London, 07/17/2017

Refreshingly New Ideas

Four innovative ideas, four professional pitches, and four exciting developments on their way, presented by eight young Bertelsmann employees – the concepts that made it into the final round of this year’s "Fresh Perspectives" initiative in Britain once again revealed the creative potential and innovative power of Bertelsmann’s employees in the UK. Alongside numerous executives from all the divisions with operations in Britain, Bertelsmann Chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe and Bertelsmann CFO Bernd Hirsch also attended the finale of "Fresh Perspectives 2017", which was held in London during the UK Country Coordination Meeting at the end of June for the third time.

This year’s finalists came from Penguin Random House, Fremantle Media, BMG, and Arvato, and all the ideas clearly highlighted one thing: the growing need for greater collaboration and networking both within and across Bertelsmann’s British divisions.

"Energy, Enthusiasm and Creative Insight"

Reflecting on the success of the Fresh Perspectives initiative, Gail Rebuck, Board Director at Penguin Random House and UK Country Co-Coordinator, said: "At the 2014 Bertelsmann University Creativity Forum in London we showcased the creativity of the Millennial generation, from YouTubers to digital entrepreneurs.

‘Fresh Perspectives’ arose directly out of those insights as an initiative to tap into the creativity of Millennials in every division and give them an opportunity to present their ideas to local CEOs and foster cross-divisional collaborations. Over the past three years, these sessions have brought energy, enthusiasm and creative insight to our UK Country Coordination meetings, fostering innovation and identifying new talent." The project, which Rebuck initiated in 2015, was once again organized by the HR managers of various Bertelsmann companies in Britain this year.

Structuring Synergies

Christopher Ludwig, Director of Digital Strategy at BMG, opened this year's presentations. His idea was to structure synergies between the different Bertelsmann divisions by setting up a Bertelsmann Synergy Hub, which would bring employees together for leveraging synergy effects and encouraging new ideas.

Ludwig will further explore his concept in the near future with the support of the Bertelsmann Corporate Network. The idea is to set up a cross-divisional "Content Circle Music" to exchange know-how within the Bertelsmann units.

Firing up New Ideas

The second proposal also focused on networking and bringing employees together. Tom Shaw from the Future Leaders Program at Arvato CRM presented "Ignite," his idea for a platform that allows employees to exchange ideas, make suggestions, and develop innovations together in an uncomplicated way. Ignite features a user-friendly, intuitive user interface that reduces the obstacles often encountered in traditional innovation processes.

The idea received much interest from Debra Maxwell, CEO of Arvato UK, who will now support the roll-out of an Ignite prototype together with Tom Shaw.

Easy English Learning Online

Kate Heald, publisher of Ladybird Education, Caroline Newbury, Head of Education Development, and Sophie Overment, Head of Education Sales came up with an idea for giving children around the world the opportunity to learn English through a digital platform while at the same time introducing them to the colorful world of books from the Penguin Random House children’s book publisher Ladybird.

The three British publishing group employees believe the project will not only be an opportunity to improve children’s language and reading skills but will also strengthen Ladybird’s brand and provide a connecting point for building a bridge to the Bertelsmann Education Group. Tom Weldon, CEO Penguin Random House UK, immediately agreed to fund the development of the learning website.

Digital Platform for Creative Content

If the first three pitches emphasized the idea of stronger networking within the Bertelsmann world, the final pitch of this year's "Fresh Perspectives" finale once again clearly revealed the potential and creativity that close collaboration between different divisions can bring.

Darryl Foster, Associate Producer at Fremantle Media and a third-time "Fresh Perspectives" finalist; Clarissa Pabi, Senior Marketing Executive at Ebury Publishing; Indira Birnie, Audience Development Manager at Penguin Random House; and Billy Millar, Creative Manager at BMG presented "Outspoken," a digital platform featuring varied entertaining and thought-provoking video content produced by Fremantle Media that serves to promote Penguin Random House books and BMG musicians, especially to the young "Generation Z" demographic.

The Country Coordination Meeting (CCM) participants were very impressed with the proposal, and Fremantle Media, Penguin Random House, Dorling Kindersley and BMG will work together to implement "Outspoken."

"Fresh Perspectives" Becoming More International

After three successful rounds of the "Fresh Perspectives" initiative in Britain, the successful model is now spreading to other Bertelsmann regions as well. The innovation competition has already been established for the Eastern European region this year; the next country is Spain where young talents will present their ideas during the Country Coordination Meeting in December 2017.