The Sunday Times Top Brands Survey results were announced on Thursday night. The survey, now in its 15th year, gauges consumer sentiment towards brands, delivering valuable insights to business leaders and marketers in South Africa.
“Being voted Top Brand in a category is a huge accolade for companies, because it indicates they’re hitting the ‘sweet- spot’ with the consumer. An award shows that a brand’s marketing activity is successful in gaining the traction required to foster brand loyalty and longevity, and positioning it on a good path for delivering results to company shareholders as well,” says Trevor Ormerod, GM of Advertising and Strategic Sales for Times Media.
International soft-drink giant, Coca Cola , was acclaimed as Overall Favourite Brand, upsetting local brand Koo’s dominance in previous years. Coca Cola walked away with two additional Grand Prix wins as the brand that has done the most to uplift the community, and the brand that does the most to look after SA’s environment and natural resources.
Eskom claimed the Grand Prix as the most-desirable company to work for, bumping Coca Cola down to second place.
In a new category recognising brands that South Africans were most spontaneously aware of, Discovery Health and KFC emerged as the front runners in the B2B and B2C sectors respectively.
Two surprise wins on the night in the B2B sector include long-term insurance company, Discovery Life, which elevated itself from its previous sixth place ranking. Alexander Forbes gained significant ground by moving from fourth position in 2012, to win in the short-term insurance category this year.
BMW overtook Toyota to claim top spot in the cars category, while Vodacom remains the preferred telecommunications service provider in both the business and consumer sectors.
The coveted title of Top Brand Marketing Personality of the Year was awarded to MTN’s chief marketing officer, Serame Taukobong.
The Robyn Putter Top Brands Agency of the Year Award recognises the contributions of the creative agencies behind the brands, and is calculated on the first, second and third place rankings of clients in the survey. This year the award went to Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg.
“The Top Brands survey’s distinctive approach allows marketers to not only evaluate their brand’s success based on current usage but also the proximity of its potential users in the future. Deken explains that, “With these finding marketers are able to develop strategies that will enable them to reach out to consumers and expand their spheres of influence,” says Esmé Deken, head of market intelligence.
Winners in 12 Business to Business (B2B) and 39 Business to Consumer (B2C) categories were awarded on the evening.
Other category winners include: British Airways, Avis, Allan Gray, FNB, Liqui-Fruit, Red Square, Johnnie Walker, Heineken, Ricoffy, Cadbury, Tastic, Koo, Defy, Engen, SAA, Standard Bank, Pick n Pay, Old Mutual ̧ OUTsurance, Spur, Nike, Avon, Vaseline, Sunlight and Samsung.
