Second issue of FREUDE.FOREVER magazine turns reading into an immersive digital experience

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+++ BMW presents THE NEUE NEW campaign in a lavishly produced issue for a future-focused audience +++ Inspiring figures respond to the question of what “new” means for them +++ Latest issue of the award-winning magazine blends analogue print culture with the digital world. +++

Munich. As the countdown continues to the arrival of the Neue Klasse, premium carmaker BMW is carrying out an intense process of transformation. No stone is being left unturned, something new arrives almost every day and from every angle. A major change of perspective has been part of the story; the concept of “new” is itself undergoing a reappraisal. And now the second issue of FREUDE.FOREVER is delving deep into what “new” really means. The latest issue of BMW’s award-winning magazine, again devoted to a single subject, invites a handful of inspirational figures to share how they see “the new” in their lives, their work and their art.

This collection of stories encourages us to challenge our ways of thinking about what is possible with the innovative spirit and optimism inherent in the BMW brand promise. Like the pilot issue of FREUDE.FOREVER, the structure of the second issue – entitled THE NEUE NEW – is also wired into the seven human senses.

What makes this issue different is that, as well as exploring the analogue product and digital extension, its narrative path also ventures into a third dimension: augmented reality. The FREUDE.FOREVER editorial team hooked up with Icelandic art collective Fischersund to develop a digital flower, which adorns the lavishly crafted cover in the form of a relief print. Scanning a QR code inside the magazine unlocks an immersive augmented reality experience of the flower. This interaction between the magazine’s readers and its cover connects the senses of sight and hearing with emotions and openness to technology. It ushers us into new worlds of perception and communication – just like the BMW brand.

“As artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual worlds continue to advance, we can see a significant opportunity for BMW in the increasing fusion of the analogue and digital worlds,” says Jens Thiemer, Senior Vice President Customer and BMW Brand. “Just as BMW M Mixed Reality uses innovative VR and MR technologies to create a unique driving event that is unprecedented in this form, we are introducing the readers of our print magazine FREUDE.FOREVER to a new type of experience that enriches the analogue pleasure of reading with an immersive digital journey.”

For BMW, the “new” is not purely the result of something being created for the first time. Instead, it is about approaching challenges with a fresh perspective and understanding the true power of a vision. This requires an open mind, the courage to dare, flexibility, self-criticism, honesty and a resistance to those who say it can’t be done. More than anything, though, it demands the readiness to view change as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. This mindset is reflected in the stories featured in Issue no. 2 of FREUDE.FOREVER.

For example, siblings Inga, Rosa and Lilja Birgisdóttir from Fischersund got together with FREUDE.FOREVER to explore the question of how a new world of floristry can be opened up and experienced. Elsewhere, we find David Zilber investigating how taste can be defined in a new way. The fermentation guru turns the world of top-class cuisine on its head by experimenting with microbes, enzymes and fermented products in his Danish lab. And Keisei Kawahara, an athlete, model and TikToker from Japan, is leading a new generation of prosthesis wearers who see in their orthopaedic aids not limitations but potential for growth.

In other stories in this issue, we hear from developers who are teaching machines to feel, and an artist duo shine a light on the future-facing potential of holography technology. Also inside the magazine are interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has perfected the art of constant reinvention, and Pieter Nota, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Customer, Brands, Sales, with whom we examine new perspectives in the transformation of the automotive industry.

FREUDE.FOREVER is the product of a collaboration between BMW and the LOOPING GROUP – the magazine’s publisher. A partner of the agency THE GAME created for the BMW Group and the BMW brand, LOOPING has many years of experience in the areas of magazine journalism, corporate publishing and storytelling. The first issue of the magazine already gained international recognition for the standout quality of its content and design creativity, with distinctions incoming from the Society of Publication Designers (SPD Award) and the Art Directors Club (ADC) for Germany. The new issue of FREUDE.FOREVER entitled THE NEUE NEW is available from the online shop www.freudeforever.com and magazine retailers in English (130 pages) and German (138 pages), priced at 10 euros.