There are many jobs that require extended travel.
There are only 12 people who conduct all their travel in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, though, and two of those are Penn Staters.
Alumnae Ashley Hernandez and Breanna Robinson are the most recent participants in a long line of college of communications graduates to spend a year as a “Hotdogger.”
“Every day is different with the Wienermobile, which is what we love,” says Robinson, who graduated in 2014 with a degree in advertising and public relations. “You never know where you’re going to go next or what event you’re going to do.”
According to Hernandez, who earned her journalism degree last year, and Robinson, Oscar Mayer has been recruiting Penn State students for 27 years. The two, tasked with traveling the Northeast for the next few months, are the first Penn Staters to ever be paired together.
“It’s uncommon,” says Robinson. “We didn’t actually know each other at Penn State. We took a picture together at graduation, though, and off we went.”
The duo travels in an iconic vehicle, visiting a variety of events, including concerts, fairs, festivals, parades, sporting events and weddings. The job is all encompassing and includes branding, marketing and recruiting for Kraft Foods. They do not, however, sell hot dogs on the road — which is the question they’re asked most often.
Their communications background prepared them well for the job. Hernandez and Robinson speak to countless people from different cultures and places every day. They also deal with media requests and pitch story ideas too. Events they attend could attract as many as 30,000 people, or as few as 400.
“We’re in contact with consumers and fans every day,” says Hernandez. “We’re talking to them, building those relationships with people who love the brand and just giving them something to smile about when they see the Wienermobile driving down street.“
Ironically, the Weinermobile was the first car Hernandez ever drove.
The job consists of half of a year in one region of the country and the second half of the year in another. Hernandez, a native of Acapulco, Mexico, was in the Southeast until December, while Robinson, a Windber, Pa., native, traveled the Northwest before the two combined to take on the Northeast. The territory is not set in stone, though. Robinson visited 26 states and traveled around 17,000 miles during her first six months on the job.
With all of the time on the road, the two have plenty of time to get to know each other. They also listen to audio books and music. By rule, both Hotdoggers have to be awake at all times and the Wienermobile has a bedtime of 10:30 p.m. And, they do not sleep in the vehicle “because it’s not a “Weeniebago.”
“I’ve been with another girl in both of my regions and they have become my best friends,” says Hernandez. “I know I will always be in touch with them. You create such a special bond. It’s different with Bre than my past partner because we went to the same college and we get to reminisce and talk about our classes and what’s great about Penn State.”
A hotel room is home and a suitcase is as far as the wardrobe goes for Hotdoggers. They get to go home for a week at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, but other than that, they are on the road.
Typically, they change out clothes in their suitcases when they return home for breaks. Hotdoggers also get a bundle of gear from Oscar Mayer. A typical week consists of two off days, when they can explore the cities they are visiting.
The duo recently returned to Penn State to recruit, visiting classes and spreading the word about the company and the opportunity to drive the Wienermoble.
“Being back at Penn State was a great time,” says Hernandez. “We got to see a lot of professors who taught us and helped us to this job, so that was amazing.”
Both Hernandez and Robinson heard about the opportunity to be a Hotdogger when a former Penn Stater came to campus recruit last year. Hernandez and Robinson were among the 12 people selected for the position from a pool of hundreds of applicants. Each of them credits the college of communications with getting them to where they are now.
“I owe everything I have learned to the college of communications,” says Robinson. “My professors were great. I know the quality that they are putting out there is being put to use in my job. It’s awesome.”
After getting the job, Hotdoggers go through extensive training at “Hot Dog High” in Madison, Wis., which includes 40 hours of driving, crisis communications, team bonding, as well as learning about the brand and its different products.
After all of the places they’ve visited, each has some distinct and vivid memories.
Robinson enjoyed San Francisco, a place she hadn’t been prior to her job with Oscar Mayer. Her best memory was in Missoula, Mont. There, she got a home-cooked meal from a family the Hotdoggers had met. They also visited a retirement home, where Robinson met a man who had been to her county fair in Pennsylvania in the past.
“It ended up being one of the best towns that I’ve been to,” Robinson says. “Everyone was so friendly.”
For Hernandez, Atlanta sticks out. Halloween week in Tallahassee, Fla., where she participated in a food drive and visited a soup kitchen and homeless shelter, was also a highlight.
“That was a lot of fun to see how happy they were the Wienermobile came to visit,” says Hernandez.
When the year is up, both Hernandez and Robinson have new career plans. Robinson is looking to do corporate sponsorship with a sports team, while Hernandez wants to get a job in international communications. They’ve made countless connections, meeting numerous people while working as ambassadors for Kraft Foods.
While the coming summer will mark the end of their time as Hotdoggers, the memories made will stick with them.
“It’s been a lot of personal skills, definitely,” says Hernandez. “We’ve had to talk to people from all over the country with different backgrounds and cultures. We have learned so much about other people and ourselves at the same time.”
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