That’s a wrap.

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

For our final media visits, we had the pleasure of leaning a little bit about the PR firm Ketchum Pleon and the national newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung. At Ketchum, we learned that today was the 90th anniversary of the company. We were given a presentation about the company itself and then a little a few tips about how to create a successful PR campaign with regard to the German media. Although they specified that these were tips form German media, I found them to be universally useful. My favorite tip was to localize the story every time. PR is a business of trust and relationships. They mentioned that Germans are not quick to trust and I believe Americans are similar. If they are recommended to try or believe something on a smaller scale, more close to home as it were, they will be more likely to trust. Relating stories to that warm emotion of home and familiarity is a good segue into the trust necessary for PR to be effective.

After that presentation, we were able to talk to a social media expert at the company who was a master of the trade. I am taking on a social media internship this summer for a magazine back home so I will be able to put his insights to practical use in the future. The most pertinent piece of information I took from his presentation is that for a social media campaign to be successful, you must develop a separate strategy for each channel you are utilizing.

We then had the opportunity of going to Suddeutsche Zeitung, a prominent German newspaper to hear from a couple of people about what they do as well as watch the presses run. The people at Suddeutsche Zeitung were amazing and had very interesting insights and perspecives on the newspaper business and media in general. We got to hear from the editor of the online arm of the paper who showed us a cool analytics program for how they monitor users and engagement with the paper. We also heard from the advertising manager for the paper who showed us some extremely innovative ads he helped to develop and produce. He even let me keep one as a souvenir.

Today was a good last day. I’m sad to be saying goodbye to Germany but all that I’ve learned will be with me forever. It was an amazing experience that I truly enjoyed being a part of.

Always,

Michelle

Filed Under: Blogs, Michelle Graessle ·

Day 11: Last day in Munich

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Day 11

Today is the last full day in Munich. We have a full day planned. First in order is Ketchum Pleon. Again it was one of those days in Munich except this time, it was a continual rain.

We took public transportation to get to Ketchum Pleon. Ketchum Pleon is an Ad and PR company that originally started in Pittsburgh and ironically it is the company’s 90th birthday. It was impressive how the company plans its packages for a company’s campaign. The presentation provided tips on how to cater and support a product for a company. One of the major things that I have picked up on German media is how organized and thought out every step is in any project. It is seriously impressive to be that well organized and it really shows in the final product.

After Ketchum Pleon, we raced back to the hotel for a quick lunch. I had been using my crutches and switched to the wheelchair, since I was told it was going to be a lot of standing and walking for the second media tour.

The second media trip was to Süddeutsche Zeitung. Süddeutsche Zeitung is one of the most successful newspapers in Germany. This company was especially impressive because of how much thought and innovation the company put into keeping the readership and advertising in print.

For advertising, Süddeutsche Zeitung really pushed the limits by creating scented, perforated, flexible or UV coated ads. It was amazing each time Mr. Stengl brought out a different ad. It was something that you simple don’t see in the US.  Mr. Stengl also gave up a tour of the printing press, it is one of the best printing presses in the Germany. It was interesting seeing the different steps needed in order to create a paper. According Mr. Stengl each paper gets at least updated four times before the final copy. It certainly takes a lot of work to create a newspaper.

A mini version of Munich

A mini version of Munich

Süddeutsche Zeitung media trip was followed by the goodbye dinner at Munich Ratskeller. It is Johnie’s birthday and we surprised her with a card and cake. We also thanked Arnoud and Helen. The food was fabulous.

It is sad that the trip has finally run its course. Much has happened on this trip. For one thing, I never imagined I would spend my first time in Europe in a hospital and using crutches or a wheelchair. This trip has taught me more than just the media outlets in Germany, but has taught me in life as well. Sure it wasn’t ideal to be traveling via crutches or explore Berlin and Munich with them. The point I learned was to enjoy what you have and to appreciate the things you can do. Now this doesn’t always mean you get to do what you want to do, but you live and you learn.

