Dear Readers,
We in the PR business are people who love to talk. Because of this industry gatherings, like the German Federal Association of Press Officers annual Communication Congress, are very popular to swap ideas with one another. No surprise that the celebration during the Speaker’s Night is an important part of the program each year. This year, Robert Belle attended the congress for Fleishman-Hillard Technology. At the top of the agenda was social media – and that is the same with us. We at Fleishman-Hillard, in cooperation with Harris Interactive, asked Internet users in seven countries across the globe about their use of the Internet and social networks. You will find a short overview of the survey as well as the link to the entire analysis in our newsletter. In order to be able to offer our clients in this area even stronger strategic consulting in the future, we have strengthened our team in Germany with Arne Klempert, who we will briefly introduce. In addition we have another new location recommendation for you. Furthermore, there was an important politician visiting the ground-breaking ceremony for our client IBC SOLAR’s new project: Angela Merkel grips the shovel together with Udo Möhrstedt to ring in the construction of a large solar park in her constituency of Western Pomerania. I look forward to your feedback for the newsletter at: markus.hermsen@fleishmaneurope.com.
Best wishes,
Markus Hermsen
Fleishman-Hillard brings Arne Klempert on board as Digital Director
Arne Klempert, 38, has started effective November 1st to further develop Fleishman-Hillard’s digital communications capabilities. Based in Frankfurt, Arne will be working closely with the Munich and Berlin teams as the Digital Director for Fleishman-Hillard Germany. Some of his responsibilities will include inter-network exchange of experience with experts for digital communication at other Fleishman-Hillard locations in Europe and the USA.
Arne Klempert joins Fleishman-Hillard from IFOK, a communications consultancy firm. There he had been responsible for the digital communications department since 2008. Working for clients from industry and political institutions, his work targeted the areas of online participation and social media. Before that, Klempert was the spokesperson for the Online Encyclopedia, Wikipedia for four years and in his position as Managing Director, expanded Wikimedia Germany. Arne Klempert has been a member of the Wikimedia Foundation Board since 2009.
Welcome Dunja Derenk!
Dunja Derenk has joined the technology practice at Fleishman-Hillard in the Munich office in July 2010. As an Account Supervisor, Dunja will be responsible for clients in the software and services industry.
Dunja H. Derenk has been working with companies from the IT industry in communications for more than five years. She started her career at Konzept PR in Augsburg. Before joining Fleishman-Hillard, she was working at Finks & Fuchs. Dunja holds a university degree in German Literature.
Chancellor Merkel breaks ground for a new solar park by IBC SOLAR
Communications professionals know: The presence of a prominent politician at an event increases its echo in the media. Hence IBC SOLAR was more than excited that Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel visited the ground-breaking ceremony of its new solar park in Western Pomerania in the northeastern part of Germany. This is especially significant because most solar energy systems are found in Germany’s southern regions. However, thanks to a high level of direct sunlight, the coastal region is ideal for the generation of solar energy. IBC SOLAR’s new solar park is not only the largest in the region but it is also located in Angela Merkel’s constituency. This was an excellent opportunity for the chancellor to emphasize East Germany’s economic significance as a production location of solar energy as well as an energy supplier.
Thanks to the prominent support, the coverage did not hold off: Daily and trade media like radio and television were still reporting on the event days later. A real highlight for IBC SOLAR.
For further information on Fleishman-Hillard’s expertise in the renewable energy industry, please contact Ortrud Wenzel.
Communication Congress 2010: An Abundance of top-class Communicators
Already in its seventh year, the German Federal Association of Press Officers and the magazine pressesprecher held their Communications Congress in Berlin. As in recent years, Fleishman-Hillard was well represented by Wolfgang Küsters, General Manager and Senior Partner at Fleishman-Hillard Germany as well as Robert Belle, Director in the Munich Technology practice.
In addition to the Gala event “Speakers Night” including the awarding of the “Golden Apple” for an outstanding PR performance, the top-class speakers were above all inspiring. This year’s line-up included: Healthcare minister Philip Rösler, Gesine Schwan, president of the Humbold Viadrina School of Governance, Gerd Gigerenzer, Professor at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Volker Herres, program director of ARD, Joachim Hunold, CEO of Air Berlin, Ines Pohl, editor in chief of taz and TV-journalist Sandra Maischberger.
In numerous panel discussions, controversial subjects were hotly discussed. The communications congress proved to be a true trend indicator. Journalist Hajo Schumacher discussed the media’s search for scoops and scandals in the closing debate. He recommended creating a ranking of the year’s themes that were the most over-rated by the media. Here is something that traditional and new media have in common: It does not matter how fanciful a topic may be - the greed for page views, readers or viewers is evidently almost always larger than the ambition to provide a more thorough coverage than the competitors from other publishing houses.
Xerox pictures its photo printing competence at this year’s Photokina
Photokina is the trade fair highlight for all photo enthusiasts, whether one is a hobby photographer, a professional or just interested in photography. They become increasingly keen on digital printing. It gets especially relevant for companies because with digital printing they can offer their clients individual and personalized products. This is why Xerox decided to attend this year’s show with a high profile. Xerox discussed opportunities and trends in digital printing not at the FUJIFILM partner booth . The company also hosted two panel discussions - one for the local audience and another for English-speaking visitors. The participants were intensely talking about digital photo printing as the growth opportunity for the entire printing industry.
