Johanna Prestele  

Campaigns communications manager

Siemens 
Munich

“Innovation needs to be constant, never standing still. Innovation is the heartbeat of success”

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Johanna Prestele joined Siemens only three years ago as part of its 2015 graduate intake – having already smartly racked up comms experience at Unilever, Red Bull and BMW and getting a couple of Masters degrees in management under her belt –  and has already been made campaigns communications manager. She is responsible for strategy and implementation of corporate campaigns at the German technology giant, and describes herself as a “pure optimist” who is passionate about supporting clients including Bayern Munich FC through its digital transformation, and advocating for women in technology.

How do you define innovation?
Innovation needs to be constant, never standing still. Innovation is the heartbeat of success.

What is the most innovative comms/marketing initiative you've seen in the last 12 months?
Using limited-edition adidas sneakers as yearly subway ticket to boost transit brand acceptance in Berlin.

Which brands and/or agencies are most innovative around PR and marketing?
Red Bull and adidas.

Describe a moment in your career that you would consider 'innovative.'
Realising my current campaign was not working, thanks to analytic insights, I re-adjusted the whole content strategy with amazing results.

Who do you admire for his/her approach to innovation? 
My boss Mark Seall, who always starts discussing innovative ideas at the highest level possible: limitless.

How do you get out of a creativity rut?
Leave the office, reach out and find people who do something completely different from me.

What advice would you give to the PR industry around embracing innovation?
Innovation has a lot to do with knowledge and being open-minded to any idea. Nowadays we as communicators tend to focus our information updates heavily on our stream/brand/industry news. In order to be truly innovative, you need to broaden your focus and even in the digital world, read newspapers and broaden your scope beyond your traditional peers.

What would you be doing if you weren't doing your current job?
Startup accelerator. I would be organising Hackathons with students and young startups. Then you are always at the core of innovation, learning every day.

Favorite book/movie/podcast/article that's not related to PR/marketing/business?
Pulp Fiction.

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