Day One: Frankfurt, Germany

Proceeding earlier than expected, the 767 hit the tarmac at approximately 8:10 am, and proceeded for arrival before the scheduled gate time of 8:30 am. On the other hand,a slight delay occurred as the Frankfurt airport was exceptionally busy handling the way fare of many European fliers as well as directing incoming overnight flights. Surprisingly, immigration was very quick and the attending officers were very polite. Within the next 30 minutes luggage was claimed and the hotel-destined bus was boarded. To the author's knowledge no one was left behind although there have been rumors of a close call. The dreadful fear hanging overhead of missing the bus must have worked its magic this time around-- although we'll have to keep our fingers crossed... Once at the hotel, time is spent checking in; however, only a few students are given the good news that their room is ready. To pass the time, the group was eager to leave home base and visit the surrounding area. As disclosed by a timely twitter post, a group of three ran alongside the Main river in order to stretch out now largely atrophied muscles and to get a better view of the land. One can only begin to surmise the absurdity of this particular outing. Many of us headed towards 'old town' and converged onto the promenade. Key sights included several H&M and Zara stores which helped refresh our strategy chops. A few hundred meters off of the retail promenade were a few open patio pubs. One in particular- Frankfurt's Corner Bar, proved to be an enjoyable resting spot. From the patio one could watch the mix of bankers and other professionals hurriedly march by. The German passerby's closely resembled that of their American counterparts although attire was noticeably more drab. Ultimately, by afternoon the 24+ hour day had taken its toll on some and required immediate surrendering to rest. Regardless, GLP Europe continued unrestrained and remained focused on realizing the best that Frankfurt had to offer this day.

We Survived the Blitzkrieg

At the end of the week the group began the day at Deutsche Boerse and finished at the ECB. The German stock exchange was a non-trivial distance from the Hotel of which we had to cover by foot in about 15 minutes. Upon arriving at DB we were asked to pass a security screening which was less comprehensive than what one would see preceding an airport terminal. A 50 minute lecture commence thereafter which was accompanied by a substantial ebb and flow of Q&A; both from students as well as via the presenter. After this we were shown the trading floor from the above observation deck. Many speculated as to whether the trade technicians away from sight were working diligently or rather playing the latest version of Angry Birds on one of their multi-panel workstations. At roughly noon we split for lunch. Most stayed in the immediate area and enjoyed lunch at one of the many nearby restaurants; however, some returned to the hotel to rest. Across from the ECB was an Indian restaurant. Generally, I'm told the prices here were unjustifiably high as the food quality did not hold a candle to what could be experienced at even low-tier equivalents in Dallas. Post-lunch we were herded into a security line at the ECB. In contrast to D-B, the security screening process was higher. Several unlucky students were subjected to a nice frisking by a very affectionate guard. Names will not be disclosed here. The ECB event included two lectures. The first presentation was intended to convey a high level view of the history of the bank, EU, and provide insights into the bank's decision making process. Following this a research staff member provided an overview of key macroeconomic indicators and discussed his expectations about the next year in terms of inflation rates, bond yields, and GDP growth. Sensing weakness in the lecturer's thesis, the MBA's did not forebear from asking tough questions. After this lecture and the following Q&A, one was left wondering whether the bank was correct in its view of expected macro economic outcomes. That evening the group convened at assorted restaurants and venues near the hotel to unwind from the day. Recommended fare included O'Reilly's Irish and the soon to be updated 'New Living Room' perched alongside the river. At the latter the schnitzel was savory- and many discovered the German delicacy of cranberry jam atop a fresh field green salad.

