Siemens seeks PR mouthpiece for mobile phone campaign

Siemens Mobile Communications is searching for its first UK public

relations agency as it attempts to snatch sales from top three brands

Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson.

Laura Holtham, UK media relations manager for Siemens has shortlisted

Bite, MacLaurin Communications and Countrywide Porter Novelli for the

account. She intends to make a decision before Christmas.

The brand attracted national media attention in March this year

following news that Siemens was paying London taxi drivers to ’chat’ to

passengers about the brand.

The scheme was subsequently banned by the Public Carriage Office, which

rules that taxi drivers cannot act as agents. But the brand gained a

great deal of publicity after the original story appeared, with Siemens

managers being interviewed by journalists in the backs of taxis.

That idea was created by advertising agency FCA!, as part of a campaign

of taxi ads which were being placed. However, Siemens is now keen to

develop more PR activity, this time from a dedicated PR agency.

’We have aggressive sales targets which need support from public

relations as well as advertising,’ said Holtham.

The company, a division of German electronic giant Siemens plc has only

been selling mobile phones in the UK since November last year. It is

currently in the middle of a press advertising campaign promoting its

new S10 phone, the first in the world to feature a colour display.