Hot Dog PR - Alumna says driving the Weinermobile is fun time, serious business
Alison Kwong graduated in Spring 2009 with a degree in public relations. Today she drives a 27-foot long hotdog as a brand ambassador for Oscar Meyer. As she's been explaining to students this week in an effort to recruit new Hotdoggers, it's a fun job and great experience for new graduates.
What's it like returning to Austin, for the first time since graduating, driving a giant hot dog?
Returning to Austin as an alumna in the Wienermobile has been tremendously fun and rewarding. After traveling cross-country to cities and states I've never been to, visiting a familiar place is very refreshing. I've essentially been a tourist for the past seven months, but now I get to be a tour guide for my co-worker, my fellow Hotdogger Laura, who is from Ohio, and has never been to Austin before. Also, it's so special to recruit future Hotdoggers at my alma mater because I was in that exact same position a year ago. I love visiting current PR students and explaining how my studies at UT led me to such a rewarding career.
You're the second hotdogger in the past few years who's graduated from UT. Adam Annen preceded you. Do you feel like you're now part of a UT tradition of hotdoggers?
Well, Oscar Mayer only conducts formal recruitment at four universities,Texas, Missouri, Penn State and Wisconsin. Students from other schools often apply and end up cutting the mustard, but we only bring the Wienermobile to those four campuses because of their excellent communications colleges. There already is a substantial pedigree of Texas kids that have driven the Wienermobile in the past 22 years. However, I was the only Longhorn in this year's class of Hotdoggers. Hopefully, there will be a few more in this upcoming class to carry on the legacy for me an Adam.
What are some of your regular responsibilities?
I'd say the main thing Hotdoggers do is drive the Wienermobile to different locations and do event promotions and marketing. Those events could be anything from driving in a parade to tailgating an NFL Football game. At our events we hand out Wiener Whistles, give tours of the vehicles and create memorable experiences for consumers of all ages. On top of that, we are responsible for generating media coverage in every city we visit. We also manage a lot of social media; there is a Wienermobile account on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. And every Hotdogger details her experiences on the road on hotdoggerblog.com. Blogging just so happens to be one of my favorite responsibilities. Probably because I can relentlessly pun.
When you visit college campuses, do you find that educators and students appreciate the Wienermobile beyond its gimmicky appeal? That is, they respect it as a public relations strategy that has had great long-term success and requires skill and talent to execute?
Fortunately, the faculty at Mizzou and UT (the two schools I've recruited at) have been very supportive of the Hotdogger program because they have had former students become Hotdoggers and continue to do great things with their PR degrees after their year on the road. Hotdogging can seem gimmicky because it is such an unconventional career path, but over 1,500 people nationwide apply for only 12 spots, so cutting the mustard is no easy endeavor. Though a lot of PR grads opt to join agencies upon graduating, I'd venture to say that Hotdoggers get much more PR experience than most entry-level positions in the communications field. We are spokespeople for a Fortune 100 company. We plan and execute promotional events for non-profit organizations, corporations, sports teams etc. We communicate to consumers of all ages every day, and not only do we pitch the media, we answer reporters' questions and conduct the interviews ourselves. So in my experience, the professors and students who know the abundant roles and responsibilities that Hotdoggers assume highly value the program.
As a mobile brand ambassador, what kind of media training did you get in Hot Dog High? Did it include handling a social media crisis?
Since Hotdoggers are Oscar Mayer spokespeople, we appear in the local news on a regular basis. During Hot Dog High, we were media trained by worldwide PR agency Weber Shandwick. Weber gave us tips on how to pitch media and conducted mock media interviews to prepare us for the plethora of questions we receive on the road. We were also crisis trained by media specialist, Teri Goudi; she was a news anchor who appeared on Oprah at one point. She really "grilled" us with some tough questions and hypothetical situations, which was probably the most intense, nerve-racking part of training, but now I can honestly say I have the wherewithal to handle myself and represent Oscar Mayer if a crisis ever arises. Oh yeah, Weber also helps us create new puns. So deliciously clever!
Do you have to like hot dogs to be a good Hotdogger?
Yes. It's hard not to like hot dogs when you drive a 27-foot-long wiener. I quite enjoy eating hot dogs at some of the fundraisers or sporting events that we work at. We don't sell actual hot dogs in the Wienermobile (a common misconception), so we don't eat them terribly often. Furthermore, there are no refrigeration units or cooking apparatuses in the vehicle, so we have no means of storing, transporting or preparing hot dogs while we travel. It's a very special treat for us when we finally do get a delicious grilled hot dog at an event or restaurant. For us, getting a long-awaited hot dog is comparable to finding a White Castle or a Joshua Tree.