Tomorrow is the flight home!

Carson

Filed Under: Blogs, Carson Allwes ·

DAY 10 – BMW

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
A tiny car in the BMW museum

A tiny car in the BMW museum

DAY 11 – BMW

The BMW excursion was a nice introduction into the marketing and advertising part of our trip. Even though I don’t know much about cars, let alone marketing, I was able to understand the overview of the company, strategies and new products because of how simply and concisely they were presented.

One of the first things they did was explain BMW’s target audiences across the world. I thought it was interesting that its marketing strategy for the spread out cities in the United States is different from that of the crowded cities in Europe. I never realized how many different factors, such as gas prices and even the electrical stability of a country, which a company would have to take in when trying to sell such a complex product in completely different environments.

I also thought that BMW presented its new “innovative” products in a very confident, yet humble manner. The attitude contrasted with that of Die Welt’s where they repeatedly boasted all of the newspapers accomplishments. With BMW, we were presented with the impact the innovation would have on consumers and how it would benefit society and the environment as a whole.

Speaking of benefits for the environment, it amazes me so much how much more “green” Germany is than the United States. On our train rides, I always see neighborhoods with each house having solar panels on the roofs. The folks at BMW also mentioned that Angela Merkel wanted to have more electrical cars in the near future, which brings up my next interesting highlight.

Marketing involves politics. I always knew that, but I never had a class on marketing so it was never made completely obvious. I thought it was so interesting how BMW talks with the government about the economics of transportation. It makes me feel like BMW is not just a monster company all for itself, but it also cares about society.

I saw a similarity between BMW and Süddeutsche Zeitung that they both make sacrifices to be the best of the best. BMW sells because it offers “premium” quality and the newspaper survives off of top-notch quality content. These are aspects to which consumers can become loyal.

To end the day the museum was an eye-opener and a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing all of the super old cars and learning about their history. I’m sure my dad, who is a car buff, will really enjoy the pics!

Filed Under: Blogs, Marina Weis · Tagged: , , , ,

Day 10 BMW

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Day 10

The weather in Germany is interesting. One moment it is clear blue skies and the next thing you know you under dark rain clouds being pommeled with cold rain. That’s how the day started on the way to BMW for the media trip.

Looking outside the window, the skies were bright blue, the sun shining and the temperature nice and warm. I had walked the past two days and figured I should take the wheelchair, since today was all walking. The weather, judging by the appearance, looked like it was going to stay nice – wrong.

While on the journey to BMW, we took the underground system, which isn’t handicap accessible for getting off and on the trains. Alexa was helping me maneuver through the people and Arnoud was lifting the chair and me off and on the train. Alexa had handed me her purse for safekeeping. The unthinkable happened next, while Arnoud was getting me on the train, her purse fell off the train and on to the tracks! (I feel terrible). The doors closed (with all of us on board) and Alexa’s bag still on the tracks as we speeded away. We all got off at the next stop and Alexa and Arnoud doubled back to get her purse.

From what we were told, when we regrouped, Arnoud jumped on to the tracks and rescued Alexa’s purse! Talk about being a modern day hero.  All of this happened under ten or so minutes.

We continued to BMW. Wow. BMW is an amazing company, and extremely involved in the next up coming thing. The media and advertising strategies they use are very well planned and thought through. At BMW, they showed us their plan for their new lines of vehicles: BMWi. These are cars are electric based and for city people to provide better mobility around the city.

BMW building

BMW building

After the meeting we went to the museum. Now I did not realize this at the time, but BMW owns the Mini series (Mini Coopers), which happens to be my all time favorite car in the entire world. So during the tour, we saw BMW’s top cars, Rolls Royce, and Mini Coopers. The tour also included a historical portion on the company.

Then at the end of the tour, we looked out the window. Pitch black clouds, strong gusts of winds, lighting flashing in the sky and torrential down pour, and since I thought it was going to be nice – no raincoat or umbrella for Carson. In fact, I wasn’t the only one who thought the weather was going to be nice, and a couple of us didn’t even have a coat.

