An Overview of Süddeutsche Zeitung

Suddeutsche Zeitung features a broadsheet layout.  (photo by Carson Allwes)

Suddeutsche Zeitung features a broadsheet layout.
(photo by Carson Allwes)

by Carson Allwes

Point Park International Media class’ final media visit was to Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of the largest quality newspapers in Germany.

Süddeutsche Zeitung was the first free national paper in Germany. It reaches about one and half million people and is a Monday to Saturday paper. It depends partly on subscribers and single copies; about 84 percent of total sales come from this. One subscriber pays about 51.60 euro per month.

Having this revenue helps it not accept any government funds, which is true for some other German media. “There is no political pressure…no pressure from the government what to write,” said Michael Stengl, the product manager of advertisements.

Stengl started with a video of what a day is like at Süddeutsche Zeitung. Stengl translated the video and introduced the group to the newspaper company.

A day at Süddeutsche Zeitung starts at 4 in morning and the paper starts printing at 6 o’clock in the evening. There are usually three editions of the paper before the final copy.

“There are a few similarities between The New York Times and Süddeutsche Zeitung,” Stengl said.

There are regionals papers, free advertising papers, business information and specialized medicial and technology papers under the Süddeutsche Zeitung brand. The national edition of Süddetusche Zeitung, often abbreviated simply as “SZ,” contains four feature sections in economy, culture, sports, and politics. Issues printed for Munich and its closest municipalities will normally contain a local news insert.

Süddeutsche Zeitung has published an eight-page insert of The New York Times articles since 2004; this is known as The New York Times International Weekly and it is in English.

Suddeutsche Zeitung's first issue was published in 1975. (photo by Carson Allwes)

Suddeutsche Zeitung’s first issue was published in 1975.
(photo by Carson Allwes)

In 2000, advertising problems became a concern for the company. Süddeutsche Zeitung Library was created to response to provide revenue, which is a book group that has 50 works in the collection. Consumer can either buy the complete set or the individual book. The library venture was a huge success, Stengl said.

Süddeutsche Zeitung sold 80,000 complete sets and 12 million books total. Now, the company is expanding its medium to CDs and DVDs.

Süddeutsche Zeitung was located in Marienplatz for about six decades until the economy collapsed, Stengl said, and it resulted in a major staff reduction and need for a new direction to survive. A new building was constructed on the outskirts of Munich in 2007, and at the time was the most advanced and ecofriendly building in Germany.

Süddeutsche Zeitung is a unique newspaper because it has its own major production process plant, Stengl said, which is home to a state-of-the-art printing press. It is in charge of printing and packaging enough papers to supply SZ’s massive circulation as well as single copies. Along with Süddeutsche Zeitung’s own audience to satisfy, there are 13 other newspapers in Munich printed at SZ’s plant that exist outside of Süddeutsche Zeitung brand.

Stengl emphasized the quality of the paper and the need to be innovative to keep subscribers and to attract new readers.

“We focus on the quality of the paper,” Stengl said. “[And] on the quality of our products.”

He also said the editor in chief wants to be sure “not to bore” the professor or businessman but also to “educate the common people.”

Several other staff members and editors addressed the group, journalist Viola Schenz and Barbara Vorsamer, subchief editor. They reviewed the online process and the journalistic process the newspaper follows.

Vorsamer noted that the paper’s has “one of the most-read and unique news sites in Germany.” She said, “We were not the first, but we have one the most highly regarded sites in Germany.”

The staff posts all of what’s in the print edition, but some content is exclusively online. The newspaper uses real-time tracking for the site, and she noted that the peak time is noon to 1 p.m., or lunchtime.

Both Vorsamer and Schenz stressed that he most important issue for Süddeutsche Zeitung was the quality of its paper to reflect the brand of all its products for the masses. The paper has worked tirelessly to deliver the best news possible to their subscribers and have been rewarded immensely for their efforts, they said. Their innovation in printing, quality journalism, business and advertising have earned them significant recognition and accolades.

Advertising and the presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

Printing Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

Printing presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung
(photo by Alexa Blanchard)

by Alexa Blanchard

In the world of advertising, he who generates the most profit is king. But for Süddeutsche Zeitung, a quality national newspaper located in southern Germany, innovation is the key to success.

Generating revenue through ad space is extremely important for a print newspaper, as the only other source for money-making relies on subscriptions. But with the universal decline in print, how do papers like Süddeutsche Zeitung keep their advertisers buying space? How do they keep their readers coming back for more?

