10.06.2010: "City of Science" 2011 poster campaign is energy squared for Mainz

Students started the first poster campaign for the title year, prompting Mayor Beutel to call it "A clever idea."

"E=MZ²" - this formula, planted in watercress seeds, will be used to promote Mainz as a location for research on 40 large posters that will go up all over the city beginning on 11 June. Clever students of communication design at the Mainz University of Applied Sciences and of bibliology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz created the slogan and the design for the first poster campaign for Mainz as the "City of Science 2011." Hannerose Mandik, Matea Prgomet, Sarah Schmitt, Johannes Pistorius, and Christian Weber have combined the well-known formula E=mc² by Albert Einstein with Mainz to create a new and unique formula for the "City of Science 2011". Even the manner of presentation was well thought out: "Watercress is known for being easy to grow and expresses the idea that every resident of Mainz can actively take part in science," explained Christian Weber.

"A clever idea that symbolizes the cooperation between science, business and culture in a concise and clear way," said Mayor Jens Beutel, praising the team that created the design, which beat five other competing student groups.

The poster campaign was created as part of a practical project with Ströer Deutsche Städte Medien GmbH and the study courses in Communication Design (Mainz University of Applied Sciences), Bibliology and Media Management (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz). According to Beutel: "The state capital Mainz has acted as one of the sponsors for the project seminar to actively involve the students in preparations before the official start of the 'City of Science' year."

"Our 'City of Science' projects are intended to develop Mainz as a future-oriented location for media and to train young people for competitive work in media companies. This poster campaign is a way to implement our common goals for a genuine public-private partnership project," said Professor Georg Krausch, spokesman for the MAINZ RESEARCH ALLIANCE and President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. "It is very important that our students should get practical experience during their studies, in addition to a comprehensive, theoretical grounding in media and communication," added Professor Gerhard Muth, President of Mainz University of Applied Sciences.

The participants in the project seminar received professional support from Professor Rüdiger Storim, an experienced professional and Managing Director of the Ströer Deutsche Städte Medien in Frankfurt. In a series of lectures beforehand, he familiarized the participants with basic conceptual, design and production technology issues concerning out-of-home media. "The students have implemented very high-quality, intelligent and creative campaigns within a short time. We are pleased with the wonderful results achieved by our young, creative Mainz students," acknowledged Rüdiger Storim.

In conjunction with designing the large posters, students took a marketing research survey from 11 June to 21 June, to evaluate the success of their campaign, "What do the citizens of Mainz think about the slogan?" The results will be presented by the project seminar participants at a press conference marking the end of the project on 28 June.