With the German Brand Award, the Council for Form and the German Brand Institute identify successful brands, dedicated brand management and sustainable brand communication. The Council for Form initiated the German Brand Award for the first time in 2016. The German Brand Institute, formed to promote activities in the brand management field, is entrusted with conducting the competition.

The German Brand Award is the indication of successful brand management and was awarded for only the second time in 2017. It uncovers, presents and gives prizes to unique brands and brand makers. Weidemann GmbH won the prize in the "Machines & Engineering, Industry Excellence in Branding" category and is the first company in the Agricultural Engineering sector that has been selected in this way.

Only companies that have been nominated by the German Brand Institute, its brand scouts and expert committees for the German Brand Award 2017 can participate in the competition. "Weidemann achieved this nomination and won", said Bernd Apfelbeck, the company's Commercial Director. "We are absolutely delighted with this award - this shows us from an independent position that we are on the right path with the policy pursued by Weidemann. A strong brand is absolutely essential for the success of our company."

Head of Marketing Christina Heine adds: "In recent years at Weidemann, we have worked very hard on serious structuring and the image of the brand. The actual entry to our target groups, a user-friendly and aesthetic design of communication and unambiguous information were and are also important to us. Authenticity is an absolutely crucial factor for us: the coherent overall image of the products and the company - to live and communicate a strong partnership between manufacturer, dealers and customers is what we believe in."

The relevance of the brand

"The second round of the German Brand Awards shows that an increasing number of companies are recognising the relevance of serious brand work and are willing to grasp the brand as a strategic instrument for business development and this to some degree also demands radical changes. Anyone who has understood this, without at the same time losing sight of the principles of successful brand work, is well prepared for the challenges of the future", said the Executive Director of the Council for Form, Andrej Kupetz, in conclusion.

The Panel

An independent panel of brand experts from various disciplines decides the winner of the German Brand Award

• Chairman: Andrej Kupetz, Executive Director of the Council for Form
• Dr Saskia Diehl, Director, GMK Markenberatung [Brand Consultancy]
• Lutz Dietzold, Director, Council for Form
• Prof. Tobias Kollmann, Ph.D., University of Duisburg-Essen
• Günter Moeller, Director, hm+p Hermann, Moeller & Partner
• Stefan Raake, Director, AMC Finanzmarkt GmbH
• Prof. Mike Richter, Darmstadt College of Advanced Technology
• Prof. Simone Roth, Ph.D., Vice President Brand Academy
• Christian Rummel, Deputy Global Head of Brand Communications & CSR, Deutsche Bank