Press Release

Press Release | Gütersloh, 12/15/2017

Bertelsmann’s Annual Report Wins Multiple Awards

  • Online report wins platinum Vision Award
  • Illuminated slipcase makes for one-of-a-kind publication

Bertelsmann’s Annual Report has once again won numerous honors from experts this year, with both the printed and the online versions winning awards in the relevant competitions.

The international media, services and education company celebrated a double win at the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Vision Awards. Around 1,000 candidates from 25 countries competedin the international contest. The online report won an LACP Platinum award, and the printed report won Gold. The publication came tenth in the ranking of the Top 100 reports from around the world.

The Annual Report also won two Stevie Awards, regarded as the “Oscars of the annual report world,” with the printed version scoring bronze and the online report winning silver.

The cover design and innovative lighting technology integrated in this year’s slipcase did especially well at the ARC Awards, winning gold and silver, respectively. The report’s recurring design element – a dynamic “swoosh” or comet-tail – and the graphics in the report received a bronze medal.

The Fox Finance Awards judges honored the Annual Report’s excellent effectiveness in the Media, Agencies and Media Technology sector, and bestowed a Fox Finance 2017 silver award on both the reporting and the design.

Karin Schlautmann, Executive Vice President Corporate Communications of Bertelsmann, said: “We are delighted with the recognition we have received for our Annual Report. The report is part of an integrative communications concept and illustrates the strategic progress Bertelsmann has made in recent years. This time we integrated lighting elements on the cover in the design of the printed report, an absolute novelty. So our product is a real visual highlight and unique among all of the world’s business reports. The awards confirm that we have provided an innovative, informative and incisive showcase for our strategic progress. My thanks go to all my colleagues who were involved in this project.”

As in the previous year, the Annual Report was divided into two separate booklets – a corporate brochure and a financial report, bundled in a slipcase. The slipcase is equipped with innovative LED technology – a first – which causes the comet tail printed on the front of the case to light up at the touch of a button.

The online Annual Report picks up on the core messages of the printed edition (ar2016.bertelsmann.com  ). Animations help give readers a comprehensive insight into the Group’s key strategic advances in a user-friendly interface that works on all devices.

The concept is extended into the digital realm with, among other things, a video specially produced for the Group’s online and social media presence. The video was unveiled, along with a lighting installation consisting of a two-and-a-half-meter (8-foot) high LED sculpture, at the company’s Annual Press Conference in March 2017.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company has 116,000 employees and generated revenues of €17.0 billion in the 2016 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.