This year’s Health Lab by Burda took place on Thursday with a focus on overcoming upheaval and shaping the future. And the location was very special indeed – Munich’s Allianz Arena allowed the event to be held outdoors.
Emerging from the crisis stronger together – in line with this credo, the national Hubert Burda Media brands have launched their campaign #TheFutureStartsNow. The initiative seeks to offer a journalistic platform for constructive debate on the social and economic change accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic in Germany. #TheFutureStartsNow also views this fundamental crisis as an opportunity for new ways of thinking, cooperating and proactively shaping our common future.
Contributions to innovative thinking and action
"We stand on the threshold of one of the greatest challenges of our generation", explains Philipp Welte of the Hubert Burda Media board. "We will have to find a new equilibrium – economically, politically and culturally. As a publisher, our task is to fuel a discussion about Germany's future in realistic and optimistic ways." The Burda publishing brands are embarking on a mission: leveraging responsible journalism, their goal is to question our assumptions and contribute fresh ideas and ground-breaking measures.
All of Hubert Burda Media's German publishing brands will be supporting #TheFutureStartsNow with content-focussed campaigns and live events. #TheFutureStartsNow will become a movement lasting several months that features a range of cross-brand initiatives. It will commence with three campaigns dedicated to changes in the economy, society and the ways people are carving out their lives in a fast-moving world.
Award for pioneers
With its slogan of "ideas that move", the newly created Focus Innovation Award will honour those companies whose courage and inventive ideas are opening up new opportunities for the post-pandemic economy in Germany. Large corporations, medium-sized businesses and start-ups alike are invited to participate. From mid-May to the end of July, a call for submissions is being published by the magazine Focus, the Focus Online website and other Hubert Burda Media publications. The editors will shortlist the best ten entries, after which the top five will be selected in an online poll. This autumn, a jury of eminent entrepreneurs, politicians, scientists, and media representatives will crown the winning company and award it a media package worth one million euros.
Future for German fashion
With #FutureForFashion, Burda publishing brands – including Instyle, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Freundin, Bunte and Focus – are pooling their cross-media reach for Germany's fashion-minded millions. In print, online and on social media channels, they will jointly create awareness for the players in this important industry, offering them a brand new platform from the beginning of May. The initiative will feature online video interviews and an array of native print formats – enabling players such as Riani, Mey, Juvia, Luisa Cerano, Gabor, Gerry Weber, S.Oliver and many more to provide candid assessments and convey their key messages. What are the biggest challenges they are facing? What insights have they gleaned during the crisis and what are their goals for the future? Backed by the social media channels of the Burda titles, the first native ads have already been published in Bunte and Focus – accompanied by videos on the magazines’ websites.
New interactive offers for consumers
More than ever before, media brands should now be capitalising on their proximity to consumers. With #We4you the Burda brands are launching a variety of interactive offers to support their customers. Linked by the theme of personal cooperation, their topics extend from health and fitness, through personal development, gardening and the home, all the way to sharing a barbecue with gourmet chef Ludwig "Lucki" Maurer. #We4you aspires to encourage the kind of interaction that helps people grow with their communities. The brands participating include Bunte.de, My Life, Elle.de and the digital platforms from Burda’s garden and living portfolio. The project will also be inaugurating the female empowerment platform "Become your best".