Michael  Stengl, the product manager of advertisements, was eager to showcase Süddeutsche Zeitung’s unique advertising methods to Point Park University’s International Media class. The group of Pittsburgh students was comprised of communications majors of all varieties, including advertising and journalism majors. For most, this exclusive inside look at the functionality of a newspaper and their advertisements is especially relevant.

BMW, or Bavarian Motor Works, purchases a lot of ad space from Süddeutsche Zeitung. Stengl demonstrated some of the work that has put together to show of BMW’s luxury vehicles.

“We wondered, ‘how can we reach our audience with bigger, poster-sized images?’” Stengl inquired, citing the effectiveness of large billboard images that are exposed to the public.

He ended his rhetorical question by turning a page in his demonstration newspaper and revealing a true poster-sized image of a new BMW model, an ad that spanned across two newspaper pages. It was truly larger than life, compared to the commonplace ads that typically take up one quarter of a page to one half to a full page at most. Two entire pages for one ad are brilliant and unheard of in most U.S. newspapers except for the largest, such as The New York Times.

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.
(photo by Helen Fallon)

Stengl passed around several other innovative advertising techniques that Süddeutsche Zeitung has employed, including a scented ad and a multi-sensory ad.

“We published this [multi-sensory] ad for BMW and our competitors called us and said ‘What have you done? This is brililiant,’” Stengl added.

The multi-sensory ad in question details driving a BMW from a chauffer’s perspective. The open road ahead is glossed with UV detailing, and the dashboard of the car actually feels like how a real dashboard would. Readers can touch the steering wheel and feel the texture of leather underneath their fingers, and the sleeves of the chauffer are outlined with cloth. This ad is multi-sensory because readers use not only their eyes, but also their sense of touch. Perhaps they even have a smell.

It encourages the reader to stop and take a moment to interact with an advertisement, something that had never been done before. More than anything, it makes the reader remember. Many will never forget that this two-page spread with a tangible leather steering wheel was an ad for BMW, and that they saw it – felt it – in Süddeutsche Zeitung. This is the kind of interactivity, innovation and notoriety that the paper is going for, Stengl said.

Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung
(photo by Alexa Blanchard)

Still reeling from the never-before-seen advertising, the Point Park students were then treated to yet another inside look across the street at Süddeutsche Zeitung’s printing presses. The printing process, which begins at 6 o’clock each evening, is a mammoth undertaking with an innumerable amount of moving parts, employees and equipment working around the clock to get the job right and ready for delivery.

The presses, spanning multiples floors and reaching far and wide, print the broadsheet newspaper at breakneck speed and push their respective paper sections onto conveyor belts where they are mechanically assembled and frequently checked for color. If the color, layout, or printing angle is incorrect then those batches of papers will be trashed and the process corrected. Advertising inserts – a huge source of revenue for the paper – are automatically inserted. The presses are so automated that mailers and inserters are no longer employed, and a small staff of printers is needed, which saves the company money.

All of this must be done in a matter of hours to satisfy the demand of the paper, which has one of the highest circulations in Germany with over 1.1 million daily readers, not including its international demand. The presses generate about 36,000 papers per hour, according to Stengl, and run all night until pickup in the morning.

All of this combined for what Stengl sees as a bright future for Süddeutsche Zeitung, which experienced extreme financial difficulty in the economic fallout in 2007-2008 and placed it on the brink of bankruptcy. Printing a quality newspaper and publishing books and other projects have set the paper on a sound financial course, as well as reaching out with new technological ventures.

And the paper remembers its near collapse as it moves forward. “Print has a future,” Stengl said. “But it must be interesting [to current and future readers].”

DAY 11 – Ketchum and Suddeutsche

press

Süddeutsche Zeitung’s huge printing presses

DAY 11 – Ketchum Pleon and Süddeutsche Zeitung

It has been very impressive this trip that all of our hosts have been of high rank in their companies and are very knowledgeable in every aspect. We have been very lucky to hear these people talk, and I’m sure many other students would love to have such an honor. That’s why I want to thank Helen and Jan and everyone who put this all together!

As I mentioned before, BMW was a great segway into the next marketing visit. I thought the Ketchum environment was especially inviting. It kind of reminded me of the Smith Brothers in Pittsburgh. The offices were modern and colorful. It would be great to work in such a positive, creative environment.

I thought the highlight of this visit was the case study they showed us for a drug that helped with gas. It put everything that they were explaining about their company and strategies into action. I thought it was genius to work with the stigma that gas has but then relate it to the fact that everyone gets it, even celebrities. The video was also attractive and cute! I could see myself possibly going to grad school for advertising if journalism doesn’t work out for me.

