The nomination alone was a huge success. Now, ebm‑papst's corporate communications have received the Oscar of the communications industry and have been awarded "Team of the Year" for their project “Future Heroes” at the communications congress in Berlin, which attracted 1700 participants.

The jury, made up of top-class communications representatives from science, media and business, was convinced not only by the project idea of giving this responsibility to the trainees and students, but also by the enormous response from politicians, the media and the business community.

The prestigious prize is awarded annually by the German Association of Communicators, which was founded in 2003.

"Our aim was to get young people interested in vocational training and to draw attention to the important need for skilled workers," emphasizes Hauke Hannig. "Above all, we also wanted to show what kind of successes are possible when we transfer responsibility to our junior staff," adds the ebm‑papst Group spokesperson and head of communications.

Together with student Melanie Bildhoff, who formed the junior organizational team of the Future Heroes together with Kim Ziegler and Maximilian Chrzan, he accepted the award in Berlin.

"Despite strong competition, the Team of the Year has completely convinced us," Johannes Dimroth emphasized in his laudatory speech. It takes a great deal of courage to place such an important project entirely in the hands of young talent," said the deputy head of the Federal Press Office. "The heroes of the future have delivered and exceeded many expectations," he added.

Hannig is pleased that the "Heroes of the Future" project has now made it to the final round in another competition. It was recently announced that it is on the short list in the "Smart PR" category of the important PR Awards 2023. This means that the team will definitely be present at the Winners Night in Berlin.

Creative and new ways in communication are nominated for the BdKom Award, which is the most important award in the German-speaking world. This is particularly the case with the “Future Heroes” project. What is impressive is not only how much attention the young people have generated with their independent project, but also that they have shown that young people can take on responsibility in the company.

A 17-strong trade show team made up of trainees and dual students was put in charge of everything. It designed, organized and communicated the company's presence at the Hannover Messe, manned the stand and looked after the press and politicians. The assignment was comprehensive, starting with the booth concept, product selection and budget control, timing, press communications and personal invitation management for top politicians. At the showcase of German industry, ebm‑papst's stand was undoubtedly a hit with the public thanks to the initiative.

The goal was not only to bring politicians to the stand, but also to link the two burning issues of the shortage of skilled workers and the climate crisis with it. Under the motto "Future Heroes" the trainees and dual students organized the presentation around ebm‑papst's technical products of the future for the energy, heating, and climate change.

Even in the run-up to the trade fair, the project caused a stir internationally. According to the company, the concept was equally successful on site. The number of visitors to the stand was twice as high as usual. Olaf Scholz, Robert Habeck and Winfried Kretschmann as well as other high-ranking politicians and business representatives were there.

ARD, ZDF, N-tv and other TV stations also broadcast reports on the event. The trainees were also present at a panel discussion organized by the "Your Future" initiative for young people and skilled workers. Young people were also actively approached. School classes from Baden-Württemberg, for example, accepted the invitation and visited the trade show booth. In the industry itself, the trainees' contribution also received a great deal of attention.

The success of the trade fair has had a lasting effect: The number of applicants at ebm‑papst has increased significantly since then. The trade show appearance also has a positive impact internally: the ebm‑papst workforce is very proud of how positively ebm‑papst has been perceived by the public. The idea of letting the trainees take on projects of this magnitude independently is to be firmly anchored in the company. So the "story" of the future heroes continues.

Information at http://www.bdkom.de and www.prreportawards.de/shortlist-2023/