A magazine in digital upheaval - the brand eins story

The Hamburg-based media company brand eins proves time and again that it can also take unusual paths. What began as a business magazine has now developed into a diverse range of services: from intensive community projects and corporate publishing to its own book publishing house.

Courage to change

With the business magazine of the same name, brand eins has established itself as an outstanding, independent and critical voice over the past 25 years. The analytical stories and interviews are well-researched and are also used as international reference figures. The focus is on change and the search for solutions for responsible, resource-conserving and simply better business.

brand eins was founded in 1999 and focuses on digital transformation and the search for solutions for a better economy. There is no shortage of topics, as a lot has changed over the past 25 years, particularly in technical and economic terms. At the same time, brand eins itself finds itself in a changed media industry and has to respond to the digital transformation with its own offerings.

In terms of content, brand eins approaches controversial topics and discusses philosophical questions about reason as well as future scenarios of entrepreneurship or the bank of the future.

And the journalistic mission is not changing as a result of the digital transformation. According to Holger Volland, CEO of brand eins, "everything is being turned around - but one thing remains the same: it's about conveying good content." This also applies to corporate publishing and the company's other magazine products.

brand eins was available to read in full on the website from the very first issue, and the first digital version of the magazine was launched with the introduction of the iPad in 2010. Since then, the digital offerings have developed into an important addition to the print magazine. New formats have also been created, from podcasts and number projects to the "brand eins safari" peer group format - some of which are also "digital only".

Always reporting on the digital transformation, brand eins now finds itself in the situation of having to rethink its own structures and products due to the changes in the media industry. How does a print magazine manage the digital upheaval?

brand eins wurde 1999 gegründet und hat sich die digitale Transformation und die Suche nach Lösungen für eine bessere Wirtschaft als Schwerpunkt gesetzt. An Themen mangelt es nicht, denn gerade technisch und wirtschaftlich hat sich in den vergangenen 25 Jahren einiges gewandelt. Gleichzeitig findet sich brand eins selbst in einer veränderten Medienbranche wieder, und muss auf die digitale Transformation mit eigenen Angeboten reagieren.

Inhaltlich nähert sich brand eins kontrovers diskutierten Themenfeldern und diskutiert philosophische Fragen über die Vernunft ebenso wie Zukunftsszenarien von Unternehmertum oder der Bank der Zukunft.

Und der journalistische Auftrag verändert sich auch nicht durch die digitale Transformation. Dort werde zwar, so Holger Volland, CEO von brand eins, „einmal alles gedreht – aber eines bleibt gleich: Es geht darum, gute Inhalte zu transportieren.“ Das gilt auch für die Angebote im Corporate Publishing und für die anderen Magazinprodukte des Hauses.

brand eins war von der ersten Ausgabe an vollständig auf der Website zu lesen, mit der Einführung des iPad 2010 kam auch die erste digitale Version des Magazins. Seitdem haben sich die digitalen Angebote zu einer wichtigen Ergänzung des Printmagazins entwickelt. Zusätzlich sind neue Formate entstanden, vom Podcast, über Zahlen-Projekte bis zum Peergroups-Format „brand eins safari“ – teilweise auch unter dem Motto „digital only“.

Immer über die digitale Transformation berichtend, befindet sich brand eins durch den Wandel der Medienbranche nun selbst in der Situation, die eigenen Strukturen und Produkte neu zu denken. Wie gelingt einem Print-Magazin der digitale Umbruch?

From the marzipan factory to the social media platforms

Hamburg is the location and headquarters of brand eins and plays a not insignificant role for the company. Long-standing partners such as the market research and analysis service provider Statista and the software developer blish are based here. The list of media companies and agencies is also long and the network in the port city is extensive.

At the start, the brand eins editorial team was based at Brandstwiete 1 in Hamburg's old town, from which the name was derived. It then moved to Schauenburgerstrasse, then to Speersort, until the company moved into the premises of the old marzipan factory in 2019, where marzipan and nougat were still produced by L.C. Oetker at the end of the 19th century.

Since its foundation, brand eins has been dealing with change and transformation. The fact that the journalism and media industry is now undergoing an existential and digital transformation has of course not left the magazine unscathed.

So far, the upheaval has led to a sharp increase in online content, a decline in traditional forms of media and a stronger role for social media. Media companies have to adapt and transform digitally. It is a matter of developing new business models and making content accessible to new target groups in order to be successful and remain relevant in the long term.

brand eins has also recognized this for itself and is taking countermeasures in its product portfolio. It is particularly helpful to take a look at the company's own subject area of "business", as most companies are affected by digitalization and there are good examples of successful new beginnings. The network and the exchange with companies and partners helps to understand where problems lie and who has ideas for solutions.

Bisher hat der Umbruch zu einer starken Zunahme von Online-Inhalten, einer Abnahme von traditionellen Medienformen und einer stärkeren Rolle von Social Media geführt. Medienunternehmen müssen sich anpassen und digital transformieren. Es geht darum, neue Geschäftsmodelle zu entwickeln und Inhalte neuen Zielgruppen zugänglich zu machen, um langfristig erfolgreich zu sein und relevant zu bleiben.

Auch brand eins hat das für sich erkannt und steuert in seinem Produktportfolio gegen. Gerade der Blick in das eigene Themenfeld „Wirtschaft“ hilft, denn die meisten Unternehmen sind von der Digitalisierung betroffen und es gibt gute Beispiele, wo der Aufbruch gelingt. Das Netzwerk und der Austausch mit Unternehmen und Partnern hilft zu verstehen, wo Probleme liegen und wer Lösungsideen parat hat.

Looking to the future

Even 25 years after it was founded, brand eins dares to take unconventional paths. In addition to print magazines and digital editions, brand eins has, for example, founded a book publishing house and is working together with children's book publisher Carlsen to develop a business magazine for children in order to attract new readers and get them interested in business topics.

The change in media and the digital transformation are not perceived as an obstacle, but as a natural change. The magazine itself is in a constant state of flux and is just as critical of itself as it is of the quality standards of all its products.

brand eins' recipe for success: high-quality content and still all made in Hamburg!