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
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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.

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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 ·

Day 10 – CM

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

5-22-13

 

Our last day in Germany was spent at the ad agency Ketchum-Pleon, a company that was founded in Pittsburgh.  We then went to Suddeutsche Zeitung, which is the German equivalent to the New York Times.  The group listened to presentations by representatives from the paper, then got an informative tour of the presses.  I always like walking past the Post-Gazette building at home and watching their papers being printed, but this tour was something else.  I enjoyed learning exactly how newspapers are printed. I kept getting left behind while taking photos and videos though…

We leave Germany tomorrow.  I look forward to reflecting on this trip to find how I’ve grown since leaving Pittsburgh.

 

Filed Under: Blogs, Connor Mulvaney ·

5.21.13 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG or Bavarian Motor Works!

May 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

5.21.13

 

Though I am not fascinated by cars I was fascinated by BMW today! I thought that this media visit would be filled with car talk and lingo that I did not understand but it turned out they were ready for us media nerds to enter their mecca. We sat down to a lecture on advertising and communications strategies for one of the coolest, most futuristic car that I have ever seen in real life. Manual Satting explained to us the Project i and all that goes into it. He also explained to us how they market and make different cars for different countries and areas of the world. I left the lecture for a new fascination of electric cars.

 

After the lecture we were treated to a delicious lunch in the BMW Café! During this lunch Martin, the very nice intern, and Stefan, our contact who is part of the Planning and Steering International Media Department, joined us. These two gentlemen allowed us to ask tons of questions about BMW, Munich and themselves.

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We then headed to BMW Welt where Stefan gave us collectors edition miniature cars before turning us over to our tour guide for the rest of the day. The guide, who was originally from the United States, took

 

us the BMW Welt and the BMW museum. We then headed back to the hotel in the rain. This was not a light rain like we experienced most days but an intense down pour that had us running for the underground.

 

After that we had the evening to ourselves, we utilized this time to do some last minute shopping. Then we had dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. Here we began to celebrate my birthday, even though it isn’t until tomorrow, with liters, yes liters, of beer.

 

Now we are back at the hotel preparing to go out for one last night on the town. I believe we are heading to an Irish pub that has American karaoke!

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Guten Nacht!

Filed Under: Blogs, Johnie Freiwald ·

I don’t know anything about cars.

May 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

So… I don’t know anything about cars. I know the brands, but that’s about it. We went to visit the BMW Headquarters today and I was excited for our first PR visit finally.

During the presentation at BMW we learned about all the key points about the new BMW Electric Car model. From a PR standpoint, this was interesting to me because he was highlighting all the different facts/selling-points that would be stressed to the public. I could careless about cars, but I found it very interesting that he kept stressing how “green” of a company BMW is. I didn’t know this. It made me wonder if anyone knew this. Do I not know this because I don’t follow anything on cars or is it because they don’t do enough PR in the states on this point? Or maybe I’m just not their target market. I’m a female college student… not someone who is too concerned with a luxury vehicle.

We also had the chance to visit the BMW Museum. Again, I’m not interested in cars, but I loved the architecture of the museum. It was very modern. I also loved seeing all of the old models of cars. That was actually very interesting. I loved history, so to become interested in what I was seeing, my mind tied the cars to history. I could honestly careless about all the car facts and everything about the engine and design… I just liked seeing the old models of cars. For some reason, old cars always fascinated me. The facts about them didn’t… just the image of them. They look so cool!

We also learned about the customization opportunities available with a Rolls Royce. I found this extremely ridiculous. The car in general is ridiculous. I mean, I guess if I had the money to spend I would buy it? But I don’t really know. Here’s what I mean by the car being ridiculous: There’s a umbrella actually INSIDE of the door. You can pull it out whenever you open the door. That made me think: “Are you kidding me?” Come to think of it, if I had the money I don’t even know if I would spend it on ridiculous things. Why not spend it on something else a little more useful? Then again, I guess everyone has different tastes. If I had the money for a Rolls Royce, I would rather spend it on beautiful furniture for my mansion (assuming I could afford a mansion too) but then someone else may just spend it on having an umbrella come out of their car door.

Filed Under: Andrea Karsesnick, Blogs ·

Vroom, vroom.

May 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

We were back to the media visit grind to day. BMW welcomed us to their offices to give us a short presentation about their new, purely electric cars. The project i series brand manager, Manuel Sattig, was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about BMW and this new electric car concept. The advertising and PR majors definitely benefited from this visit as it was mostly marketing related and of interest to all of us.

