Hans-Gerd Bode joins Porsche as New Head of Products and Technical Press

Now here is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. As a passionate, if not fanatic, Porsche fan and owner I read and absorb information from Porsche voraciously. Recently I contacted the Porsche PR department in Germany to gain access to their press database. This database provides members of the media or “accredited journalists” with access to press releases and photos that Porsche is looking to disseminate. Much to my surprise and chagrin I was informed that Porsche did not grant access to the PR database to bloggers. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a very strange decision to me.

Let’s look at some simple facts. This particular web-site (993C4S.com) will receive almost 10,000 visitors this month and as much as 40,000 page views. Now, those aren’t staggering figures in the blogosphere, but they are pretty impressive when you consider the following:

1. This blog is only four months old
2. It is Porsche brand specific
3. The visitors to this site are either current/past Porsche owners, looking to purchase a Porsche immediately, or a Porsche fan and hope to own one in the future.

As the number of readers, subscribers and page views continue to grow, Porsche is missing out on a key part of its audience by not allowing web-sites like 993C4S.com access to their media databases because we are not considered “mainstream” media. My hope is that with this recent change to Porsche’s management we might see some change in how they view web-sites like this one. I’ll let you know how my future conversations with Porsche proceed.

Full Press Release Below:

New Head of Porsche Product and Technical Press

Stuttgart. Changeover in the Press Department of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG: on June 1, 2008, Hans-Gerd Bode (47) will be taking over as Head of the Product and Technical Communications Department from Stefan Marschall (51), who is leaving the enterprise at his own request, to set up in business as an independent PR consultant. Bode is coming to Porsche from Volkswagen AG, where he had been Head of Brand and Product Communication since 2001. When working for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer he will be cooperating closely with Eckhard Eybl (54), who has been looking after the product press since May 2007, and will be reporting to Bode in this capacity.

In Hans-Gerd Bode, Porsche AG has acquired a distinguished public relations colleague who combines experience as a journalist with a detailed knowledge of the automotive sector. After studying German language and literature and geography at the Friedrich-Wilhelm University, Bonn, Bode first entered a voluntary traineeship at a news agency, subsequently acting as press officer for the German importer of Mitsubishi from 1989, and then, from 1992, for Adam Opel AG. In 1996 he went to Mercedes-Benz AG in Stuttgart, where he was responsible for product communication for the German market. In 1999, Bode then went to Wolfsburg to work for Volkswagen AG as Head of Motor Press. Two years later he was appointed head of the concern’s brand and product communication. In this position Bode supervised the launching of numerous new models.