It can be assumed that Erlangen is a, probably the classic, university town in Bavaria. What is less known is its history as a hotspot for referendums. No matter whether it’s about a thoroughfare, an underground car park or a commercial area – the debate-cultured Erlanger and the argumentative Erlanger would like to be allowed to decide directly. So far, however, there has been no label or a catchy slogan for it.
And of course it is Markus Söder who has finally delivered. The Prime Minister was recently on a promotional tour for the city-suburban railway, the StUB, together with a Siemens boss, the university president and Bavaria’s Interior Minister – the three-city tram that Erlangen will be voting on in just over two weeks, and for the second (!) time. On the occasion, Söder was asked whether he had ever spoken to the city’s second mayor, a man named Jörg Volleth.
He’s from the CSU and the face of the Christian-social tram supporters of Erlangen. The mayor himself is constantly producing Instagram videos against the tram, flanked by cheerful Erlangen CSU people holding “NO to StUB” signs in camera lenses. And what did Söder answer?
First of all, a request to all advertising people who are constantly looking for the catchy sentence: People – that’s exactly how you do it. And that too, and especially when you don’t have the ideal conditions for a victorious replica.
Söder, as is well known, is the CSU party leader, said: “Joachim is responsible for the local battleground.”
Lots of laughter, of course. Paired with a sweet and sour smile from “Joachim”, last name: Herrmann. He is the CSU district chairman in Middle Franconia. And he was coram publico and not even just communicated between the lines: That things are going so incredibly semi-optimally for the CSU, in this – attention: top label – Erlangen “Battleground”, in which the large CSU is now fighting against the small CSU , none other than the Central Franconian boss is responsible for this. And not the Bavarian boss.
A style-defining twist. And certainly not just suitable for marketing people, but also for people who, above all else – and actually only – wanted to be one thing in their lives: boss. Boss. Boss.
And that’s because you’re then responsible for your own success. And for the rest? Do you have those behind it?