spotters will then trawl the site for potential recording artists, and the best unsigned acts will win recording sessions and record contracts.
Stock says he expects to sign at least five new artists within the first six months. ‘The future of the music industry is definitely online, with downloads now of central importance, and sites like MySpace giving people a platform,' said Paul Naphtali, head of consumer at the agency.”
For a full copy of the story, please click here. PR Week has a circulation of 16,326.
Publication: PR Week
Date: 22 September 2006
Hotwire secures brief for Axios IT
“Axios Systems, a Scottish developer of software for IT helpdesks, has taken on Hotwire PR to run an international campaign. Hotwire takes over from Edinburgh-based Scot PR, which had run the account for five years.
‘I believe the change was prompted by a desire to work with a company that had a network of offices and associates around the world,' said Scot PR director Scott Thornton.
London-based Hotwire has been retained to co-ordinate a multi-country media relations campaign. It will also implement a UK campaign targeting the business and technology industries.”
For a full copy of the story, please click here. PR Week has a circulation of 16,326
Publication: PR Week
Date: 7 September 2006
Hotwire gets a full house
Hotwire PR has landed a pan-European account to launch PokerWize, claimed to be the world's first 3D virtual reality online poker game. Hotwire won the brief after a competitive pitch. The agency will aim to reach young males via mainstream and poker media.
The campaign will promote a free interactive tutorial from Soccer AM's Helen Chamberlain, a keen poker player.
PR Week has a circulation of 16,326
Publication: PR Week
Date: 11 August 2006
Hotwire has appointed former Band & Brown Communications senior account director Katy Ludditt to head its telecommunications practice.
Ludditt leaves B&B after two and a half years to join Hotwire as head of telecoms for the UK. She is part of the agency's 13-strong telecoms team and is working under Hotwire's regional UK director Brendan Craigie.
Ludditt's clients include Logica CMG, telecoms company Thus and Research in Motion.
‘I will also be looking after new business and will be on the lookout for new developments,' said Ludditt. Hotwire has around 45 staff in its London office, with another 40 in offices across the Continent. Ludditt worked in B&B's tech division, reporting to deputy MD David Vindel. Prior to B&B she worked at AxiCom and Catalysis. For a full copy of the story, please click here.
Publication: PR Week
Date: 3 August 2006
Hotwire PR head of consumer Paul Naphtali believes clients should be spending their time and money producing quality content for existing channels rather than trying to be web broadcasters.
Hotwire regularly provides spokespeople for TelecomsTV, which has been around since 2001 and has built up credibility within the telecommunications industry. Its partners include business television channel CNBC, and Hotwire's telecoms team now considers TelecomsTV one of its top ten media targets. ‘Clients must make maximum use of the content they already have and PROs should be discovering what the many specialist broadband channels need and want,' says Naphtali.
‘Having third-party endorsement is better than having your own channel, which may come across as too much of an advertorial.' He adds that PR people must view broadband television as a specialist communication channel in the same way they might consider industry and community blogs as bespoke outlets. ‘This is a whole new market for PROs and one which does require special attention,' he says.
Publication: B2B Marketing
Date: 24 July 2006
Hotwire's UK regional director Brendon Craigie is quoted in an article on Best Practice PR.
Bill Gates reportedly said "if I had one buck left in the world I would spend it on PR." The article examines this statement and ask Brendon about the mix of having inhouse and outhouse teams, "In an ideal world companies should strike a balance between the two. An inhouse team will play a key part in helping to extract business priorities, helping to make sure a campaign is aligned to business objectives. However, the advantage of outsourcing is the ability to tap into a broad range of skill-sets."
Publication: PR Week
Date: 8 June 2006
"Hotwire is the 5th Biggest Technology PR Agency in the UK". After a phenomenal year of over 61% growth, Hotwire has been profiled in PR Week's Top Technology Agency league table. In last year's league table Hotwire was number 7 and the agency is fast on its way to reaching the pinnacle of the technology PR world.
Hotwire PR's UK regional director Brendon Craigie is profiled and explains -- "Clients find our approach to accountability and measurement compelling - we don’t charge if we don’t achieve", Craigie says. He also puts growth down to superior industry knowledge. "The generation of technology entrepreneurs who got burnt by the dotcom boom are now looking for more from a tech agency in terms of quality and the knowledge of staff", he explains.
Craigie is also referenced in the main article on the technology industry, pointing out that "Consumer-generated content will be a massive driver this year".
PR Week has a circulation of 16,326.
Publication: Marketing
Date: 24 May 2006
"Hotwire is the 31st Biggest PR Agency in the UK"
Marketing magazine, the UK's biggest marketing title, today announced that Hotwire is the 31st largest PR agency in the UK - Hotwire's best ever showing. Hotwire is again highlighted as one of the UK's fastest growing agencies and featured also as the third fastest growing PR agencies in the UK.
