German Design Council honours Bernhard Maier of ŠKODA as ‘Brand Manager of the Year 2017’

Mladá Boleslav/Frankfurt, 13 September 2017: ŠKODA CEO Bernhard Maier has been named ‘Brand Manager of the Year 2017’ by the German Design Council (GDC), for his achievements in the field of brand and design at ŠKODA. The award was presented in Frankfurt on Tuesday evening as part of the Automotive Brand Contest, which is now one of the most important competitions in the automotive world.

Head of GDC, Dr. Michael Peters (R), Head of Design Mercedes-Benz, Kai Sieber (middle), hand over the award to ŠKODA’s Bernhard Maier

The Automotive Brand Contest is held annually by the GDC since 2011. With 14 competition categories and four special categories, it covers the complete design spectrum, ranging from vehicle design for premium and volume brands through brand design and multimedia networking to campaigns and events. The independent panel of experts consists of representatives of media, design, brand communication and universities with a keen interest in the automotive world.

ŠKODA has already received several awards from the German Design Council for outstanding design: In 2015, the ŠKODA SUPERB won the ‘Best of Best’ award in the ‘Exterior Volume Brand’ category; the ŠKODA OCTAVIA (2013) and the ŠKODA RAPID SPACEBACK (2014) had won the international design competition previously.

Under the new global brand management, ŠKODA has launched the much acclaimed KODIAQ and KAROQ, and also sharpened and realigned as a brand in all dimensions.