Plus X Award Night: an evening of superlatives for the most innovative brands of the year

Press & MediaJune 24, 2016

Plus X Award Night – an evening of superlatives for the world's most innovative brands

Most Innovative Brands of the Year 2016 honoured in Bonn

Yesterday evening the eagerly awaited prize-giving of the Plus X Award took place in the building of the first German Bundestag in Bonn. More than 350 invited guests experienced the ceremonial honouring of the 26 Most Innovative Brands, the most successful brands of the year's preceding entry periods.

After a passionate opening speech by consumer electronics expert Jürgen Imandt, Donat Brandt, founder and President of the Plus X Award and host of the evening, received the many top decision-makers from industry, retail and the media across all sectors. For the third time, the prize-giving of the world's largest innovation prize for technology, sport and lifestyle took place in the historic and impressively illuminated plenary chamber of the first German Bundestag.

By the end of the evening, 26 brands had received the golden trophy, weighing almost 7 kg, from the hands of the presenters, all of them jurors and ambassadors of the Plus X Award. The imposingly designed stage, in the listed plenary chamber elaborately rebuilt for the event, offered the perfect setting for a stylish evening with a premium character.

Besides the “Most Innovative Brands”, selected special prizes were also presented to a number of brands and individuals. Dénes Honus of Green City Solutions received the Young Innovator Award from Peter Bornschein, Leading Consultant at the management consultancy IIC Solutions. The brand Braun also received the award “Design team of the year”, presented by Frank Kreif, chairman of the Plus X Award jury.

The most emotional part of the evening was the posthumous honouring of the high-end audio pioneer Dieter Burmester, who died last year, with the “Lifetime Achievement Award”. Dieter Burmester's widow, Marianne Burmester, received the trophy for lifetime achievement from the hands of Plus X Award President Donat Brandt. In addition, a number of service and retail companies were recognised at the Plus X Award prize-giving for the first time. Besides the award for “Germany's best retailers”, “Aldi Talk” was also able to take home one of the coveted award certificates as “Mobile network provider of the year”.

The evening was rounded off by numerous show elements. “The Westbunch Live” delighted the audience with several live performances produced specially for the Plus X Award.

On 15 July the first entry period for the Plus X Award year 2016/2017 begins. All manufacturers and brands are invited to submit their products and ranges to the world's largest innovation prize for technology, sport and lifestyle.

The most innovative brands of the year 2016

Alno (furniture)
Amplitrain (sport and fitness machines)
ARAG (insurance)
Beko (built-in electrical appliances)
Beurer (health and personal care)
Blomus (pet supplies and accessories)
Buderus (heating)
Carrera (small electrical appliances)
Electrolux (large electrical appliances)
Fakir (floor care)
Fitbit (sport and fitness equipment)
Gigaset (telecommunications)
IsoTek (consumer electronics)
Jung (electrical and media technology)
Kärcher (garden)
Kampa (houses)
Lässig (family and children)
LG Chem (energy and lighting)
Lunos (air conditioning and ventilation)
Medion (computers and gaming)
Schöner Wohnen (building materials)
Sigma (video and photo technology)
Teba (accessories)
Volkswagen (automotive)
Wagner (tools)
X-Bionic (sportswear)

Design team of the year

Braun was honoured with the special award “Design team of the year”. Duy Phong Vu, head of design for the Braun brand, received the trophy from the hands of Frank Kreif, chairman of the Plus X Award jury.

Young Innovator Award

The special award “Young Innovator Award” was presented for the third time. This prize was handed over by Peter Bornschein, Leading Consultant at the management consultancy IIC Solutions, to Dénes Honus of Green City Solutions. With the CityTree, Green City Solutions has developed a multifunctional green space with Internet of Things functionality for keeping the air clean.

Lifetime Achievement Award

This year's recipient of the award for lifetime achievement is Dieter Burmester. Since Burmester died in August last year, this award was presented posthumously for the first time. With his eponymous brand Burmester Audiosysteme, Burmester created at the very highest technical level and is regarded as one of the pioneers of the audio industry. One of his milestones was the development of the world's first high-end audio system in a car, in cooperation with Bugatti. Before Burmester, the honour of the Lifetime Achievement Award had gone to only five people: Sir James Dyson, Prof. Amar G. Bose († 2013), Noel Lee, Peter Skak Olufsen († 2013) and Prof. Dr Hartmut Esslinger. The award was presented by Donat Brandt, founder and President of the Plus X Award.

Germany's best retailers 2016/2017