Press Release | Gütersloh, 07/18/2011

Bertelsmann Unveils New Branding

New logo and corporate design demonstrate strength and aspiration of Europe's leading media company

Bertelsmann AG has updated its branding: The international media and services company now has a new logo and a modified corporate design to reflect the successful evolution of its strategy and business. A powerful word mark replaces the previous logo, underlining the company’s strength and aspiration.

“We have actively streamlined our portfolio and significantly advanced the company’s structure, business fields and creative potential. Bertelsmann is now highly profitable and strategically well-positioned to play a leading role in shaping the future of media and services in the digital age. Our new branding is a self-confident expression of all this,” said Hartmut Ostrowski, Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann AG. “We also want to emphasize even more what makes Bertelsmann unique from our perspective: its special combination of creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination sets us apart and drives us forward.”

This is expressed by the new slogan “creativity meets entrepreneurship,” which is not part of the logo, but will be used flexibly in image communications.

Bertelsmann will from now on present itself with a plain blue logo, a pure word mark in distinctive lettering. The Group’s corporate design will continue to use Bertelsmann’s two main colors – blue and orange-red – in an updated form.

“In keeping with our company’s culture and strategy we have not made any radical breaks with our branding, but have evolved it in the spirit of continuity. Overall, the new logo is more recognizable: the font is distinctive and contemporary – the strong name ‘Bertelsmann’ stands on its own,” said Thorsten Strauß, who as head of Bertelsmann Corporate Communications is responsible for the company’s new branding. “At the same time the logo and new colors are ideal for use in the digital world – apps, for example.”

At many sites, including the Corporate Center in Gütersloh, and Bertelsmann’s premises in New York, Beijing, New Delhi, Brussels and Berlin, the new branding is today being unveiled to staff around the world. The Bertelsmann website has also been revised as part of the brand relaunch.

With the parent company’s updated branding, the two corporate divisions wholly owned by Bertelsmann are also changing their logos: the world's largest trade publishing group Random House and the media and communications services provider Arvato are revising their own logos accordingly. The logos of the RTL Group and Gruner + Jahr divisions remain unchanged.

About Bertelsmann

Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), and media services (Arvato) in more than 50 countries. In 2010, the company’s businesses, with their 100,000 employees, generated revenues of €15.8 billion. Bertelsmann stands for a distinctive combination of creativity and entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media, communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the world and to provide innovative solutions for customers.