SLIM to reward highf-lying brands

The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) will once again reward outstanding brands and brand custodians at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2009 on October 29th at the Waters Edge. The SLIM Brand Excellence Awards is the flagship event of SLIM, and has been held annually for eight years.

This year’s awards as well as the previous year’s placed emphasis on the branding strategies that underlie a well conceived marketing, mix programme. Dr Uditha Liyanage, Advisor to the Brand Excellence Organising Committee explains this rationale, `Marketing-mix strategy is based on market segmentation, targeting and positioning.

The brand position has to be clearly worked out, well before you develop a marketing-mix program. Putting first things first, is, indeed the right thing to do. In sum, one needs to figure out the brand’s role and scope, and then only should determine the goal and path for the brand. It is indeed a matter of putting the strategy horse before the planning cart!!’

The Brand Excellence Awards recognise and reward brands that must BE (note the pun on the acronym of `Brand Excellence’) the brand that other brands aspire to BEcome, but fail to emulate.

An innovative and creative ad campaign sustains this theme, with stories that showcase `BE’ Brands benchmark brands that have become the standard for brands. BE brands are the brands that do not fear competition but become the competition, they do not copy, they are the copied; they are not mediocre brands but make other brands look mediocre.

President of SLIM, Saliya Weerasekera explains the event’s emphasis on recognising brand custodians, `In many occasions, the brand custodian’s efforts in developing a high performing brand is not brought to the forefront. It is only the results that being rewarded.

However, at SLIM Brand Excellence Awards, we open the stage to the brand custodians to express their story behind each successful brand. The criteria was adjusted to suit different market conditions and to the knowledge gained throughout the years.

With the completion of a successful SLIM Brand Excellence Awards ceremony last year, we are keen to uplift the bar further to build more stature into the competition.’ He added.

A stringent judging process ensures that the accolades are given only to those brands that are the trailblazers across the industry, with the emphasis placed on Successful local and international brands that are currently marketed in Sri Lanka are eligible to participate, along with Sri Lankan brands that are marketed internationally. SLIM strives to push the standard of excellence higher each year.

Project Chairman Gamika De Silva states that the post conflict scenario in Sri Lanka and the situation of recovery in global trade has brought the importance of outstanding brands even more forcefully to the forefront of a business’ survival, `The role of businesses would be much more demanding and the expectations from stakeholders will be high.

Therein, the role of Marketing will play a crucial role to build equity and sustain competitive advantage during challenging times. The paradigm shift of businesses has developed an environment of uncertainty which will not guarantee your future survival based on your past successes. Therefore marketer’s role and approach has become more pivotal for the very existence of business with every passing day.’

He reiterates, `Across the world, businesses, industries, countries and even regions rely on highflying brands to protect their regime in the business world. It is imperative that high equity brands set the benchmark in industries and have proven the advantage brought into business through effective implementation of brand strategy. To name a few, brands such as Nike, Google and Levis have revolutionized their respective industries.