Week 2: Blog Post 2 Comm 3550 Extended
Prompt: You have now seen the Mercedes-Benz arena & museum, the BMW Motorcycle Factory, and the VW Autostadt. How are these various locations similar in terms of stakeholder engagement? In what ways are they different? As a tourist viewing these locations (rather than as a local fan, a native German, or a customer), which was more effective in creating a compelling experience for you? Think about the Ramshaw reading as you answer, and include specific examples.
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The various automotive/athletic locations we visited engaged with stakeholders in their own personalized way. While there were some similarities, I felt each location offered a different experience. All four of the locations interact with stakeholders on a daly basis. Stakeholders are people that have an interest in the location or business. When business engage with stakeholder they are displaying their values and heritage. According to the Ramshaw reading, heritage is “a diverse range of social practices, processes and experiences through which people invest things, sites and practices with value and sentiment”(18). Heritage focuses more on the values communicated through the particular place and/or objects instead and just showing characteristics. The locations we visited strived to show us their company values through providing a good experience.
One similarity I noticed between the locations was that the value statement of each company was shared early in the various tours. Each guide wanted to make sure we realized that the company had high value for their products/location. Many of the locations had their value statements displayed their walls. Also, all of the places had writing in both German, English and various other languages in order to reach the maximum amount of people. For example, the Mercedes Benz Museum had both German and English written beside each exhibit. This is a an example of overcoming language barriers.
While the locations shared some similarities, I also found many differences. The Mercedes Benz museum was a different experience from the rest because we did not have a tour guide. A tour guide has the power to inform and persuade. I loved having a tour guide at BMW. I felt he was able to talk about motorcycles on all experience levels. That is an effective way to engage with stakeholders form different backgrounds. At the Mercedes Benz museum we had to from our own opinions about the content we were seeing. Whereas at the other locations, the guides interact with stakeholders and strive to put their best areas on display. Another difference that we discussed in class was the fact that some of the locations, such as the Mercedes Benz museum and arena, had no problem sharing their past interactions with Nazi Germany. VW Autostadt made no mention of past interactions even though they provided Nazi Germany with many forms of transportation. I found that talking about the past was a more effective way to control image with stakeholders.
The Ramshaw reading emphasizes that heritage isn’t about a certain place but about the values communicated through the place. I felt that the Mercedes Benz arena created the most compelling experience for me as a tourist. They discussed their history, current players, and fanbase characteristics. The tour made me want to go to a soccer game to experience al of the information they told us.