Audi Annual Report Takes the Gold

INGOLSTADT – July 1, 2008: Audi participated in Europe’s largest corporate communications competition with an innovative annual report format. This very same annual report has now been voted the best of the year by Forum Corporate Publishing e.V. Audi is thus once again setting new standards, this time in corporate communications.

The jury lauded Audi’s innovative approach as a “shining example of the new world of annual reports.” The Audi Annual Report finished first among the 65 annual reports submitted from renowned international companies, taking the gold for “storytelling at its best with outstanding photos, prominent authors and writers. The annual report departs the realm of controlling to create its own media genre,” continued the jury.

Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi, underscored that the Audi Annual Report contributes to value-enhancing communications and thus to image-building for the company: “After our highly appealing products, the annual report is our most important calling card. We are further underpinning our leading position by showcasing Audi’s success in an innovative manner. I am thus all the more pleased that the 2007 Annual Report has been honored with this award.”

Experts from the fields of journalism, marketing, editorial design as well as corporate and financial communications evaluated the competitors based on diverse criteria. The most important aspects for a top ranking included appealing journalistic design, a selection of topics relevant to the industry, sensible networking with other media and a compelling and innovative overall concept.

Forum Corporate Publishing e.V., together with the leading industry magazines acquisa, Horizont and w&v, has been honoring the best corporate publications with the BCP Best of Corporate Publishing award since 2003. With a total of some 660 publications submitted again in 2008, the competition is the largest of its kind in Europe.

However, the Audi Annual Report did more than just convince the 100 members of the jury from Forum Corporate Publishing e.V. With a variety of topics from technology through design and sport all the way to culture, it has served as a source of information for customers, journalists and analysts from publication in March 2008 until today. Since Audi first implemented this innovative annual report concept in 2005, the number of printed copies has increased steadily. This year, 115,000 copies will be distributed throughout the world in German, English and Chinese.

Along with the print publication, an interactive, online version of the 2007 Annual Report can also be found at www.audi.de/geschaeftsbericht and www.audi.com/annualreport. The online annual report also reflects the multifaceted activities of the Ingolstadt-based premium car brand – accompanied by exciting video podcasts and additional multimedia components.