House Ear Institute joins with Sennheiser for its Sound Tour

This week, local non-profit House Ear Institute (HEI) and corporate sponsor Sennheiser Electronic Corporation are joining forces to promote healthy hearing and sound quality as the Sennheiser Sound Tour arrives in Los Angeles. The campaign pairing will make in-person stops at Hollywood Boulevard and on Venice Beach on Thursday and Saturday of this week, helping to educate the local public about risks associated with hearing loss while introducing them to the superior sound of Sennheiser.

Innovative, highly engaging marketing campaigns are nothing new to HEI and Sennheiser. Starting in 2006, HEI embarked on a highly successful educational initiative on hearing loss prevention for young audio consumers called "It's How You Listen that Counts®," which used social media avenues like Myspace, Facebook, YouTube and Myyearbook to attract nearly 108,000 "friends."

This summer, Sennheiser launched its Sennheiser Sound Tour--a highly creative, guerrilla-marketing campaign designed to increase the German manufacturer's brand awareness among consumers in North America.

Over the next few days, the two companies will be advocating healthy hearing and superior sound quality in and around Los Angeles. The Sennheiser Sound Tour will be making in person appearances with HEI's mascot, EarBud®, at the following locations--there will be educational materials on healthy hearing, Sennheiser headphone demos, photo ops and plenty of promotional giveaways:

July 30th, between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm at Hollywood and Highland. Meet and greet with EarBud® and the Sennheiser Sound Team on Hollywood Boulevard.

August 1st, 1:00 pm. Venice Beach, CA (Muscle Beach). Join EarBud® and the Sennheiser Sound Team for some fun in the sun.

Stefanie Reichert, vice president of strategic marketing, Sennheiser, commented: "We are very pleased to be collaborating on some very innovative marketing initiatives with the HEI team. As a consumer audio manufacturer, healthy hearing among our consumer base is absolutely fundamental to our success. HEI is an innovative organization with very strong values and education initiatives--we are proud to be associated with them as a sponsor and pleased to include them as part of the Sound Tour."

"Our primary message to young people is to encourage healthy hearing and hearing loss prevention," commented Marilee Potthoff, director of marketing, House Ear Institute. "By partnering with Sennheiser, a highly respected consumer brand that resonates with a young demographic audience, we are able to extend the reach of our message to a wider variety of music lovers."

Since 2006, the It's How You Listen That Counts® initiative has educated thousands of teens about preventing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The Institute's 2006 test market campaign for the initiative resulted in a 30% increase in awareness for the importance of preventing NIHL among teens and young adult audiences. To learn more about HEI's initiative and to access educational material, research surveys, giveaways, videos, hearing loss simulators and an interactive quiz, please visit http://www.earbud.org.

Scotty, a member of the Sennheiser Sound Tour Guys Team, is a professional surfer.

Innovative Campaigns in Economically Challenging Times
The Sennheiser Sound Tour utilizes a combination of exciting, unconventional avenues and social media channels to reach today's diverse range of headphone consumers. The campaign speaks to the individuality and confidence of contemporary electronics consumers--a market that includes music enthusiasts, online gamers, multimedia artists and musicians. The Sennheiser Sound Tour consists of a "Girls Team" and a "Guys Team," each of which is comprised of unique individuals with a startlingly broad range of backgrounds. Throughout the duration of the tour, teams are assigned competitive tasks ranging from over-the-top outrageous to spectacularly goofy, with the ultimate goal of placing as many Sennheiser headphones on consumers' ears as possible. The teams interact with fans and consumers via weekly "reality-show" based Webisodes as well as through a broad variety of social media avenues such as Twitter and Facebook.

ABOUT THE HOUSE EAR INSTITUTE
The House Ear Institute (HEI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advancing hearing science through research and education to improve quality of life. HEI scientists investigate the cellular and molecular causes of hearing loss and related auditory disorders as well as neurological processes pertaining to the human auditory system and the brain. Our researchers also explore technology advancements to improve auditory implants, hearing aids, diagnostic techniques and rehabilitation tools. The Institute shares its knowledge with the scientific and medical communities as well as the general public through its education and outreach programs. For more information about HEI please call (800) 388-8612 or visit www.hei.org.

ABOUT SENNHEISER
Sennheiser is a world-leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is now a global brand represented in 60 countries around the world with offices in the U.S. in Old Lyme, Connecticut, Pointe Claire Québec, Canada and a manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sennheiser's pioneering excellence in technology has rewarded the company with numerous awards and accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. www.sennheiserusa.com www.sennheiser.ca