“All those awards confirm we were right to change the form of the magazine, which we decided to do some time ago,” says Magda Brzezińska, Grupa Żywiec Internal Communications Manager. “The magazine now has a clear, modern look, and is popular among readers. Its greatest advantage is a professional publishing level and engaging employees in telling stories. We now rely on shorter texts and employees’ comments from various departments and locations. We continue to search for the best form for transmitting particular content: from an image to a coverage.

The company employees’ reactions to the magazine content are lively.
“This is due to a greater attention to the topicality,” believes Ewa Krystowska, Internal Communications Expert in GŻ. “We try to avoid summaries, we prefer to inform about current affairs or announce future events. This can be difficult in such a large company. But this is the only way for a magazine to be interesting or inspiring. We avoid using truisms or exaggerations. The reader appreciates that, preferring solid information to boring flatteries.”

[Biromaniak gives many reasons to smile – in picture Magdalena Brzezińska and Ewa Krystowska at Szpalty Roku 2014 award ceremony]

“Biromaniak” regularly provides stories by employees from various departments and regions.
“We don’t ‘centralise’ information and we avoid showing the company only from the perspective of the headquarters. When searching for new protagonists we get to the furthest corners of Poland,” says Magdalena Brzezińska. “To put it shortly, we are close to people and for people. We receive much feedback, including reactions to what we write about, but also materials from people who want to contribute. The magazine is simply alive.

View the issue (link in cover image)

Custom Magazine Competition awards are yet another compliment for the work of “Biromaniak” team this year. Last spring the magazine won brown award in Szpalty Roku 2014 competition in the custom magazine category.
“And we’re still taking up speed!” adds Ewa Krystowska, “We can do much more.”

Aude team also gives us a hint about the source of “Biromaniak’s” success:
Marcin Rutkowski, Art Director: “We take custom publishing seriously. We treat it the same as we would regular media. Aude believes custom magazines should take on forms just like the real commercial magazines, both when it comes to the content and the layout. The success secret of Biromaniak is its clear formula. A magazine’s layout is inseparably linked to the attitude of an “opinion magazine”. Block composition simplifies hierarchising and organising content. The layout accommodates all the restrictive assumptions of a brandbook, at the same time following all the latest trends in designing such magazines.

Bożena Makowska, editor from  Aude: This year belongs to “Biromaniak”. It is a great honour and satisfaction. A competitive publisher has appreciated our work at preparing, designing and editing a magazine. The jury noticed the magazine fits perfectly the needs of Grupa Żywiec target group of employees. And I am happy to have been able to cooperate for several years now with the Internal Communications Department of Grupa Żywiec: Magda Brzezińska and Ewa Krystowska at making Biromaniak. They’ve taught me so much about beer 🙂