It’s safe to say most of us got wet on the way back to the metro stop. After we got back to the hotel, we had free time. Some of went shopping; I decided to relax as we are planning on going to the Hopfbräuhaus for dinner.

Tomorrow the last full day in Munich!

Carson

Filed Under: Blogs, Carson Allwes ·

Alexa’s Blog – Day 11

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/22/13.

Sadly, today is our last day in Munich. We depart bright and early tomorrow morning for the airport to go back to Pittsburgh.

But, just because it was our last day doesn’t mean it wasn’t busy. We started off by heading to Ketchum Pleon, an ad agency, for the morning and listening to an overview on Ketchum and their work. I had never been to an advertising agency before so I wasn’t really sure how one would operate, though I had an idea of what it was like. It must be so empowering to have a huge number of talented, created minds housed together under one company like that. They had some very funny content that I could appreciate as well as a lot of work that was extremely compelling.

After visiting Ketchum, we came back to the hotel for a bit to grab lunch and a quick nap before boarding the train yet again to visit Suddeutsche Zeitung, a southern German newspaper. I feel like we spend most of our time on public transportation!

Suddeutsche Zeitung already had expectations to live up to after we heard how much they compete with Axel Springer for awards and honors. They talked to us about their history as well as the transition from print to online. The showed us some of their ads, which were so interesting and creative. There was one tactic they used called multi-sensory ads in which some elements of the ad are UV coated or have a certain texture that feels like something else. For instance, the multi-sensory ad they showed us was form BMW and showed the front of the car and the road ahead from the driver’s perspective. The dashboard of the car and the driver’s coat all had textures reminiscent of the real deal.

The ads they showed us we so engaging and expensive, but that’s how they make their money, other than subscriptions. After showing some other examples of creative advertising, we walked across the street (it was freezing today!) and took a tour of their printing presses. I had never seen anything like that before! Everything is so intricate and complex. How do things not crash and burn here? The process is so streamlined and monitored. I was impressed and mind-boggled by the process that it takes to produce all of these papers for one day. They said that these presses produce 35,000 papers per hour, but they have to keep up with the ridiculous circulation. I couldn’t believe how massive and amazing this place was.

We arrived ravenous for dinner at the Ratskeller in Marienplatz after our very packed day. We devoured our food, sang happy birthday to Johnie, and presented cards to Helen and Arnoud for all of their hard work for us. Now, it is time to pack and get ready for our long journey home tomorrow. Auf Weidersehen, Muchen!

Filed Under: Alexa Blanchard, Blogs · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Alexa’s Blog – Day 10

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/21/13.

The day was exciting before it truly began. I went to breakfast early so I could get a quicker start to my day, as I finally had the chance to change my US dollars to euros. We were going to BMW that day and I knew that the only time I could shop for souvenirs would be in the afternoon after we got back. I was very frustrated with the exchange rate, which I knew would be tough. But, I was sickened to learn that my $300 only came out to 200 euros. I will never come to Europe with American cash again.

On our way to BMW, I pushed Carson to the train station in her wheelchair. I gave her my purse to hold because I did not want someone to steal it off of me while I was distracted and using both of my hands to push her. This seemed like a smart idea at the time.

Then it happened. As the train arrived at the station, Arnoud took the reins and pushed Carson’s wheelchair into the train car. But, her wheel got stuck in the gap between the train and the platform and my bag flew out of her lap and down into the abyss. We all looked down in horror to see my poor bag, out of my own hands for safety reasons, nestled on the grown next to the tracks. The door began to close but we managed to pry them open and I jumped inside.

I forced myself to be calm. No need to freak out yet. We took the train up one stop and the rest of the group stayed put while Arnoud and I went back to the previous stop to see if we could save my bag. On the train, we agreed that I would locate where my bag had fallen and he would go look for an attendant to see if we could get an apparatus to retrieve it.

