November 13, 2006 - Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX), the worldwide leader in hard disc drives and consumer storage solutions, is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of the Society for New Communications Research 2006 Award of Excellence and the 2006 Award of Merit, both in the business categories. The Society's awards program honors innovative organizations and professionals who are pioneering the use of social media (i.e., blogs, wikis, podcasts, collaborative tools and other forms of participatory communications) in the areas of marketing, public relations and advertising, politics, entertainment, academics, and community and cultural development. The award winners were announced November 1 at the Society's inaugural awards gala at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston, MA.

Securing an Award of Merit, Seagate's "Active Listening" program closely monitors and measures online discussions and posts to help the company gain valuable consumer insight as to how influencers perceive the industry, the company and new consumer storage products and feature sets. Multiple departments within Seagate benefit from the intelligence gathered from online communities. The collective feedback helps shape future communications, campaigns, product introductions and customer care programs.

The goal of the Maxtor Fusion product launch in June 2006, which received an Award of Excellence, was to drive consumer anticipation and to maximize the volume and quality of media coverage and online buzz in advance of the launch. For this campaign, Seagate developed an elaborate series of launch strategies and tactics that leveraged new media tools and properties to seed campaign messaging and product information in advance of the formal announcement.

"Social media and new online communications vehicles are changing the way people get information, connect and collaborate," said Jim Druckrey, senior vice president and general manager of Seagate Technology. "And whether you realize it or not, regardless of what business you're in, your customers are already talking about you. You cannot afford to let those conversations happen without you. For Seagate, embracing new media helps us gain a competitive advantage, ultimately influencing and changing the way our customers perceive our products and brands, while educating them about the importance of protecting their digital lives."

"Seagate's programs exemplify the mission of this awards program: the successful and innovative use of new communications solutions and social media practices to enhance communications and relationships," said Mike Manuel, SNCR Best Practices committee chairman. "The most important thing we can do is engage our customers and audiences, in conversations that relate to their interests and add value to their lives. In the process, these new media-savvy organizations will be seen as truly sincere in their passion to satisfy their customers' needs."

Award nominations were submitted as case studies, and reviewed by a panel of ten judges, including SNCR research fellows, advisors, members of the SNCR Best Practices committee, vendor council members and representatives from the Society's organizational affiliates. Awards of Merit and Awards of Excellence were presented in three categories, including: SNCR Professional Awards, honoring leading new communications thinkers, bloggers, journalists, citizen journalists and professional communicators; SNCR Academic Awards, recognizing leading work/research/studies from students and academic institutions; and the SNCR Business Awards, honoring organizations that are successfully adopting new communications models and leveraging them in innovative ways for business purposes.

The winning case studies are posted on the Society's blog at www.newcommreview.com

Check out Seagate Podcasts
To hear more about Seagate's social media leadership, you can access a recent podcast on the topic led by Jim Druckrey, and a variety of other Seagate podcasts on products, trends, tips and best practices, that are now archived and available online at http://www.podtech.net/seagate.

About the Society for New Communications Research
The Society for New Communications Research is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) global think tank dedicated to the advanced study of new communications tools, technologies and emerging modes of communication, and their effect on traditional media, professional communications, business and society. For more information, visit http://www.sncr.org or call (650) 331-0083.

About Seagate
Seagate is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of hard disc drives, providing products for a wide-range of applications, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Branded Solutions. Seagate's business model leverages technology leadership and world-class manufacturing to deliver industry-leading innovation and quality to its global customers, and to be the low cost producer in all markets in which it participates. The company is committed to providing award-winning products, customer support and reliability to meet the world's growing demand for information storage. Seagate can be found around the globe and at www.seagate.com.

Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Wave logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC. Maxtor and Maxtor Fusion are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC or one of its affiliated companies. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & RESOURCES:

Maxtor Products - www.maxtorsolutions.com
Maxtor Fusion - www.maxtorfusion.com
Seagate Technology - www.seagate.com
Seagate @ IMEEM - http://cg8technology.imeem.com
Society for New Communications Research - www.sncr.org/newsite
SNCR Awards Program announcement - http://sncr.org/?p=40
Blogging and photos from awards event: NewComm Review - http://www.newcommreview.com

RSS FEED(S): http://sncr.org/?feed=rss2

TECHNORATI TAGS: Maxtor Fusion, New Media, Seagate, SNCR, Social Media