Best in Communication

Last week German book publisher ECON Verlag gave out its annual Corporate Communication Awards in Berlin. ECON, a part of publishing house Ullstein Buchverlage, has since its founding in 1950 been one of Germany's leading non-fiction publishers, specializing in finance and economy titles as its name indicates. The awards, which the publisher has been holding since 2007, recognize the best in corporate communication in the German-speaking world each year. The day after the awards are given, the winning entries are published by ECON in the Yearbook of Corporate Communication, a bible for those in the industry.

A total of 28 trophies were awarded in the categories of annual reports, image publishing, magazine, sustainability and CSR reporting, corporate video, digital media, public relations activities, social media activities and integrated corporate communications.

"We want to encourage companies to innovate," said jury chair Klaus Rainer Kirchhoff. "We set very high standards and to show a gamut of corporate communications with this unique award and yearbook." Big winners include Bayer AG, the Federal Ministry of Defense, and former Puma CEO Jochen Zeitz was named Person of the Year for his work on sustainability and corporate social responsibility.