New features for Putra Brand Awards

PETALING JAYA: The Putra Brand Awards is gaining momentum as it enters into its 10th year while it sets to unveil Malaysia’s favourite brands.

Also known as the People’s Choice Awards, the high octane awards show this year would see a couple of new additions that would further lend credibility and pave its way for future global recognition.

It is the only award show that is solely determined by consumers and features local and global brands. Advertising veteran and Putra Brand Awards 2019 organising chairman Datuk Johnny Mun said there would be two new features for this year’s awards.

The first would be the introduction of Platinum awards for each category, he said, adding that for this year there would be a total of four awards – Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

He told StarBiz in an interview that the reason for expanding the awards is to garner greater participation even from smaller brands, which are mainly local players.

Secondly, Mun, who is also senior adviser to the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As), said there would be an upgrade for Brand Icons to the likes of “Hall of Fame”.

He noted that there have been brands which have, for example, won nine times in a row every year and these are the deserving brands which needs to be recognised and upgraded.

“There are nine to 10 brands easily in the running for this prestigious recognition to the Hall of Fame. By having this new addition to the awards show, we hope more local and global brands will further deepen their investments to build brands that appeal to more Malaysians.

“The purpose of this awards from the very start is to encourage companies to continue investing in brand building and to provide consumers with the opportunity to select the choice of their favourite brands,” he stressed.

Mun reiterated that the Putra Brand Awards is the only branding event in the country, if not in Asean, which measures consumers preference and involve comprehensive processes in collaboration with its global research partner Ipsos.

Malaysia’s premier brand awards show would be held on Sept 27 at the Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, and it is again the only brand awards in the country endorsed by Matrade.

Ipsos Sdn Bhd managing director Arun Menon said there are 23 categories this year and responses from consumers on their choice of brands in the survey has been fast, partly thanks to the growing pool of people who are now more familiar with the annual event.

“Since the survey started six weeks ago, the size of respondents have leapfrogged three times from last year’s number of about 6,000. There are 18,000 responses to date.

“The survey will end on Aug 2. Increasingly, more people now knows that public opinion is important in determining the success of a brand and are keen to participate.”

Ipsos set out to get the Malaysian public’s views on their choice of brands, with a robust range of questions centred on awareness (their familiarity with the brands), favourability (what they think of the brands), trust (confidence in the brand) and advocacy (how likely they are to recommend the brands to friends and family).

Headquartered in Paris, Ipsos is one of the leading global research agencies with over 16,000 staff members in 88 countries.

As for the survey, Arun said it is neutral, noting that there is no such pressure for consumers to participate and there is no vested interest involved.

“Ipsos, as the largest research agency in Malaysia, is keen to be associated with the Putra Brand Awards. This is our second year as the research partner of the awards. We embark on high quality processes and ensures there is level playing field for local and global brands in terms of visibility,” he added.

Arun views trust as hallmark in brand building. “Consumers must find the brand relevant to them, to promote it,” he said.

Mun equates brand selection for the awards as a democratic process. “Once a research is done and the results are gathered, it will be tabled to the board of governors, who in turn will collectively decide the winners from the various categories. Most of the governors are the media captains and from the relevant industries,” he said.

In an effort to take the awards to a higher level, he said the time is right to franchise the Putra Brand Awards regionally.

“We are talking to our counterparts in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore on the possibility of franchising the awards. Towards this end, we plan to have roadshows in these countries,” Mun said.

He also encouraged winners of the awards to showcase the awards in their brand promotions. The Star Media Group is the media partner of the Putra Brand Awards 2019 and the event is organised by 4As.

Source: TheStar