This trending hashtag really caught my attention today. I may find this subject more interesting than others, as I study marketing and advertising and am so attracted to anything slightly related to the topic. However, I do feel it is something everyone can relate to, as there is no doubt in my mind that as you are reading this, a particular brand is popping up in the back of your mind. Whether it is your own or someone else’s; whether it may be local or international, we all somehow connect to a brand.
For those of you who are unsure about what exactly this trending topic is about here is a brief summary: The Sunday Times Top Brands survey is currently in its 16th year running, with the past six successful years being in partnership with independent research house, TNS South Africa, as well as the longest operating consumer brand survey in South Africa.
3500 adults aged 18 years and older were interviewed as a part of the total sample. The array of categories ranged from grocery stores, to long-term insurance, to petrol stations, to soft-drinks, to cell phones, to a number of other categories.
Trevor Ormerod, GM of Advertising and Strategic Sales at Times Media Group explained how “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.”
The results were announced this afternoon, with the legendary international drink Coca-Cola SA being voted the overall favourite brand, followed by Koo in second place and KFC SA in third. Coca-Cola SA also walked away being the winner in the Social Investment category and second place for the Green Award.
This result does not surprise me at all and in fact I recently got asked the question, “What is your favourite brand and why?”, below is how I responded:
Coca-Cola: A brand so universally recognized and one that I have always loved. From its iconic logo and bottle design to the memorable ads and campaigns coke produces, I find this brand to be one of a kind. Not only does Coca-Cola provide a ‘moment of happiness’ when you take your first sip out of that cold can on a hot summers day, but that satisfying and pleasant moment is so successfully carried out all the way through to the brands brilliantly executed campaigns. For example, Coca-Cola’s moment of happiness campaign in Pakistan and India left me, along with millions of others, with such a happy heart. These personal experiences in different cities and communities that offer hair-raising moments make this brand such a well-recognized and valued brand.
Below are a few more amazing #TopBrands2014 results:
Grand Prix Awards:
The Green Award: Eskom
Sports Clothing Brands: Nike
Top Brand Agency of the Year Award: FCB (FOOTE, CONE & BELDING)
B2C: (Business to Consumer)
Micro Lenders: Capitec SA
Cellphone category: Nokia RSA
Telecommunications service provider: Vodacom
Fast-food restaurants: KFC SA
Family sit down restaurants: Spur
Grocery Stores: Shoprite SA
Retail Banks: Standard Bank Group
Loyalty programme: Pick ‘n Pay
Long-Term Insurance: Old Mutual SA
Short-Term Insurance: OUTsurance
Petrol Station: Engen SA
Cars: Mercedes Benz SA
Visit the @ST_TopBrands twitter handle for more information about the Sunday Times #TopBrands2014.
Rumour has it, the full results of the Sunday Times #TopBrands2014 will be published in the Sunday Times edition of 31 August 2014.
Until next time,
#transcendingtrending 🙂
transcending trending 