However, as soon as I found my unharmed bag, Arnoud had a different idea. He checked both ways for oncoming trains and dove down onto the tracks, snatched the bag up, and climbed back onto the platform. The other train stationers and I stared in amazement. Arnoud seems to have a particular set of skills. Skills that make him a nightmare for accidents like this.

We got on the next train to head to the next stop where the rest of our group was patiently waiting. Arnoud signaled for them to join us and I relayed the story of how our guide had just gone rogue and nearly sacrificed himself. He explained that it would have taken too long to find an attendant. Despite this adventure, we still managed to make it to BMW on time.

After we arrived at Bavarian Motor Works, we listened to a lecture on their innovative tactics with social media, apps, and their new electric car models. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I thought that it would boring and irrelevant to me since I’m a girl. I don’t know a thing about cars, but I was happily surprised to find everything we talked about to be quite interesting. I loved the variety of apps that they had for finding parking in various cities, finding transportation, booking parking places, etc. It’s so different and effective. It makes me wonder if any American car companies are on their way to be as groundbreaking as BMW.

After enjoying a great (free) lunch we moved on to take a tour of BMW and admire all of the beautiful cars and the rich history starting with manufacturing airplane parts, and eventually motorcycles and automobiles. They even had a model of the electric car concept that they were working on. Unfortunately, it was one of those days where it would rain at the most inconvenient times, i.e. every time we went outside.

We arrived back at our hotel in the afternoon. The train ride back from BMW was much less adrenalized than the morning commute.

I took advantage of my free time and walked down to Marienplatz to do some shopping for my family, and then a group of us took a trip to the Hofbrauhaus in honor of Johnie’s birthday. We drank liters of beer and had a jolly time eating pretzels and staring at strangers. At the Hofbrauhaus, I ended up running into a friend of mine from Pitt who is studying in Munich for a few weeks. Small world!

We came back to the hotel and planned to up to go out somewhere, but I sat on my bed in the room and just crashed. There was no way I was moving. I’m a little annoyed at myself for not going out during our last truly free night in Munich, but I knew my fresh body and mind would thank me in the morning.

Filed Under: Alexa Blanchard, Blogs · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Auf Wiedersehen, Germany!

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
IMG_2093

Suddeutsche Zeitung’s printing presses begin production at 6:00 p.m. and run through the night.
(photo by Alexa Blanchard)

Our final day in Munich could not have been better or more fulfilling. While it’s always difficult to get to this point in the trip, the tug of not wanting to leave yet is tempered by our appreciation for the wonderful insight we have gained into the German media and culture. And yes, we do have to go home sometime.

Thanks once again to the wonderful (and greatly missed on this trip!) Bob O’Gara, we had a great morning visit to Ketchum Pleon. The health care team members took us through their media strategy and digital media work for their clients. Their work confirmed what we learned before we traveled and what has been reinforced here again and again: Germans are readers and they love to write. So a great deal of work is through traditional media, although Facebook is the popular social medium. But their emphasis is that their media placements wouldn’t work at all without being able to tell a story. I emphasize this to students as the begin to learn to write as professional journalists and communicators, and many advertising and PR students always pooh-pooh the need to understand the format. I wish I had recorded them for future classes to hear.

I’ll let the student writing the story tell more about this, but we saw a hilarious animated video to sell a Procter and Gamble anti-flatulence OTC product. It defies description. You have to see it.

The students heard, once again, that Twitter is not catching on here. I also keep hearing that it’s on the wane in many places as more and more channels are created. Fast and furious changes, that’s for sure.

Alexa Blanchard and Johnie Freiwald check out a special advertisement in the pages of Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung. (Helen Fallon photograph)

Alexa Blanchard and Johnie Freiwald check out a special advertisement in the pages of Munich’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung. (Helen Fallon photograph)

We spent the afternoon at Suddeutsche Zeitung, the newspaper and publishing company that stands as the No. 1 circulation broadsheet national paper and a huge printing company. It was the first paper to gain a license from the U.S. military to start printing in Bavaria on Oct. 6, 1945, and we were fortunate to receive a copy of that first paper and tomorrow’s edition at the end of our visit and printing plant tour.