Partyslava

Monday brings with it site visits to both J&T and Peugeot. The bus leaves promptly at 9:45am carrying the array of highly valuable MBA's to Bratislava's foremost investment bank and financial institution. The ride is a short one -- of a duration only reaching about 5 minutes. Yet, the change in scenery is substantial. The backdrop quickly changes from one of historic architecture and of tourist-orientation to one of modern construction mixed amongst dilapidated structures that were the norm during the Soviet-era. Once at J&T, the group self-organizes and catches a ride up the persistently slow elevators. Situated atop the commercial tower is the firm's executive conference room. As the photos confirm, a reasonably breathtaking panorama of the city (at least by Slovakian standards) can be viewed by simply walking outside onto the wraparound observation deck. After a somewhat terse introduction by a young associate, we are introduced to a more senior decision maker at the firm. What is most striking about this individual is his certain exposition of the element of mystery. Overall, we are generally humored by his stories rooted in and inspired by Slovakia's communist era. Details include a discussion of political corruption and an explanation of how wealth rapidly emerged once property rights were privatized under a democratic regime. The general take-away from this visit was a reinforced notion that Slovakia's modern story is one of rapid transformation. Importantly, the message conveyed to us was that the country and its leaders have proceeded forward in light of the not forgotten perils of a Communist regime. After a short lunch at the mall food court (which by the way offered curiously delicious Slovakian dishes) the busses bring us to Peugeot which is approximately 45 minutes outside of the city. The plant is situated on a multi-acre site across an otherwise barren landscape. Two plant tours are conducted which sparks a discussion and a phase of reflection on concepts learned in our operations management course. As such, one could not resist symbolizing cars as cookies/cakes and also constantly searching for the elusive 'Herbie' (not surprisingly Peugeot's ops are very 'lean'). Once this site visit was completed we dispersed in pursuit of whatever night life could be found on a Monday...

Something Tastes Atypical

On both Monday and Wednesday GLP Europe headed over to the food court to experience the lunch often chosen by nearby working professional. At the far corner of the third floor a collection of food window boutiques was distributed in a semi-circular pattern. The layout of the fast-food market was not dissimilar to locations at familiar Dallas malls such as Galleria or Willow Bend. Choices offered included Slovakian and Eastern European interpretations of Italian, Asian, and German cuisine. Curiously a Mexican restaurant was a choice which included items that were almost entirely non-cognizable to a U.S. visitor. These items appeared to resemble in a basic form a simply Greek falafel placed in a taco shell rather than in pita bread. The Italian restaurant seemed most appealing to the author as well as many others. Menu options included many permutations of pasta, sauces, meats, and cheeses. A very popular item was penne pasta verde avec fresh mozzarella and roasted chicken. This meal was a welcome contrast to the days preceding which involved over-exposure to schnitzel, sauerkraut, and bratwurst. In Vienna a wider selection of menu items was to be found. Key things of interest were the Radler drink (beer and lemonade concoction), schnitzel, and street vendor kebab and falafel. One of the stops included in the trip of 8 GLP’ers was to a vendor hanging shingle at a train connection point. Mostly everyone requesting falafel from this particular street vendor was amazed at the quality of the dispensed items. It also seemed as if the other attending customers also enjoyed their items, although one should not discount the fact that novelty of the food may have been the primary contributing factor in our decision to make these purchases. Despite these considerations, the snack items provided much needed sustenance to further fuel exploration of downtown Vienna. Elsewhere in the city some individuals discovered the high utility value of a Radler drink. This beverage is simply a lighter consistency beer mixed with sweet lemonade. This item can be acquired for around 3.50 euro at most locales across Vienna, although an individual may wish to not restrict consumption to merely one unit.

LCD and their Mostly Predictable Quirks

I would respond to the previous blog post author (circa 2009) with the following mantra :: 'the music industry is no longer with us’. In approximately three years time personal digital music devices have become ubiquitous domestically and have facilitated disruptive change in the music industry. Gone is the era of purchasing entire albums or buying singles as a means of previewing an artist's latest offering (generally speaking). In its place is a listening audience/ purchasing public that desires a diverse and robust playlist. Although quality is a major contributing factor to a consumer's playlist construction activities; oftentimes quantity and diversity are the most influential considerations. Couple offshore torrent and download sites with the emergence of the Spotify and Pandora business model and it becomes clearer that the gatekeepers of ages past (major labels, radio, and other media broadcasters) are facing death by obsolescence (although a lucky few may still reap the benefits of a push-based promotion strategy as these firms retain power and influence).