Marketing has a circulation of over 50,000.
Publication: PR Week
Date: 20 April 2006
Webaroo search engine picks Hotwire for Euro drive! "Webaroo, billed as the world's first search engine that can be used without an internet connection, has enlisted Hotwire PR to attract European customers". The article explains that Hotwire will emphasise the ease of Webaroo's application.
UK regional director Brendon Craigie is interviewed regarding the challenges facing this new client, "The media have been oversold and overhyped on consumer internet services, and there is a lot of scepticism out there."
Webaroo's website address www.webaroo.com and its free download are highlighted by PR Week.
PR Week is the UK's biggest-selling PR publication with a circulation of 16, 854.
Publication: Marketing Week
Date: 22 March 2006
Hotwire's very own Narelle Morrison, director at our UK Telecoms practice, was used as a talking head in a piece looking at the mobile content market.
Narelle is asked to access the results of a survey carried out by NOP which looking an increase in users wanting Video downloads and other multimedia content on their mobile phones for this world Cup. The research suggested that 52% of users in the 15 - 34 year old bracket want updates via their phone, with 31% keen to receive video footage via their mobile.
Narelle analysed the results in Marketing Week's Trends section:
"This year will see many developments in mobile data services, but there is still testing to be done. Operators must determine what services consumer will adopt and what they will be willing to pay for."
"The NOP survey shows that consumers want mobile World Cup updates but only "at the right price." The cost of mobile data services continues to be a stumbling block to uptake alongside handset compatibility, however the industry is resolving these issues and consumers are experimenting more.
Just as text based SMS exploded, mobile content and services that offer consumer instant gratification - sports events updates, TV, News and entertainment - will take off rapidly this year.
The proliferation of community sites is also tempting consumers to be increasingly proactive in using their mobiles, for instance to take and share photos and video clips.
For marketers, there is a significant opportunity to take brands 'mobile.' However just as text based e-mail marketing took several years to mature before Interactive net based marketing appeared, we can expect SMS to remain king of mobile marketing before brands and their marketers fully embrace the cooler side of mobile data services."
Marketing Week has a circulation of 39,000 copies in the business community.
Publication : City AM
Date : 8 March 2006
The magazine interviewed Brendon for this "job of the week" profile feature, which looks at what it's like to be, "catapulted to the top of one of Europe's leading business and consumer PR agencies." The piece explains that it is Brendon's single-mindedness and enthusiasm which has helped Brendon to reach, "the most senior British post in the pan-European agency."
The magazine interviewed Brendon for this "job of the week" profile feature, which looks at what it's like to be, "catapulted to the top of one of Europe's leading business and consumer PR agencies." The piece explains that it is Brendon's single-mindedness and enthusiasm which has helped Brendon to reach, "the most senior British post in the pan-European agency."
The article goes on to talk about Brendon's roots, working on Microsoft at Weber Shandwick, and the work he has carried out for Plumtree, BlackBerry, ClarityBlue and Thales. Brendon is quoted as saying: "Being within a dynamic, fast-growing environment creates a lot of opportunity for people like me."
"The culture I try to encourage is to treat each other like adults, and make sure people are always stretched slightly out of their comfort zones. I also think like a lot of the team at Hotwire, I am fiercely competitive and always want us to be the very best at everything we do."
The article finishes with Brendon giving the example of the BlackBerry 53 minute shopping spree as a way Hotwire has used serious research to show how our clients products can enhance your life. "We have a serious productivity message, but there's a softer, lifestyle side. The challenge is to move beyond the young men and 'early-adopters' and engage with the mainstream."
City AM has a circulation of 70,000 copies in the heart of London's business community.
Publication: City AM
Date: 13 February 2006
The article focuses on Hotwire's appointment of Brendon Craigie as UK regional director, alongside the likes of Merrill Lynch and the Bank of Ireland. "He will be responsible for a staff of 38 members and revenues of £3.2m (2005)" explains the journalist. "Craigie joined Hotwire in 2001 as its seventh employee. He has been responsible for the development of two of Hotwire's fastest growing practice areas in telecommunications and applications and services, as well as overseeing the company's launch into the banking and finance sectors. In these roles, Craigie has worked for a number of clients including Alcatel, THUS, Plumtree Software, MYOB, Thales and Research In Motion."
City AM has a circulation of 70,000 copies in the heart of London's business community.
Publication: PR Week
Date: 2 February 2006
The article focuses on Hotwire's management of the Direct Marketing Association's consumer campaign which aims to improve the reputation of the direct marketing industry in the UK.
Coverage archive
