Mr. Jawad Jaffer, Project Director, Superbrands East Africa (center) speaking to the press yesterday. (Photo by Joachim Mushi)
SUPERBRANDS, the independent authority and arbiter of branding, announced that they are hosting their annual tribute event to honour Tanzania’s strongest brands on December 15, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro in Dar es Salaam.
Superbrands will also announce the highly anticipated ‘Brand of the Year’ award in addition to unveiling the second edition of the much coveted coffee-table style Superbrands book, which includes profiles of each of the Superbrands, at the Tribute event.
Superbrands is the world’s largest independent arbiter of branding. It identifies and pays tribute to exceptional brands by recognising, rewarding and reinforcing leading brands from all over the world.
Superbrand status strengthens a brand’s position, adds prestige and sets the brand apart from its competitors. Superbrands have launched programmes in over 88 countries including all the key global markets. Some of the leading global consumer and business brands recognized by Superbrands include Mercedes Benz, Coca Cola, BMW, Google and Microsoft.
Superbrands East Africa was launched in the region four years ago. Superbrands East Africa aims to identify those brands that are performing above and beyond others within the market. At the heart of each programme is an independent and voluntary council of leading experts comprising individuals with a deep appreciation of the “brandscape” in the country being examined.
Speaking about the event, Mr. Jawad Jaffer, Project Director, Superbrands East Africa, says, “It gives us great pleasure to announce the ‘Oscars of Branding’ night, our tribute event for East Africa’s strongest brands. We are happy that many local brands, which include new entrants, have made it to the Superbrands list this year in addition to globally recognized brands.
These brands were not only voted for by our distinguished brand council members but also by 2,500 consumers, who voted through a face to face poll. The brand which scores the highest points will be awarded the accolade of ‘Superbrand’ at the Tribute Event.”
More than 500 leading East African brands were scored by the Superbrands Council and through the face to face poll, the highest scoring brands were then designated as Superbrands.
Only brands that achieve the level of recognition set by the independent Superbrands Council are eligible for inclusion in the Superbrands East Africa book, which traces the history and achievements of each of the brands. “East Africa’s best brands, which range from FMCG brands to local family owned businesses, are featured in the Superbrands book.
We are pleased to see many new local brands making an entry this year along with globally recognised brands. Participation in the Superbrands book is by invitation only and acknowledges the inherent strength of the organisation and its brand value,” Mr. Jaffer adds.
Last year’s leading brands in Tanzania include CRDB Bank, Azam, Clouds FM and Whitedent with other regional brands such as Kenya Airways, Nokia, Tusker and MPesa. The Superbrands Council comprises individuals who have shown exceptional aptitude in business and who have a thorough knowledge of the market and methods of business.
To be voted as a Superbrand is a powerful endorsement and is evidence for existing customers, potential customers, media, suppliers, investors and employees of each brand’s exceptional status.
The Superbrands tribute event, which will be attended by the Who’s Who of the corporate world, is set to be a true celebration of many of the country’s highest profile brands, and promises to live up to its global reputation as the “Oscars of Branding”.