Porsche 2004 Annual Report Download - page 62

Porsche not only maintains an intensive dialog with journalists but also with
financial market participants, who are also invited to attend driving events.
Communication58
the world. Whether in Zuffenhausen or in the course of road shows
held at the world’s major financial centers, discussion with market
participants is an important contributor to the success of Porsche
stock. Incorporation of the Investor Relations department into the
Public Relations division of the company guarantees that external
communication ‘speaks with a single voice’.
Intensive Crisis Preparation
Crises of various kinds can descend on a company suddenly and
unexpectedly. In particular a manufacturer of exclusive products
with a demanding circle of customers is expected to act quickly and
comprehensively and provide ample information in a crisis situation.
For some time now, Porsche has operated a crisis management plan
with a suitable communication concept for emergencies; it governs
the response and allocates responsibilities down to subsidiary and
importer level. Depending on the nature of the incident, an individual
plan of action enters into force. This clearly defines the managers
involved in the company’s various business areas, their deputies and
the persons whose task it is to make contact with public authorities.
With the aim of crisis prevention, various conceivable scenarios
have been staged on several occasions as “artificial crises”, in order
to familiarize the affected members of staff to the greatest possible
extent with the measures that need to be taken. In order to make
crisis management as fast and efficient as possible, the number of
persons taking part is deliberately kept small. This also applies to
the possible constitution of an action team to deal with the crisis. All
these factors taken together are intended to ensure that the reaction
to an emergency takes place with the competence associated with
the Porsche name.
Great Importance of Sport Promotion
Sport events are of exceptional importance in Porsche’s communica-
tion work, since very few brands have such an affinity with sport and
performance as Porsche does. In addition to motor sport, the com-
pany is engaged in another sport promoting activity, centered on the
town of Bietigheim-Bissingen, where several Porsche subsidiary
companies are located and where Porsche supports the ambitious
“Bietigheim Steelers” ice hockey club, which plays in Germany’s se-
cond league. During the review year the club again joined with Porsche
in holding weekend training courses for young ice hockey players.
Tennis Grand Prix in New “Porsche Arena”
For more than a quarter of a century the central element in Porsche’s
sport activities apart from motor sport has been the annual Porsche
Tennis Grand Prix, held in Filderstadt near Stuttgart. In 2005 the
world’s best women players again competed in this tournament, which
will in future be held in the new “Porsche Arena”. This is a complex
located next to the Hanns-Martin Schleyer Hall in Stuttgart; still under
construction, it is due to be completed in May 2006 and will then
accommodate up to 7,500 spectators, depending on the type of
event. In October, Porsche paid a fee of ten million Euros to secure
the right to have its name on this new arena in Stuttgart’s
‘NeckarPark’ for a twenty-year period.
The special appeal of the “Porsche Arena” lies in its versatility. Within
a short time it can be converted for handball, basketball, volleyball,
tennis, ice hockey, concerts, ice revues, company general meetings
– which will include Porsche’s – or other business events. The Arena,
with its interior action area of some 2,000 square meters, can handle
all these activities.
Broad Cultural Commitments
In March 2005, six Porsche Centers in Germany provided a stage for
a performance given by a world-famous actor: Klaus Maria Brandauer,
from the Burg Theater in Vienna, undertook a reading tour entitled
“Small versus Large – Tales of the David Principle” that was attended
by more than 2,500 people. Brandauer selected more than 20 texts
centering on the book “The David Principle” published by Porsche,
in which leading authors offer their own interpretations of this Bible
story as a parable that is a possible key to the success of the world’s
smallest independent automobile manufacturer. Brandauer read
texts by Brecht and Rilke, Schiller, Kästner and even Herbert Gröne-
meyer. With musical accompaniment provided by the cellist Maria
Magdalena Wiesmaier, he struck precisely the right note for each of
them – sometimes tender and gentle, sometimes impulsive.
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in 2005 was
her 50th tournament victory in an impressive
career: Lindsay Davenport.