We heard from a number of people of the various initiatives — printing and online — and how the paper has moved forward from some pretty dire financial circumstances in 2002 that nearly led it to file for bankruptcy. But its huge printing facility and specialized approach to serving a higher-income and educated Germany public has led it to a great niche and a solid status even in the face of declining print sales.

Two major thing: The newspaper has many innovative and creative approaches to advertising and working with their clients. We saw just beautiful ads and posters, and I so hope the photographs we took do them justice in the media reports the students will write. And the tour of the printing facility just completed the day. Those massive presses working with that famous German precision and efficiency (for example, all the plates are recycled and the color printing is just pristine) roaring away gave us such a close look into their operations. Fabulous!

Best of all, Mr. Stengl, the product manager of advertisements, just came to life when he showed us with great pride those beautiful ads. And his in-depth explanation of the printing process was  incredible. He loves his job and the 20 years he has spent with this company, and he knows this newspaper inside and out, even with that firewall between editorial and advertising. And of course, I always love people who just love newspapers. I am just a homer when it comes to this.

As we ate our delicious last German meal tonight and celebrated Johnie’s birthday (complete with fireworks!), Jan and I marveled again and again how much time once again the people at Ketchum and Suddeutsche Zeitung spent today with our students, as with all of our visits here. And without fail, they look at our itinerary and are dumbstruck at what we do in just 12 days. We’re pretty amazed ourselves!

 

Filed Under: Blogs, Helen Fallon ·

DAY 9 – Neuschwanstein castle

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Lake near Neuschwanstein castle

Lake near Neuschwanstein castle

DAY 9 – Neuschwanstein castle

We have just been having the worst luck with weather here in Europe. Yesterday when we traveled to the Neuschwanstein castle in Austria, it was first a light sprinkle but became progressively worse. Then at BMW today it was nice until we had to travel back and forth between the café and museum – it was an absolute downpour.

But the weather had no affect on the beautiful scenery and intellectual people we met.

The train ride to the castle was gorgeous. Bright green rolling hills with a snow-capped mountainous background made for some fantastic pictures. Excitement was high in the air as the castle peeped through the trees and some of us stood on our toes to get the first glimpse of the fairytale castle we were all waiting for.

When we got there, I bought most of my souvenirs for my family and myself. I can safely say that my friends will be jealous of my large glass beer boot that says, “made in Germany” on it!

I’ve always heard the saying, “beauty is pain,” but I never thought it would apply to a day like this. It’s more like “to see beauty, you must endure pain!” There was a lot of walking…uphill. Good thing I have all those souvenirs to prove I made the trek!

We finally reached the castle and waited for the tour. People were everywhere. Apparently around 8,000 people visit the castle every day. 8,000! That is a lot of people to be trekking through only a few rooms in an old castle. Now, I had a lot of high expectations for the castle after reading up about it, and what surprised me was how little we were able to see of it. Even as we were waiting only part of the façade was visible, and only a few rooms were finished because King Ludwig had passed before its completion.

But the rooms we did see were astounding. My hand was itching for my camera, but I knew I wasn’t allowed to take photos. Ludwig was extravagant, and he wanted everything over the top. The carvings, the paintings, the furniture, the lights, the architecture…everything screamed royalty – and for just one man. And according to Andrea, who talked to the tour guide, there were some people who really didn’t want to work for this one man. The main painter of the castle had students do all of the work.

What made it all worth it was at the very end when we hiked to a bridge behind the castle where the alps towered over it and a waterfall flowed underneath. I could finally take in the full beauty of the castle. I felt as if I was in a fairytale dream.

But the life of Ludwig is like a fairy tale in itself, which makes the castle all the more fascinating. What Aimee had said I thought really brought his whole story together. He built it to get away from the public eye because it was during the time period transition when people were starting to favor elections and political power rather than God-sent monarchs. I believe she said the castle then was built out of fear. And a fear well purposed as Ludwig only lived a short period of time in the castle before some declared him insane followed by his mysterious death. Personally, I think it was murder!

