Superbrands Pays Tribute To The Most Successful Brands

Online, June 15, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Superbrands - The Ultimate Mark of Consumer Approval

Since its original format as a radio show broadcast on the UK's Greater London Radio (now BBC Radio London) in the early 1990's, Superbrands has become the world's leading international brand promotional platform which operates in more than 80 countries around the world. Promoting leading brands in Singapore since 2002, Superbrands invites a strictly limited number of high quality brands to participate in the Singapore Superbrands programme.

Around the world Superbrands are identified via independent consumer and business research which aims to identify the biggest, best and most valued local and international brands within any given market. "I like to think of Superbrands is an exclusive club for brands. Membership is by invitation only and therefore not all brands are able to join, however, once a brand has been qualified as a "Superbrand" and has joined the programme, that brand gets to enjoy the tremendous benefits of being a club member and we help them to leverage their brand's Superbrands Status, which in turn provides a highly cost-effective ROI". Said Mark Pointer, CEO Superbrands Singapore.

Synonymous with high quality brands, the Superbrands logo is widely recognized by Singapore's consumers as the ultimate mark of brand approval. According to data from the leading global research firm The Nielsen Company, more than half of all Singapore's consumers have spontaneous awareness of the Superbrands programme and of those consumers who are aware of Superbrands, a whopping 69% say that they are more likely or much more likely to buy a product or service associated with the programme and furthermore, 61% say they are more likely to recommend a Superbrand to a friend.

Over the years, Superbrands has become a benchmark for consumers and companies to identify which brands appeal to Singapore's consumers. Covering 93 individual consumer product and service categories and investigating everything from airlines to washing machines, the Superbrands survey is one of the most comprehensive and transparent consumer opinion surveys conducted in Asia, providing marketers with a scientific and invaluable insight into consumer brand sentiment.

In addition to receiving usage rights to the Superbrands logo, all participating brands have their brand presented in the prestigious Superbrands reference book which is distributed to thousands to senior executives each year. Each brand presentation provides a fascinating insight into the local market, the history of the brand, the products, recent developments, brand promotional activities and the brand values. The brand presentation is also available on the Superbrands website where it can be downloaded. Since its launch, the Superbrands organization has produced over 10,000 brand presentations and has distributed in excess of one million reference books.

Recognising the growing importance of social media in brand communication, Superbrands Singapore launched its own Facebook and Twitter page earlier this year. "Social media have become appealing to big and small businesses alike and increasingly brands are utilizing social media to reach customers and to build or maintain reputations. As social media continue to grow, the ability to reach more consumers, employees and business partner makes social media an ideal tool for effective business and marketing communication. We therefore see social media becoming an additional key component in our offering to brands" said Pointer.

Also new this year has been the launch of a new Business Superbrands programme which will feature many of Singapore's top business to business brands. Business Superbrands is a stand alone programme and not an additional category to the existing programme. "Singapore has a long established history of strong branding of consumer brands, but building brands is just as import within a business to business environment and this has become increasingly recognized. As a mature market, Singapore is home to many hugely successful B2B brands. Business Superbrands pays tribute to their hard work and success and will provide them with platform to leverage their Superbrands Status not only to key stakeholders and business partners, but also to a wider audience both at home and abroad" added Pointer.

Ian Grundy, Superbrands panel member and Founder of the PR firm Citrus PR commented "So many Singapore brands have great stories to tell...stories that build trust and understanding in a B2B environment. From a buyer behaviour perspective, the decision making process in a B2B environment can be lengthy due to the number of people involved. How well known and how well respected a brand is can make a significant difference in reducing that lead time. The Superbrands approach can help companies to be profiled and recognized at the right level"

Since the programme launched earlier this year, it has successfully recognized many highly regarded B2B brands, across many different industry categories, including brands such as SingTel, Boustead, Best World Lifestyle, Nielsen, Power Plus, Sunray, Xpress, Singapore Expo, and HSR to name just a few.

When asked about how SingTel's position in the business world, Executive Vice President of SingTel Business Group, Bill Chang said 'SingTel has transformed from a provider of pure 'carriage' services to a leading regional provider of next-generation managed Infocomm Technology (ICT) and multimedia solutions. We aim to empower companies to serve their customers better and expand their businesses quickly and cost effectively through innovative one-stop ICT solutions that improve productivity, simplify operations and reduce costs. As Asia's leading Communications Company, SingTel is excited to play an important role in further strengthening Singapore's position as a global ICT hub.'

Jacky Tai, Superbrands panel member and Principal Consultant of the B2B branding specialist, StrategiCom, commented, "The biggest difference between buying a business product and a consumer product is risk. B2B products carry a lot more risk as they typically cost more and the failure of these products (or services) can lead to huge losses for the companies that buy them. To mitigate the risk, companies tend to buy from the strongest brand within their price range. To create a killer brand, B2B companies need to differentiate their brands in ways that are relevant to customers and defensible against competitors."