Bertelsmann Annual Report Showcases Strategic Progress

Content presented online, in print, in an app and on media walls

In its new Annual Report, the international media company Bertelsmann for the first time uses illustrative infographics to illustrate the strategic progress of the past year. For example, readers learn that Penguin Random House, Bertelsmann's trade book publishing group, sells 700 million books per year – which if they were stacked on top of each other would create a pile 23,222 km high. Or that it would take more than seven years to listen to all the songs managed by the group's music rights arm BMG.

"Over the past year, Bertelsmann has made impressive progress in its four strategic priorities of strengthening the core, digital transformation, developing growth platforms and expanding in growth regions. This year's Annual Report illustrates this in an informative – and at times surprising – way. To open up Bertelsmann's entrepreneurial and creative diversity to the widest possible public, we are presenting the content of our Annual Report on as many platforms as possible this year," says Karin Schlautmann, Executive Vice President Corporate Communications at Bertelsmann.

The report is available in print form, as an interactive online version, and as an app. Bertelsmann is also presenting the report's content on its social media platforms and on media walls at the company's various sites. Once again, the online and app versions of the Bertelsmann Annual Report include a variety of interactive extras such as four short films showing the progress made in implementing the Group's strategy in 2013, as well as an exclusive "making-of" on the photo shoot for the Annual Report, including interviews with the Bertelsmann Executive Board and Group Management Committee. On the four media walls showcasing the Annual Report, people can read various e-books from Bertelsmann's trade publishers, test award-winning apps from RTL Group and Gruner + Jahr, and listen to hits from BMG.

The Annual Report app for smartphones and tablets is now available free of charge in English and German via the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

www.bertelsmann.com