This is the fifth time that the German Brand Awards have been presented. The German Brand Awards are organised by the German Design Council, which was established in 1953 as an initiative of the German federal parliament. In giving out the German Brand Awards, the German Design Council and German Brand Institute honour successful brands, consistent brand management and sustainable campaigns and marketing projects.
The highest award, the “Best of the Best”, was awarded twelve times in total to distinguish outstanding brand management across different industrie
The prizewinners at a glance:
• »Corporate Brand of the Year«: Merck
• »Employer Brand of the Year«: Accenture
• »Digital Brand of the Year«: Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG Jelbi – Harte Tür., Agency Jung
von Matt)
• »Brand Effect of the Year«: Lime (“Unlock Life”, agency: Foundry Berlin)
• »Agency of the Year«: Comevis (sound branding for Yello Strom)
• »Brand Experience of the Year«: Provinzial Rheinland (MeinZuhause und ich)
• »Lighthouse Project of the Year«: Föll (Beim Föll. Auf’m Schrottplatz, Agency Sons)
• »Brand Strategy of the Year«: Wüstenrot (Wohnen heißt Wüstenrot)
• »Newcomer Brand of the Year«: Rebado (Rehau)
• »Product Brand of the Year«: Crosscamp (Erwin Hymer Group)
• »Service Brand of the Year«: kuechenspezialisten.de (DER KREIS)
• »Sustainable Brand of the Year«: Erlich Textil
The jury awarded this year’s “Brand Manager of the Year” honour to Tina Müller from Douglas. “Tina Müller is so successful as a modern management personality not only because she is willing to try out new things and think big, but also because she sees agility and forward-looking approaches as self- evident and imperative. She demonstrated this impressively in the past at Henkel and Opel, and now she has been doing the same at Douglas for the last two years. Under her leadership, the tradition-rich brand has undergone a facelift, reaching deep into its old values. Her bravery has been rewarded. Today Douglas is number one in Europe, a position that is planned to be further secured and expanded on, just like its online shop which is already considered one of the leading online shops in the market,” says the jury in its judgement.
“There are two interesting developments that can clearly be seen from the award submissions over the last four years. Firstly, businesses are increasingly turning towards New Work and creating a worker- centric corporate culture. The transformation from product-oriented brand management to customer- and worker-centric brand management, which was already long observable, is becoming increasingly prominent. Secondly, companies are displaying an increasingly better understanding of digital channels and, in conjunction with that, a stronger and more consistent usage of digital brand contact points. There is also increasing creation of digital brand experiences,” explains Lutz Dietzold, jury chairman of the German Brand Awards and Managing Director of the German Design Council.
“Driving these two developments is the generally growing awareness of branding and brand management. Additional drivers include skills shortages, digital transformation and the accelerated change of the working world, among other things,” continues Dietzold.
“Overall, there is a clear, ongoing trend towards the professionalisation of branding work, regardless of industry and size of organisation, linked with a deeper understanding of the significance of branding and with a realisation of the necessity of continuous brand management with a long-term focus,” Dietzold concludes.
In the “Excellent Brands” category, the best product and company brands within an industry received an award. The best entries in individual disciplines were awarded in the “Excellence in Brand Strategy and Creation” class.
Information about all the winners can be found at www.german-brand-award.com/en/the-winners.
German Design Council – the organiser
The organiser of the German Brand Awards is the German Design Council, which was established by the German federal parliament in 1953 and endowed by the Federation of German Industries. For over 60 years, the foundation has pursued a goal of internationally promoting the competitiveness of businesses.
German Brand Institute – the award giver
The objective of the German Brand Institute is to strengthen the importance of branding as a key factor to company success in competitive environments nationally and internationally. With the German Brand Awards, the foundation presents unique distinctions for outstanding brand management. The German Brand Institute was initiated by the German Design Council and GMK Markenberatung. Established as an initiative of the German federal parliament over 60 years ago, the German Design Council today represents the international design and branding sectors in Germany and supports businesses in any matters of design and branding, offering expertise and a focus on sustainability. The German Brand Monitor and German Brand Institute emphasise the commitment of the German Design Council and
GMK Markenberatung to the competitiveness of German brands.
Background
The importance of branding has been known for a long time. Its power has remained unabated until today and is growing through further digital transformation. The “German Brand Monitor 2017/2018” also demonstrates this. The results of the joint study by the German Design Council and
GMK Markenberatung show that more than 90% of decision makers consider branding a critical factor in company success and the key to important entrepreneurial goals. Additionally, 73% of brand experts expect strategic brand management to keep growing in importance.
However, the effort and costs of branding and brand management are often estimated incorrectly. They are frequently subject to criticism and put under scrutiny, especially at small and medium-sized enterprises. At the end of the day, it is not the size of the annual budget allocated that determines success. Rather, it is the consistency with which a brand is continuously managed and developed over the long term and the targeted use of the funds made available. In presenting the German Brand Awards, the German Design Council seeks to offer businesses and their branding work an exclusive forum and contribute to the exchange of knowledge and experience when it comes to successful, practice-oriented brand management.