For the seventh time in series, COMMPANY again successfully staged the award ceremony of the "AUTO 1 of Europe" in Geneva for its long standing client, AUTO BILD.

Since the invention of the first petrol-driven car by Carl Benz back in 1886, the motor vehicle has enjoyed uninterrupted popularity with most people. This was once again demonstrated at the 77th anniversary of the Geneva Motor Show, which showed all the highlights from the global automobile industry between 8 " 18 March 2007. One day before the Show began, also the last official press day, the international BILD Group presented the most prestigious European automobile awards for the 16th time. Around 35 million AUTO BILD readers from 24 countries and an expert jury " comprising racing drivers, motor sport journalists and technicians " voted for the AUTO 1 of Europe in the largest European reader poll and following extensive tests.

Premiere: awards in six car categories -
Besides the awards for new car models, the AUTO BILD Group awarded its 10th Innovation Prize for the best new technical development of the year. The award went to the "Advanced Pre-Crash Safety System" of the LEXUS LS 460. And for the first time, the international AUTO BILD Group also awarded six additional trophies for different vehicle sectors, recruited from the semi-final in Rome in February 2007.

The grand voting finale was held live on stage in Geneva on 7 March 2007, where the 24 chief editors push-button voted the Ford S-Max as the winner. John Fleming, CEO and President of Ford Europe, accepted the award in the Sécheron Hall from Dr. Andreas Wiele, Director of Magazines and International Affairs at Axel Springer AG, and the reigning Miss Europe 2006, Alexandra Rosenfeld.

COMMPANY again lead agency in 2007 -
Once again, COMMPANY was the lead agency for the entire realisation. This included planning and concept work as well as logistics and arrangement of the supporting programme at the award ceremony. The main focus was not only the creation and implementation of an exceptional concept, but also on adherence to the client's budget and guaranteed success. A premise that both represents and vitalises COMMPANY's philosophy.

Once again, the lavishly planned lounge zone in purist ambience provided ample space for conversation and promoted a communicative environment for the guests. The excellent Swiss caterer served warm and cold finger food, extravagant both optically and sensorally. The "Flying Buffet" once again left nothing to be desired.

High expectations of the technical concept -
COMMPANY had particularly high expectations of the team of technicians who combined a total of 100 motors, 130 moving lights, 400 conventional floodlights, 75 LED Colorblaze48 floodlights, 700 running metres of rigging, 32 metres of circular trusses and 200 stages to a conglomerate of technical innovation. The highlights were a 16-metre turning platform with a 20-ton load capacity, which served as a stage for the six winning cars, G-LEC Phantom Frame as a low-resolution video effect, and a 350 sqm area lit by 75 LED floodlights. Over a period of 8 days, 12 trailer loads of material were manoeuvred, assembled, programmed and staged by 50 trained professionals.

Charming novelty: presenter Radka Kaspar -
Besides the innovative peak performance of the media technicians, the new presenter provided another highlight to the evening: for the first time, Radka Kaspar guided the 500 plus guests through the evening. Her attractive appearance and consistently charming presenting in six languages additionally promoted the pleasant atmosphere of the entire award ceremony, and provided another highlight for both client and agency.

Supporting programme a feast for the eyes -
The artistic supporting programme comprised the "Tr’espace" duo of Cirque du Soleil fame, and the "Princesses of Violin", a multi platinum award-winning violin trio from Hungary.
The ensuing party evening of the award ceremony was supported by the powerful voice of singer Deidra Jones, who has shared the stage with Michael Jackson and Randy Crawford, and "DJ Jondal" of Classic Lounge on Classic Radio fame.

Voices from the event -

Helge Jost, Manager Event Marketing AUTO BILD, Axel Springer AG:
"Thanks to the professional work of COMMPANY and all involved parties, an additional chapter could be added to the success story of the AUTO 1 award ceremony. The innovative event concept with a separate lounge and show area once again provided optimal conditions for a unique communication platform within the Geneva Motor Show. Both the event and the AUTO 1 awards let the guests experience the entitlement of the AUTO BILD brand as the number one in Europe.

Wolfgang H. Mache, CEO COMMPANY GmbH:
"The 16th "Auto 1 of Europe" awards at the 77th Geneva Motor Show is the best and most exciting award ceremony of all the international car awards. Add to that an appropriate dash of glamour and a fantastic presenter. Radka Kaspar impressed the evening's 500 guests from the car industry with her multilingual talents and charm.

And the "Auto 1 of Europe" vote was a vote of superlatives. First, the largest reader panel in Europe from 24 countries, then the 34 strong panel of experts including engineers, racing drivers and journalists, and finally, the showdown via the decisive poll by the 24 European chief editors."

Tobias Fuhrmann, Technical Manager, Fuhrmann Event GmbH:
"The event not only required immense physical commitment, but also an energy that can only be successfully achieved as a team and with the commitment of every single individual."