The castle has a great story attached to it, but it would be even more magical if it weren’t a copy of an architectural style years ago. Ludwig was a romantic, and he wanted to turn back the clock. If only he could’ve done it after that fateful night stroll when he never returned.

Filed Under: Blogs, Marina Weis · Tagged: , , , ,

A Final Goodbye to Munich

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

 

Wednesday May 22, 2013

 

Today was a busy last day!  But, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being busy with media visits!  The wake up call was also a bit later today, which was nice because I was needing some extra sleep.  Even though I did not do anything too crazy last night it still feels like I will forever be catching up on sleep.
We started the day of with visiting Ketchum Pleon, which was the media visit during the trip I was looking the most forward to.  It was a very interesting presentation that was made by 4 of the employees at Ketchum Pelon.  I am an Advertising and Public Relations major, so this whole visit was very interesting to me.

 

My favorite part of the presentation was the Social Media portion.  I took a Social Media class this past semester and became very interested in learning more about Social Media Careers.  I love the video about the movie star having gas.  I found it very interesting that they made such an uncomfortable topic so funny and easy to talk about.

 

I also really enjoyed that each of the visits that we went on were so gracious with their hospitality.  We can each really be thankful that they were excited to talk to us about their company.

 

Later in the day we went to Suddeutsche Zeitung, the top newspaper in Germany.  Their building is newer and the design, inside and out, was amazing.  Since I am not a Journalism major I did not think that I would be so interested in each of the print journalism visits we went on. The most interesting part of the SZ visit was seeing all of the amazing advertising.  I loved how creative and innovative they were with each of their clients.  I have never seen anything like that in the States. Between the scented ads, the see through ads, and the huge full page spreads they all really brought the advertising to life.

IMG_0990

I will have to wait a few more months till I can legally drink beer back home,  I will really miss having the freedom of sitting down at lunch and grabbing a beer.

We had our final group dinner at the Ratskeller, which is right in the city center.  I have had so many pretzels on this trip, but each one gets better and better.  The dessert was also amazing and I loved the texture!  It was a great way to say goodbye to Munich!

 

Off to bed for an early morning flight and a safe trip home!  See you soon, Germany!

 

Xoxo

Katie

Filed Under: Blogs, Katie Pflug ·

Last Day in Germany!

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Today was the last day here in Germany and it was probably the most exciting as far as media visits go. Today we visited Ketchum Pleon and Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Ketchum is a PR agency, which I actually had the chance to visit in Pittsburgh, so I was very excited to visit it here in Munich. We learned more about the German Media, but this time from a PR standpoint, which was very beneficial to me. I asked so many questions and was very excited to learn about this agency. I asked about the analytics used in measuring the success of a campaign and learned that they are just about exactly the same as analytics in the US. The same thing goes for market research methods. They do polls through the phone and questionnaires. I was shocked though to learn that they seldom use focus groups as a source of research.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung is actually a competitor of another newspaper we visited, Bild and Die Welt. Personally, I’m not very interested in newspapers, as I am sure I already stated in my blogs, but I found this visit interesting. At one point, we were shown advertisements, which basically blew me away. They reminded me of those books we all had when we were toddlers, the books that had different textures in it that you could feel, like fur or snakeskin. These ads had the feeling of leather, a smooth finish and much more. It is definitely something we need to get over here.

Following the meeting we had discussing the paper, we took a short walk across the street to where the papers are actually made. I never saw a printing press before, but it was much more amazing than I had expected. I also did not expect to see so much work put into it. I thought it just printed and it was done… but there’s so much being done. It was amazing. The only downfall of seeing the papers being printed was that it was hard to breathe in that room. I felt like I was inhaling paper fibers or something.

All in all it was a very informative last day.

Filed Under: Andrea Karsesnick, Blogs ·
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