Aalsmeer / Hamburg, December 14, 2004
Gruner + Jahr´s QUEST magazine was awarded "Launch of the Year 2004" in the Netherlands. A jury of 15 from NUV, the Dutch magazine association, selected QUEST from among 52 new titles. The magazine won against other titles like Hearst´s "Cosmo Girl" and Linda de Mol´s "Linda." Quest Editor-in-Chief, Karlijn van Overbeek, accepted the Mercur trophy on behalf of her team of 13 editors during a gala event in Aalsmeer. "With more than 50 new launches, 2004 was a highly competitive year in the Dutch magazine market," explained Torsten-Jörn Klein, member of the G+J executive board in charge of International Magazines. The award proves that even lean structures can lead to outstanding successes in publishing. Klein announced another move for next year to show G+J´s commitment in the Netherlands.

In its statement, the jury primarily honors the new magazine´s concept, which has opened up an entirely new segment in the Dutch magazine market. It emphasized the successful mix of comprehensible popular science themes along with fascinating pictures and high-quality informational graphics. Contrary to general expectations, QUEST quickly established itself on the market – in the jury´s opinion, due to the "original and smart" marketing campaign.

QUEST was first brought to Dutch kiosks in February 2004 as a monthly magazine. According to G+J, it meanwhile has a steady circulation of more than 100,000. Gruner + Jahr publishes four popular science magazines in the Netherlands and is the market leader in this sector. For G+J Netherlands, the award for QUEST is the highlight of an outstandingly successful year. In addition to QUEST, NG TRAVELER and NG JUNIOR were also launched in 2004. According to the publisher, they also have seen positive developments. Gruner + Jahr initiated its publishing operations in the Netherlands in 2000 with a Dutch edition of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.