A campaign recently came to my attention that I found to be very creative. It was a PR campaign in the United Kingdom that was headed up by Hous PR and Frank PR called Extreme Vicar. This was a contest for 16 local vicars to win a chance to conduct a special service at one of two amusement parks, Alton Towers or Thorpe Park on Easter Sunday. The vicars were required to perform acts of clergical piety like holding a bible while on ride. It did provide some very nice photo opps and garnered some great press attention from a number of  the national and regional dailies in the UK.

Although the reality show format is not original, I find the vicar concept to be brilliant. What a great way to generate some interest in the brands from a campaign perspective. What I like most about it is that they could directly link the campaign to specific business results since they were likely trying to drive visitors to these parks on Easter Sunday. It would be interesting to know what the final numbers were. What a great way to not only promote these brands. I’ve personally been to Alton Towers and somehow this makes me want to return!

Two weeks ago, I returned from a fantastic vacation to Greece. It was 10 days of pure pleasure as we enjoyed the sun, culture, food and friendly people. The best part was being able to spend time with my family. Our twins are moving into the toddler stage, so traveling can be quite an adventure. We spent the entire day on Monday traveling and were exhausted as we landed in Hamburg at 10:30 p.m. As we exited the plane, we expected to find our stroller waiting for us, the same as we had as we disembarked in Athens and during our layover in Amsterdam. We turned to one of the flight attendants from KLM who had assured us that our stroller would be there when we got off the plane and asked if she could help. She asked one of the ground crew to retrieve it but he informed us it had already been taken to the baggage area. This was the second time we had experienced disappointment with the ground crew at Hamburg Airport. The flight attendant indicated she had seen this before in Hamburg as well. Funnily enough, we heard something similar about Hamburg Airport from a flight attendant in December.

With heavy hand luggage and two tired toddlers in tow, my wife and I started our arduous trek from the far end of Terminal 2 to the baggage area. The terminal was practically empty, except for the KLM flight crew who passed us and the lone information desk attendant who gave me a card to fill out so I could express my disappointment in what had happened. I decided to briefly leave my wife to hurry ahead and make sure all was well with our luggage and stroller. Carrying my daughter and a very heavy piece of hand luggage, I arrived at the baggage claim area. All other passengers had gone and a worker was getting ready to collect our bags to mark them as unclaimed. I asked him why they had not delivered our stroller at the gate and he said it would violate some sort of rule or regulation. Incensed, I took my stroller and ran to rescue my wife and son who were both still making their way to the baggage claim. We then returned, picked up our luggage and left the airport. It was definitely not the way we had expected to end our vacation.

I am shocked at the way we were treated. Our stroller had been marked for delivery at the gate. We had benefited from this at two other airports. Even if there is some special restriction at Hamburg Airport, the least they could do is offer assistance to weary travelers who need an extra hand. Since we had a similar experience departing from the airport last December, I can only imagine we are not alone in "benefitting" from the terrible customer service at Hamburg Airport.

It is difficult for me to understand how a professional organization can be run in this manner. Customers have memories like elephants - they do not forget but unlike elephants, they tell other people about their experience, whether it be good or bad. My hope is that Hamburg Airport will turn over a new leaf and treat travelers differently. To me, this was a terrible brand experience.

Here's a tip Hamburg Airport: customer service matters! Your customers do not forget.

My wife and I are finally catching up with life after a year of extreme parenting (twins). Every day is a pure delight but it has been crazily intense. I am now trying to catch up on interesting happenings I missed during the last year plus and have noticed that Groupon has come to Germany. I know, I know – we’re behind. In any case, we signed up today and have already found some great deals near where we live. It’s great when novel ideas like this make the leap across the pond. Now I just need to get some friends so I can get some free vouchers.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Groupon, let me give you a quick overview. Groupon is a U.S.-based company offering “an easy way to get huge discounts while discovering fun activities in your city. Each day (they) feature a cool new experience at an unbeatable price in dozens of cities across the country.” It is a great concept and the revenue potential is huge, since they generally keep 50 percent of the coupon’s value. This year alone, they are projected to pull in $400 million in revenue according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

Groupon got their real foothold in Germany after purchasing Citydeal from the (in)famous Samwer brothers (they are worth their own blog post). Now it will be interesting to see if this concept takes off in the here. With deals in close to 100 German cities, I am confident it will. I am also fairly sure our household will become a power user.

Visit Groupon.com or Groupon.de and see if you like it.

I recently had breakfast with an amateur-turned-professional blogger here in Germany. He is now part of the Mercedes editorial team, tasked with following Mercedes-Benz’ SLS AMG from launch to road and beyond. First of all, it is a great blog and I think you need to check it out – SLS AMG Reporter. As I spoke with him, he said something that was a great reminder about one of the keys to successful blogging – authenticity. We who blog pick topics that truly interest us. We write because we are passionate and that is in part what we write compelling and even credible. My goal is to keep it real. Blog about things that truly interest me and I hope it will interest you.

