Success through diversity and James Bond

Business administration students impress their customers with poster campaigns

In the competition for qualified employees, it is important for companies to present themselves as attractive employers. But how can they stand out from the competition and attract the attention of potential applicants? Business administration students at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences have developed campaign ideas to strengthen the employer brands of their customers, Stadtbäckerei Engelbrecht and bremenports. The student ‘agencies’ competed against each other in pitches. The winning motifs will be displayed on Ströer advertising spaces in Bremerhaven in August. 

The students worked on their campaign ideas in small groups for a whole semester. They received weekly coaching from marketing professor Prof Dr Birte Kemmerling and media consultants from the Ströer media company. This year, Stadtbäckerei Engelbrecht and bremenports focussed on their employer brands and specified what the student teams, called ‘agencies’ in the project, should focus on. "For the students, this project is always like jumping in at the deep end. It's great fun to see how they develop during their work. It's a highlight for me every year," says Prof Dr Birte Kemmerling.

After the pitches, the customers were spoilt for choice: which of the poster ideas best represented their company and would therefore make it onto one of Ströer's large advertising spaces as a campaign? For bremenports, the choice fell on the campaign motif "Colourful. Strong. Connected" by students Leonie Jakubke, Jella Logge, Nina Siekmann, Darja Zalewski and Hanh Nhi Vu. This was the best fit for the company, which had focussed on the topic of diversity for the campaign. Stadtbäckerei Engelbrecht opted for a motif that differs from all its previous campaigns. In August, a man with a rolling pin will be smiling from the billboards as ‘James Bond’. The motif was designed by students Joschka Ruff, Kevin Niklas Rugen, Ilja Weber, David Spallek, Philip Bretschneider and Gülistan Messi.

The joint campaign project with the media company Ströer is now an integral part of the Business Administration programme at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. "We are delighted to be able to give students an insight into the world of outdoor advertising in this way. That's why we've been supporting the project for many years and are always delighted with the great results," says Wiebke Bleis, Ströer branch manager. 

The application phase for degree programmes for the winter semester 2025/26 is currently underway at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. Applications for Business Administration and all other open-admission degree programmes can be made via the university's own application portal ecampus.hs-bremerhaven.de. The application deadline is 15 August 2025. Applications for the admission-restricted Bachelor's degree programmes in Digital Media Production, Physician Assistant and Social Work can only be submitted via the portal www.hochschulstart.de by 15 July 2025. Special regulations also apply to the practice-integrated dual study programmes. 

Further information on the degree programmes offered by Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences can be found at www.hs-bremerhaven.de/study.