Simply gone are the days where the artist could emulate pre-packed radio spun pop songs and place them in the hands of a label A&R exec. and expect to gain a modest chance of success or publicity. (lets fairly assume that the odds of making ‘gold’ status during 1965-2000 through the ‘gatekeeper’ model were approximately 1/200k, with today’s odds of a gold record for an emerging artist pegged at 1/500k). The problem is of course multi-faceted yet ultimately driven by the market’s lack of interest in consuming (ie. paying for) music. However, despite these depressing trends in the industry, the emerging artist may still achieve relative success by rising through the ranks of Internet media 'channels' (YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, etc...) it is fascinating to track the path to stardom that young indie artists take--- it usually arises as a result of having gone viral, often after an organic replication process has taken root.

Now where does this leave us today since we know that a ‘push’ (gatekeeper) oriented strategy is fading as a viable marketing method? Logic would suggest that the contrary to push – ie. a pull strategy- would be warranted in this new great society of music independence and liberated preferences. From the artist’s perspective this is both a blessing and a curse—since the market is becoming democratized the major downside is that genre and song formula preferences are breaking down. As such, if you are a rock artist/group it really isn’t in your best interest to plagiarize the Nickelback, Creed, and Hinder song catalog for ideas on arrangements or melodic structure—the populace is sick of hearing that soulless garbage and of course the distribution structure that was in place during the 90’s that could cram this music down the listener’s ears has eroded away (perhaps due in part to this phenomena).

On the other hand, the blessing is that the artist is empowered and incented to create more creative, inspired, and dare say you -- quirky? -- material. The listener above most other aspects wishes to be entertained or take away a strong positive impression from the song/artist. In today’s world it is becoming more the norm for the individual consumer to ‘like what they like’ instead of ‘like what the corporate machine has told them to like’. (obviously this applies more narrowly to music, these same ‘indie’ and/or ‘hipster’ types will yack about some avante-garde band on their one of many i-devices.) Overall this is good news for the aspiring musician who wishes to have their craft accepted by society, but an adverse aspect if objectives include broad commercialization of their product.

To close, I’ll leave you with a short list of updated ‘factors’ that may influence the commercial viability of a particular song. The factors at issue would influence the ultimate ‘impression’ or positive reaction that a lowest common denominator (‘LCD’) listener would experience.

1. The melody must sound like it was ripped from a nursery rhyme. Plus the vocalist must have less than an octave of range—that way autotune won’t melt down the mixing studio’s eight-core Mac while crunching through the pitch correction algo. [but if pitchiness is really the issue just distort the vocal to oblivion—the kids will think this is really creative]

2. Uses lots of fancy and digital pro-tooling to achieve a vintage sound.

3. So monotonously boring and weird that you can’t help but be pulled into the black hole

4. Subject matter makes you reflect back on your youth spent waiting in line at Abercrombie, how great the 90’s were, etc… yet in the present tense evokes images of hanging out with the Urban Outfitters kids and reminds you of how bad you want to pick up a ‘new’ vintage t after you recover from last night’s hangover

5. Unusual instrumentation- throw in some glockenspiel, grandad’s banjo, some weird pad patch from Garageband, and a sample of your cat screeching while having a nightmare and you are well on your way to the Malibu mansion

6. The song advocates a strong position of anarchism or Marxism (overthrow the 1%). Basically the song should reflect some kind of Hipstetarian belief structure. In this sense it feels like the songwriter is giving you the middle finger yet doesn’t know why they are or whether they are justified in doing so?? Who cares??

7. Golden rule: keep the song under 3:00- we all have ADHD and our Adderall is wearing off.

DGM