My conversation also made me think about social media adoption here in Germany. Of course social media is hot here like it is everywhere else. Many companies are looking for people to manage their social media strategies. Digital PR agencies are popping up and traditional PR agencies are creating social media practices to compliment the usual PR practices. However, I still feel adoption lagging far behind what one sees in English-speaking countries.  Corporate social media strategies lack the sophistication that many companies have developed in North America and the UK to address customer service, increase brand loyalty and promote thought leadership. However, there is a growing number of companies tapping into the power of social media in Germany. For example, in recent months I have seen the o2 Crew campaigns on Facebook. This was sponsored by mega-telco o2, starting with a campaign for the MTV music awards in Berlin. o2 invited people to follow them on Facebook and to recruit “crews” composed of as many friends and acquaintances as they could find to join. The biggest crews won tickets to the concert. It appears to have been a success for o2 because they are carrying on with additional campaigns. The car manufacturers are catching on to this too, as evidenced by the example I gave previously. I also know that Forrester has praised BMW for its social media savvy. Even with all of these examples, I am still left with a hollow social media vibe in Germany. I am waiting for the day where I will see invitations in German enticing me to follow a company on Facebook or Twitter. I am still waiting for the day when I do not almost immediately become the Foursquare mayor of various places I visit – except for HH Hbf – I cannot seem to oust the mayor there !  I guess until social media becomes more ubiquitous in Germany,  I can enjoy Foursquare political domination.

One of the benefits of living and working in Germany are the extra holidays one gets in comparison with the U.S.  I absolutely love it! This on top of six weeks of vacation instead of two or three is an absolute dream. It almost makes me never want to return to the States during my working life.

There was a time when I used to think all that Germans do is go on vacation. I asked myself, how can they possibly be productive? How can a company function? How can this be one of the strongest economies in the world? Now I see the light and I firmly believe that this is one of the keys to their success.

For example, I have observed how hard my German colleagues work. Yes, there are times when they play hard but when they are at work – they work and in general, they give what they owe to their employer in terms of time and results. Perhaps this is due in part to the fact that they know they can work hard because they have a vacation coming up. I think further to this is the that Germans know what it means to enjoy and savor life. This may come as a surprise and some may strongly disagree but I will stand by it – Germans are all about Genuß (enjoyment)! Whether it be a good book, a fine wine or coffee, a work of art, a play, music or food, Germans approach enjoyment in a way that other cultures do not. I find the difference to come from their logical, intellectual and even philosophical approach to life. It is an enjoyment that starts in the mind and goes down and ruminates in heart. This turns a wonderful dinner, a walk with dog/child (topic for another blog post), or a cup of coffee in the morning into a “vacational” experience. So really – Germans are on vacation literally and figuratively the majority of the time. We just need to learn to enjoy life in the quiet and stoically dignified way that my German friends do. Geniessen Sie es!

Europe – This week I was walking through the train station when someone handed me a free copy of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. On the front page there was a very colorful picture of President Barack Obama and a fascinating story about the latest cultural craze in Germany – the Obama musicial. I studied to be a profefssional singer,  so  this story mixed well with my penchant for politics. I read with interest how “Hope – the Obama Musical Story”puts the 2008 presidential election to music. I was surprised to find that this musical did not come from a zealous Democrat based in the States but rather Europeans who have been inspired by President Obama’s promise of change at home and abroad.

This musical comes to the stage at a time when President Obama’s performance  is under close scrutiny. He is also facing a blow to his presidency and the Democratic party with a recent special election to replace the late Senator Edward Kennedy and the success of Republican Senator-elect Brown. I do not think we can quite call this a dark time for the Democratic party but storm clouds certainly do appear to be gathering as mid-term elections draw nearer. I am sure many Democrats are longing for the days leading up to the election in 2008 that brought Obama to power with the claim “Yes we can!” Maybe putting this claim to music will put new life into this claim – who knows. In any case, President Obama and his team can take comfort in the fact that his popularity is so solid in Germany, he has inspired people to burst into song and dance.

EUROPE  - This week I was in a meeting. Present in the room were three men, including myself and four women. Each of these women is very respectable, educated and polished. At the beginning of our meeting, one of the men made a very off-colored joke. I was offended at what he said and was embarrassed for him. I even think he was embarrassed, because he turned red. In addition to offending me, I was most concerned about the women in the room. His joke was about women. Two of the women in the room are his employees. I wondered how he dared make such an offensive comment and still hoped to maintain our or his employees’ respect.

This is not the first time I have encountered this, nor will it be the last. Unfortunately, I have seen this happen more often in my time in Europe than I have in the United States. I get the  feeling that some men think the same way as Silvio Berlusconi does, who when asked about his indiscretions stated, “Well, I”m not a saint.” None of us are Saints but we can sure try to be. Should this be any excuse for men, or women for that matter? Certainly not.

Many have said it before but we are losing the thread of common decency that used to permeate Western society. I am grateful for parents who taught me to 1) not be perverse 2) respect and honor women. I really think we are missing this on both sides of the Atlantic.