SENSATIONALISE YOUR BRAND TO SUBSTANTIALISE IT

The winners of The BrandLaureate SMEs BestBrands Award 2017-2018 were announced by the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation (APBF) at its gala dinner, at The Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The prestigious awards night was attended by over 800 guests comprising corporate leaders, brand owners and leading personalities.

“Sensationalise your brand to substantialise the brand” is the theme of this year’s awards. With the deluge of brands in the market, brands need to stand out and stand tall among the competition. The key mantra in branding is to be different but with changing times and trends, being different is no longer enough. Brands need to be sensational and to do that it needs to sensationalise.

The APBF chose this theme as it strongly feels that for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to rise up and be seen, the most effective way is to sensationalise and substantialise their brand. SMEs must adopt bold branding strategies if they want to stand up and break into the big boys league.

Each winner received a 24k gold plated trophy and a glass-framed certificate. The trophy reflects the theme which reflects the brand’s journey to achieve brand success and leadership position. Rising from the broad base of the trophy which is heavily competitive, the brand navigates upwards and moves away from the competition with its bold and sensational branding strategies. The two spirals in the trophy indicate the brand’s mission to achieve a wider target audience and establish its presence and footprint, locally and globally.

In his welcome speech, Dr K.K. Johan, President of The BrandLaureate congratulated the champions of SMEs Brands for their win and spoke on the award’s chosen theme.

“In branding, you need to add colour to it and make it alive. You need to make your brand a sensation and it must be brimming with vigor to attract customers. That is why we choose the theme of this year’s award –

Sensationalise Your Brand to Substantialise Your Brand.

Always remember, that people like to talk about new things and trends and the more juicer or sensational the story, the stronger the gossip and chatter. And when that happens, the focus is always on the person or the brand.

“I also like to remind you that while you sensationalise your brand, do not forget to substantialise it. What is the point of having a nice, pretty brand which has no substance? Make sure that your brand has positive attributes, is synonymous with quality and excellence and delivers on its brand promise.”

He then concluded his speech by urging SMEs to, “stay true and loyal to your brand, be protective and stand guard over it, you will have a good year ahead. And don’t forget to make your brand, your customer’s best friend. That will be a double bonus. As the brand leader, you must be ferociously protective of your brand, if not you will find your brand going to the dogs and 2018 a dog gone year. That is my word of advice to you.”

During the night, more than 70 companies and individuals received The BrandLaureate Awards, which were divided into 10 award categories.