Day 2

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This morning we wake up to....nothing. My alarm was set to go off hours ago so we could take advantage of the complimentary breakfast at the hotel. Now with only half an hour before our first scheduled guest speaker, we got ready for the day with empty stomaches. At 1 p.m. we went downstairs to a very nice multi purpose room that the hotel set up for us as a meeting room. They even provided folders with a pen and sheets of paper for each student.

Our guest speaker was Antonio Nunez who has been in marketing and communications since he was eighteen years old. He spoke to us a little about his experience and past and then moved on to the real reason he was here. For the next hour or so he talked to us about how countries brand themselves and specifically focused on Spain. He emphasized the importance of story telling in any country and that it is the job of PR people to tell that story, project an image and keep it the same because you cannot control the telephone effect that occurs to most stories. Another thing he said that was important was that the PR industry is not about money and control anymore, rather it is about influencing and always being near the media. And lastly, another thing I found very interesting were the different images or perspectives that different areas of the world have of Spain. For instance, Americans have the idea that Spain is full of "drunk mexicans" while other places such as Germany and France view Spain as "Romantic". Overall I found everything that Antonio spoke of to be worthwhile and understandable. I definitely wasn't aware of how much depth of work is involved in branding countries before this speech.

Next, we have a couple hours until our next adventure and decide to spend this time wisely and buy lunch and a few things at the market. By the time we are done doing this and have changed into nicer attire, it is time to meet up with group downstairs once again. We follow Cesar to the metro and arrive at Llorente & Cuenca, a well known PR Firm located in Madrid as well as other areas in the world. Upon arriving we are lead into a nice meeting room and introduce ourselves to Arturo Pinedo, the Executive Partner of the company. Another representative helps him describe what the company is about, how they work within the country as well as internationally and what their typical work days look like. They also proceeded to give us a tour of the company as well. Overall this was one of my favorite places we attended throughout the entire trip because it gave me a glimpse of what to aim for. It was exciting and interesting to see and hear about how this company was founded and how someday I could work for an organized and professional places such as Llorente & Cuenca. For more information about the PR Firm check out their website: http://www.llorenteycuenca.com/index.php

At some point later today three of the girls on the trip find that their room has been completely ripped apart and that some of their valuables have been stolen. They report this to the front desk who assures them that they will be refunded their money and placed into a different room. Since they have to go to the police department with Cesar to answer questions and file a proper report, the rest of us decide to go to dinner at VIPS (basically the equivalent of a nicer looking Denny's) right across the street of our hotel. We eat and wait to hear word and discuss the possibility of going out to explore the night life. After finishing our dinner (I had ice cream because I'd been craving it) we decided to just stay in the hotel and hangout in one room together and wait til everyone was together and in better moods to visit clubs and bars.

I set my alarm and double checked it before finally falling asleep in the early hours of the morning. The time difference was still taking its toll on me and the jet lag was clearly present. Determined to make it to breakfast later that day I went to sleep hungry.

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Photos

First Guest Speaker
Here we are with Antonio who was by far the girls' favorite!

Llorente & Cuenca
The PR Firm we visited.

The Group at Llorente & Cuenca
Here we are with Arturo Pinedo the Executive Partner.