The Automotive Brand Contest is the only branding and design competition for international automotive brands and their partners, and has developed into a highly regarded industry event in recent years. “The world of transport has changed rapidly in the ten years of the Automotive Brand Contest. There is one thing above all that has stayed the same: strong brands,” says Lutz Dietzold, Managing Director of the German Design Council, reflecting on the competition’s development. “Globalisation, digital transformation and electric vehicles have led to an entire array of new, exciting players becoming involved. The Automotive Brand Contest increases the visibility of trends like these and industry developments. It is an effect that can be seen very powerfully after ten years.”
Automotive Brand Contest. The special-award winners at a glance
•“Brand of the Year”: Volvo Car Corporation
•“Innovation of the Year”: London EV Company Ltd.
•“Team of the Year”: Zagato – Zed Milano
•“Agency of the Year”: ATELIER BRÜCKNER
This year’s “Agency of the Year” distinction was claimed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER, which regularly designs magnificent brand experiences for major automotive brands. The jury honoured premium brand Volvo as “Brand of the Year” following the breakthrough success of its realignment in recent years. The “Team of the Year” distinction went to Italian design studio Zagato – Zed Milano, which is behind numerous icons of automotive design. The “Innovation of the Year” award was presented to London EV Company for its electric-drive taxi in London’s iconic black-cab design. Also among the prizewinners in the competition’s ten categories were automotive companies as well as agencies that stood out for their exceptional work in design and brand communication. The successful projects range from new lines of electric-mobility design to urban-mobility concepts as well as bio-hybrid drive systems and shared-transport concepts.
Automotive Brand Contest. The honorary award
Each year the jury presents the “Brand Manager of the Year” honour. This year its decision fell in favour of Michael Stoschek, Chairman of the Brose Group. He has led the automotive supplier’s business operations for 35 years and since 2006 has been supporting the ongoing development of the company, which has a 110-year history to its name. He views the future of the automobile optimistically and sees it as connected with a clear mission for the Brose Group: “We wish to increase the appeal that the car itself and that driving has for users, now and in the future, and especially with a view to the changing circumstances in transport.”
All the winners of the Automotive Brand Contest 2020 can be found at: www.automotive-brand-contest.de/en/the-winners.html
A list of winners can be downloaded at: bit.ly/2YGaeL7
Transport on the move – the Automotive Brand Contest changing with the times
Whether it’s electric scooters, hire services, new drive systems, autonomous buses or even air taxis, the requirements for transport are changing. There are new innovations, forms of transport and services that are being created to respond to transforming needs, for example when it comes to operation, flexibility and consuming less space and fewer resources. Fields of innovation such as digital transformation, AI and new energy solutions are contributing to further differentiation.
In order to reflect this complexity, the German Design Council is developing the Automotive Brand Contest into a platform that will in 2021 incorporate all segments of the world of transport. You can look forward to more information about this from the German Design Council in autumn 2020.