Later in the day we visited Süddeutsche Zeitung was not expecting it to be the leading newspaper in Germany after we received such a confident presentation from Die Welt. The presenters seemed much more humble although not as relaxed. I took a few pictures of the slides they showed that featured charts of the few leading newspapers in the country and their circulation throughout the years. I remember researching the FAZ and its history and these charts not only matched my research, but also tied everything together. I thought it was also very interesting to hear their perspective on the FAZ, which is the most personal and accurate kind of information about a company one can get.

I also took a photo of the slides showing how people get their news, such as people get the Süddeutsche Zeitung mostly through subscription, but Die Welt readers focus a lot more on the internet. They also had a slide that basically painted a picture of the audience of the newspaper. It seemed to be that elite, educated people between the ages of 20-49, who already have an understanding and awareness of issues in the world, are the ones that pick up the paper.

Learning about the online version was also a treat, but I also felt like in the future it might benefit them to focus more on breaking the news online and then publishing it in the paper more often. I know the editor said there is some communication between online and print, but in my mind, they both need to be one in order to survive.

The communications director told us that the paper survives because it provides quality content. It is a family paper, not a full business paper like the FAZ. People pick it up for its credibility and variety. And maybe too for its innovative advertising! I thought it was great that the paper took risks with advertising, especially with BMW. I personally think risk takers set standards.

Seeing its huge presses running was also a great experience. I really enjoyed learning about the long process that happens in order to get the papers out. I thought it was interesting to know that Die Welt is also printed there. The highlight of the tour was hearing about how 9/11 affecting the presses all the way over in Germany as well as the advertising.

Overall, this was a great, informative day. I think it is so great that all of these people take the time to speak with us. I could never imagine an editor from the New York Times speaking to us. I think because we are foreign, it is like an honor to them to speak to us. Whatever the case, I am forever grateful for the experiences!

DAY 5: Axel Springer

DAY 5: Axel Springer

It still is very strange for me to swallow the fact that an ocean separates me from my home. I know Munich is going to make me feel even more withdrawn from society. I feel so American here.

I felt this especially when we met the students at the Academy at Axel Springer. We asked them questions, but I was surprised the number of questions they asked us. They asked us about voting in the U.S., which was very eye-opening and also about simple things like smoking stigmas and the timeline of when people go to higher education.

It was such a unique experience to get media perspectives from people our own age. After speaking with some of our group, though, we all felt a little behind as one of the girls who was 18 had already published 3 or 4 books.

The bar/cafe on the 19th floor of Axel Springer.

The bar/cafe on the 19th floor of Axel Springer.

Three wonderful professionals took much of their time to speak to us about an overview of Axel Springer, the Academy, video and Die Welt.

I tried so hard to hang onto every word they were saying as I was covering the day, so at the end I was mentally exhausted. I have so many good quotes and my outlook on newspapers especially has changed dramatically.

As Richelle said, Germans tend to look at the big picture and think strategically. If I tried to mention all of the great points and ideas that were discussed today, this blog post would be thousands of words long. The key point I gathered was that the founder Axel Springer was a man who thought outside of the box, which allowed him to take risks and work his way to the top. Today his work ethic has carried the business to new expansions long after he has passed. With a wealth of money and credibility, Axel Springer can therefore make more risks and have the data to share with us about extremely new developments in media such as applications for iPads. That’s why it was so interesting. You aren’t going to read this in any academic journal just quite yet.

Their methods are so different from ours, especially writing for online and print and video permission guidelines, which gives me a whole new perspective on media at home. All of our media’s flaws stood out like a sore thumb! It was extremely interesting when they spoke about the different audiences all of their publications and the subsets within them. It truly ties all that I have been learning in lectures at school and at conferences together. Now I might be able to throw something I learned out there at a job interview!

I just want to mention that Leeor was a great host. We ended up getting an extra lecture from such a well-spoken man of high rank in Die Welt. He painted a picture of Jewish life from a perspective we probably would have never had, unless we read his column…which is more than likely in German. This goes hand-in-hand with what I said before about becoming a more cultured journalist.

I feel pretty lucky after such an enlightening day. I keep thinking in my head: innovation, innovation, innovation. Even in their slogan is the word “entertainment.” The science section in the compact version? Yeah, it’s called the “Internet” section just so people will want to read it. Journalism is truly morphing and even they didn’t know where it will be in the future. I am just glad to be a part of yet another adventure.