In addition, Xerox sponsored the “Shoot the Music” Challenge in the photokina PIONEERS competition. All were invited, from professional photographers and cameramen to amateur snapshot takers and home video makers, to share their passion for pictures with the community. The call for the different competition events and voting took place over many social media channels.
We accompanied the trade show activities from the communications perspective with two social media releases that covered the most important statements from the panel discussions. We also featured the winning photos from the photokina PIONEERS competition to make all the information accessible to those who were unable to attend the event in Cologne. Parallel to the trade fair, Xerox set up a “virtual photokina” on a dedicated event website. Furthermore the fair offered the ideal meeting place to conduct many interviews with members of the trade media and to expand industry contacts.
If you are interested in PR support at trade fairs or would like to learn more about photokina, please contact Julia Richter.
Electronica 2010: The world of electronics in one place
The electronica opened its doors again from November 9th to 12th. This trade fair, which takes place every 2 years, is the most important industry event for the electronic industry. Around 3,200 exhibitors were competing for the attention of their (potential) clients and the media.
The trade fair also has been our focus for the last few weeks. This year we have accompanied four of our clients to the show: semiconductor manufacturers Texas Instruments and e2v, special distributer Memphis, and LED specialist CREE.
In the center of our press activities was the placement of new products in pre-show coverage in the trade show editions of the relevant trade media, the organization of press conferences and interview scheduling.
Many journalists had already revealed to us beforehand that they were expecting a great atmosphere. At the last electronica two years ago, no one had expected the industry to recover so quickly.
If you would like to learn more about Fleishman-Hillard’s Know How in the electronics industry, please contact Ortrud Wenzel.
Digital Influence Index Study: Twittering Companies enjoy leap of faith
Consumers hold twittering companies as more trustworthy than enterprises who are not actively trying to engage with their target groups via micro-blogging services. That is one of the results from this year’s Digital Influence Index Study, which was conducted in seven countries across the world by Fleishman-Hillard and Harris Interactive.
According to the Digital Influence Index, 78% of all users are acquainted with micro-blogging services. This is a reason for companies to keep in contact with users through Twitter or the commenting features of social networks like Facebook. In Germany, 56% of the consumers wish that companies would respond to their entries in micro blogs like Twitter. Markus Hermsen: “This shows end users’ willingness to communicate and it is a great approach for brands to get in contact with their customers. This kind of communication offers users the opportunity to be a vital part of the development of a brand.”
The study also revealed that the Internet is by far the most important medium for users to acquire information or to make decisions regarding brands, products and themes. You can find more of the Digital Influence Index results at http://digitalinfluence.fleishmanhillard.com/. You can download the study’s whitepaper free of charge.
For further information please contact Julia Richter.
Location tip: Prinz Myshkin in Munich – top spot for vegetarian delights
Not only since Jonathon Safran Foer’s book “Eating Animals” have so many people decided to lead a vegetarian life, or at least opted in for a partial meat reduction. The search for a suitable lunch location can be a bit difficult, especially in Munich where pork hock and roasted pork are always on the menu.
The Prinz Myshkin Restaurant at Hackenstraße 2 in the middle of the historical Munich Hacken district, has discovered this gap: Here guests can order only vegetarian and vegan dishes. Therefore the meatless dishes are anything but boring. In the Prinz Myshkin there are oriental and Asian dishes as well as salads pastas and cakes of the highest quality. A small but excellent wine selection with a focus on European growers is icing the cake. With the stylish and roomy ambience with subtle colors and clear forms, the guests almost forget that they are not in London, Berlin or Paris. The renowned New York Times raved, calling it “an elegant break from traditional food”.
Because of the high popularity, reservations are a must. The Prinz Myshkin is open daily from 11:00am to 12:30am.
For further information on the restaurant, visit it’s website at http://www.prinzmyshkin.com/en.
Contact
Fleishman-Hillard Germany GmbH
Markus Hermsen
Herzog-Wilhelm-Straße 26
80331 München
Tel.: +49-(0)89-23 03 16-62
Fax: +49-(0)89-23 03 16-66
markus.hermsen@fleishmaneurope.com
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— Multimedia
Arne Klempert, Director Digital at Fleishman-Hillard Germany
Dunja Derenk: New team member at Fleishman-Hillard in Munich.
Groundbreaking Ceremony for the IBC SOLAR Solarpark (left to right): Dr. Bernd Kiene, GTU, Oliver Partheymüller, IBC SOLAR Invest GmbH, Benno Rüster, Mayor of Grimmen, Chancellor Angelika Merkel, Udo Möhrstedt, Chairman of the Board IBC SOLAR AG, Ralf Drescher, District Administrator of North Pomerania, Olaf Baumer, IBC SOLAR Invest GmbH.
Winner of the photokina PIONEERS competition: Dennis Scharlau
Winning photo: Jazz musician Dave Tucker (picture taken by Dennis Scharlau)
Stylish and vegetarian: The restaurant Prinz Myshkin in Munich’s historical city centre