Talking about the real Siemens: the challenge of Siemens Stories

The Editorialist: Can you talk us through the goals for Siemens Stories content?

Valérie Rassel: We had two main goals. We wanted to share our tech DNA through the key issues facing our customers and bridge the perception gap among our different audiences. Our group has undergone far-reaching change over its long history and our old BtoC activities remain deeply rooted in people’s minds. Siemens image is still sometimes associated with past activities. We wanted to make our company more understandable, tangible and accessible by telling people what Siemens really does today. Developing technologies to meet the needs of the infrastructure, industry, transport and healthcare sectors.

T.E: What editorial approach did you take to tackle these issues?

V.R.: Our challenge is to make our business universes compelling and attractive and get away from the stereotypical image of the industry. To achieve this, we wanted to tell useful and inspiring stories to our customers and the public. But we needed help. Step one with The Editorialist was to get some critical distance and use their outsider perspective to unpick Siemens and the issues facing our customers. We used interviews with customers and our own in-house experts to explore projects from different viewpoints, drilling right down to the heart of each topic. The end goal is to help people to understand what Siemens does by staying simple, concrete and explaining the digital transition to our readers.

The Editorialist: For the last two years, the content that you have created with The Editorialist has reflected your expertise through customer case studies. How would you assess this content today?

Valérie Rassel: In two years, we have built up a vast repository of stories that talk about extremely varied client universes. Now, we are exploring story ideas that would not have occurred to us before. Not only are we talking more clearly about what is really going on in our businesses, we are also shining a spotlight on our customers. Our publications are shared on social media and also in a regular newsletter.

Customers have expressed their satisfaction to us, and we are proud to boost their stories as well. Siemens Stories content is also shared within the group. By showcasing customer stories, we are also highlighting the work done by our own people. This underlines the purpose of their own jobs and raises their profile inside the organisation. It is definitely a brand-boosting solution. We plan to keep following this path, continuing to inspire, providing meaning and encouraging good people to join us!