German Brand Awards announces 2019 winners

The German Brand Awards announced all the winners of the 2019 competition at a gala event held at Deutsche Telekom's Representative Office in Berlin on Wednesday, 6 June.

Winners of the Brand Effect of the Year: Brand Design award: FC Bayern Munich (Interbrand GmbH).

Over 700 guests chosen from industry, politics and the media took up their invitation to attend this exclusive event. The initiator of this competition is the German Design Council, founded in 1953 on the initiative of the German Federal Parliament.

Through the German Brand Awards, the German Design Council and the German Brand Institute give acclaim to successful brands, consistent brand management and long-term brand communication.
Twelve contestants in total received the highest honour, ‘Best of Best’, awarded in recognition of outstanding brand management across all industries.

The Best of Best winners at a glance

Corporate Brand of the Year: Bosch (Bosch Thermotechnik GmbH, Bosch Junkers Germany)
Brand Effect of the Year: Brand Design: FC Bayern Munich (Interbrand GmbH)
Agency of the Year: Interbrand GmbH (Brand Design: Carglass)
Brand Experience of the Year: Kaldewei Magazine – Iconic Bathroom Solutions (Franz Kaldewei GmbH & Co.KG)
Employer Brand of the Year: comdirect bank AG (#yourock Leadership Development)
Lighthouse Project of the Year: The Pink Floyd Exhibition – Their Mortal Remains (Dortmunder U – Centre for Arts and Creativity)
Brand Innovation of the Year: Evertaste (LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG)
Digital Brand of the Year: 123erfasst (123erfasst.de GmbH)
Newcomer Brand of the Year: Novia by AXENT Switzerland (AXENT Switzerland AG)
Product Brand of the Year: markilux (markilux GmbH + Co. KG)
Service Brand of the Year: Fraport AG (VIP-Services Frankfurt Airport Fraport AG)
Sustainable Brand of the Year: Veramaris (Veramaris V.O.F.)

This year the jury honoured Dr Annette Becker, senior vice president business unit; Home & Garden at Robert Bosch Power Tools with the title ‘Brand Manager of the Year’. Their reasoning: “Under the management of Dr Annette Becker, the Bosch Power Tools brand in the Home and Garden division has successfully been able to meet the challenges of the digital age.

In a homogeneous, price-driven competitive environment, the Bosch Power Tools brand stands out not only due to its innovations that are consistently developed with the user in mind, but also due to stringent brand management that takes account of changing consumer habits.”

From hidden champion to brand champion

“This is an interesting development which is plain to see if you look at the competition entries, we have received over the last three years. An increasing number of hidden champions are developing their brands in a targeted way, and are making ongoing brand management a fixed component of their corporate strategy,” explains Andrej Kupetz, chair of the jury for the German Brand Awards and CEO of the German Design Council.

“As well as a generally greater awareness of the importance of branding and brand management, this development is driven by factors including labour shortage, progressive internationalisation, digitalisation and generational change.”

Kupetz concludes:

Overall there is a clear trend towards the professionalisation of brand work – across all industries and irrespective of company size. This goes hand in hand with a deeper understanding of the significance of brands, and insights into the need for ongoing brand management with a long-term perspective.

In the “Excellent Brands” category, awards went to the best product or company brand within a particular industry. The top performers in different specialist disciplines were honoured in the category “Excellence in Brand Strategy, Management and Creation”.