How do you handle criticism that hot dogs are unhealthy or that the animals used for them are not treated ethically?
Like I said, Hotdoggers don't eat hot dogs every day and don't suggest that anyone else does. Hot dogs are a fun, feel-good American food that brings families together at picnics and barbecues, and those memories and experiences are what sustain Oscar Mayer's family-friendly brand image. Oscar Mayer is also a leader in food safety and only uses quality meats in their products. There are sodium-free, nitrate-free and fat-free options for health-conscious consumers, and Kraft Foods (Oscar Mayer's parent company) owns Boca, the top-seller in tofu and soy-based products. I've met many-a-vegetarian who still enjoys the nostalgia and history associated with the Wienermobile.
What are you learning that you didn't expect to?
For me personally, one of the most challenging aspects of the job was realizing the significance of representing a brand all the time. The Wienermobile is my only mode of transportation so if I need to stop at Walgreens to buy shampoo, I will probably be approached by excited consumers and I'll probably take photos of them and I'll probably give them Wiener Whistles even though I'm technically off the clock. My words and actions represent Oscar Mayer's brand image whenever I'm with the vehicle, so one snide comment or rude gesture could blemish a 125-year-old brand and someone's first experience with the Wienermobile. I always had a work-hard, play-hard mentality in college: work hard on a project, relax after it's turned in. Study hard all semester, subsequently burn your textbooks that the Co-op didn't buy back. But with Hotdogging, I couldn't separate work and play anymore. As I mentioned with the Walgreens anecdote, I do technically "work" when I'm off, but at the same time my work is play. I have so much fun entertaining people at events and interacting with kids. Plus, I've received free tickets to a UFC fight, a KISS concert, Disneyland and a few movies because I was with the Wienermobile at opportune times. The perks of being a 24-hour brand ambassador definitely outweigh the disadvantages.
What was the interview process like? What skills were they looking for? How long was the training? When did you graduate? When did you start as a Hotdogger?
The interview process was understandably competitive, but more casual than I expected. Personality is such a big part of being a Hotdogger, so our bosses really try to get to know the applicants during the interview process. I consider my interview session analogous to an episode of the Real World or Project Runway because fifteen strangers from different parts of the country convene and interact with each other for a few days, and after the interview, you leave wanting a lot of those candidates to get the job with you. I graduated in May 2009 and went to Hot Dog High in early June, which lasted two weeks. During training, we learned everything from how to pitch a radio station to how to parallel park the Wienermobile. It was an exhausting, but fun 14 days.
In terms of what my employers are looking for, Oscar Mayer seeks a variety of skill sets and characteristics in their Hotdoggers. They want charismatic, genuine individuals who can work as a cohesive team; they don't necessarily want 12 individuals who have the same strengths and skill sets. For instance, in my current class, there are a few college radio personalities, a campus tour guide or two, a former-collegiate mascot (Bucky the Badger at the University of Wisconsin), the youngest ever president of the Chi Omega sisterhood and a dude who grew up in France and can fluently speak three languages. I am none of those things, but I get along and work well with all of them.
Any advice or closing statements?
For any interested applicants, come to our info session on Feb. 16 at 5:30 in Burdine 220. All grade levels and majors are welcome; though communications degrees are preferred, many Hotdoggers have degrees in foreign languages, business or education. Even if you're not graduating, learning more about the job will only benefit you if you choose to apply when you do graduate. You can get a feel for what Oscar Mayer seeks in Hotdoggers and then choose what classes to take, what internships to apply for and what organizations to participate in throughout the remainder of your college career.
And most importantly, be yourself. Cliche as that nugget of sage wisdom may seem, it truly is the best advice I can bestow on any future Hotdogger. My employers are very discerning; they can determine whether an applicant is being genuine or not. There's not one prototypical Hotdogger. Know your strengths and capabilities and capitalize on how those skills would make you a "franktastic" candidate. Whether that means you're bilingual or a strong writer or a good leader or just a downright humorous individual, Oscar Mayer wants a collection of diverse skill sets to build a solid class of Hotdoggers.
Visit the Weinermobile Web site for more information on becoming a Hotdogger.
Frank you for your time!