After learning about this very innovative and environmentally friendly car, we were treated to a delicious lunch where we were able to talk to two of the representatives one-on-one. Martin and Stefan were their names and they were both quite impressive people. Martin was a mere 23 years old and just graduated from University. It was very cool to see someone so young interning at such a well-established and serious company. Stefan was slightly older and worked his way up through BMW starting as a driver and ending up where he is now as a communications person for Asia and the South Pacific. In college, he started with  Mandarin studies, which helps him daily in his career.

Along with being quite successful, we found out in a humorous turn of events that Stefan was also a little bit arachnophobia. He found a little spider crawling on him and freaked out. I’m talking freaked out the way I freak out when I see a spider, screams and all. It was hilarious and endlessly endearing coming from such a pulled together businessman.

After lunch we toured the BMW Welt and Museum and were given little model i8s as souvenirs to remember our trip by. The museum was full of old classic cars and motorcycles as well as new concepts. Being that I am not very interested in cars, I had very little knowledge of the history of BMW so that was cool to see.

The main takeaway I got from BMW was definitely inspiration for my future line of work. We asked Stefan at lunch why it was necessary for a car to be able to go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds and he had the most eloquent and passionate explanation. He explained that BMW is an emotion and is driven by the allure of the sport of driving. He said cars don’t need to be able to accelerate that fast, but BMWs are marketed that way because they are made to be driven for sport, not necessarily practicality per se. His quick response and knowledge of the brand identity of his company is something I hope I can emulate in my future career. BMW seemed very genuine, which surprised me a lot. Every employee seemed to back the brand and the company fully and honestly, which I found to be quite striking.

Feeling inspired,

Michelle

Filed Under: Blogs, Michelle Graessle ·

BMW Welt: a Munich landmark

May 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Today we had the opportunity to have an introduction to a true visionary company, the Bavarian Motor Works. The luxury automobile company (famous for its beautiful sedans and sports cars, Minis, motorcycles and high-level customer service), offered us a presentation at its BMW Welt (world headquarters) on its new line of electronic cars.

BMW i is about the development of visionary vehicles and mobility services, inspiring design and a new understanding of premium that is strongly defined by sustainability, a paper for the media provided for us stated right up front. And that’s just what Manuel Sattig, communications director for project i, explained to us. BMW has carefully researched and tested electronic mini and BMW vehicles before getting ready for its launch of the BMWi this year and the BMW i8 next year (the urban, city vehicle one year and its racier, flashier sports car the next). Mr. Sattig explained that what they’re creating is more than just an electric care — It’s offering 360 degree electronics and the joy of driving, long the company’s mantra. But, he said, BMW, is at the point of ionic change, and the future means it must focus on sustainability and mobility. Sara is writing much more about this, so all will have to read her article to understand this product R&D, launch, marketing and promotion.

A fact that left an impression upon me: By 2030 more than 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities, a reversal (particularly in the U.S., where people had fled to the suburbs). So the new to control emissions, conserve energy and suit urban lifestyles is critical. BMW is reaching into the mobility business that reaches way beyond the cars and motorcycles it is famous for that are beloved by its customers.

He impressed upon us BMW’s attention and devotion to superior products and service, and in our BMW museum tour, led by an excellent guide originally from Milwaukee, that resonated with me. We saw how products are created, traced the company’s history back to the early 20th century, marveled at the Rolls Royce automobiles that company now produces, oohed and ahhed over the race cars and specialty luxury vehicles, and learned a great deal about the company and its customers.

A favorite part: Watching customers come to BMW Welt to pick up their automobiles. It costs extra, but it sure seems worth it if this is the car you can afford and strive for. The new owners and introduced to their cars inside and out, bring family members to check it out, and then drive it off the museum floor onto to open road after spotlights are shined upon the new car and its owner.

Interesting fact: That the Rolls Royce motors  are hand built. When the starting price is 245,000 euros, it should be …. including the paint stripe along the graceful car’s side. (Loved the doors that open bench style … very cool.)

The BMW contacts treated us just as royally. We had an excellent lunch in the small cafe in the headquarters, and we each received a model car of the BMW i8. The box included the title Mission: Accomplished BMW Vision EfficientDynamics. Indeed!

Filed Under: Blogs, Helen Fallon ·
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