Braun Announces Expansion of its World Recognised BraunPrize

LONDON, July 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- New Competition to Return in 2012

Braun, a member of the P&G family of brands (NYSE:PG), is pleased to announce that its BraunPrize will undergo a significant expansion and, moving from its recent two year rotation to the former three year rhythm, will return in 2012.

Even since its inception in 1968, the internationally recognised BraunPrize design competition has promoted industrial design and innovative product concepts that were developed with a focus on helping people in all aspects of their life. The new BraunPrize will bring that sensibility together with P&G's mission to touch and improve the lives of more consumers, in more parts of the world, more completely thereby multiplying the impact on young designers, design enthusiasts and the industry in general.

The evolution of the BraunPrize is being jointly led by Prof. Oliver Grabes, Head of Braun Corporate Design, and Phil Duncan, P&G's Global Design Officer, and will encompass a new submissions process, an increased emphasis on greater accessibility for design interested consumers and a renewed focus to further extend into innovative, emerging markets.

Prof. Oliver Grabes states, "We are tremendously excited about the prospect of a new BraunPrize in 2012. In making some significant changes to the awards process, we are further establishing our commitment to the accessibility of this competition and want to ensure that it not only provides a showcase to those who want to pursue a career in design, but that it also encourages engagement with design for those enthusiasts and professionals outside of an academic context." He continues "As ever, we want to support great ideas, clarity of vision and practical, beautiful and intuitive solutions to everyday concerns, the trademarks of Braun's influential design process."

"The BraunPrize's heritage is diverse and illustrious and this new innovation will insure it continues to develop in the future," said Phil Duncan, P&G's Global Design Officer. "P&G is committed to further evolve this prestigious design event into the world's most exciting and inspiring design competition."

The BraunPrize is one of the world's oldest and most renowned international design competitions and its next incarnation in 2012 will be the 18th competition to be held since Erwin Braun, son of Max Braun, the founder of the small domestic appliances manufacturer Braun, decided to hold the first BraunPrize event 44 years ago in 1968. From the outset, the BraunPrize was an international competition and over the years young designers from more and more countries around the world have entered, making it one of the world's leading design competitions.

The BraunPrize 2009 attracted a record number of entries with 1,074 projects from 54 countries including the local franchises BraunPrize Mexico and BraunPrize China. The judging process entailed a BraunPrize Jury selection of the four finalists. The designers responsible for the chosen submissions were asked to present their projects at the BraunPrize Forum, a collection of industry experts, journalists, celebrated designers and renowned creative professionals, who were then tasked to select the overall winner through a popular vote. The eventual winner of the 17th BraunPrize 2009 was Johanna Schoemaker for her project "Clam I OLED Lamp" a visually daring and environmentally sustainable household light.

For further information on the BraunPrize and receive further information on submissions for BraunPrize 2012 when it is released, please visit: http://www.braun/braunprize.com

Notes to editors:

About the BraunPrize

Established in 1968, the BraunPrize was Germany's first international competition to promote the work of young designers, highlight the importance of industrial design and promote innovative product ideas across the world. Please visit http://www.braunprize.com for the latest news and in-depth information about the BraunPrize.

About Braun

Braun, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble founded in Germany in 1921, manufactures a wide variety of small domestic appliances that marry innovation, reliability and creative design. These range from electric shavers and beauty products to household appliances. Braun products enjoy worldwide distribution. Please visit http://www.braun.com for the latest news and in-depth information about the Braun brand.

About Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Gain(R), Pringles(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), Braun(R) and Fusion(R). The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

SOURCE Braun