Message from President (4As)

IN 2010, the 4As launched the Putra Brand Awards as a benchmarking exercise intended to serve as a springboard to enable Malaysian brands to compete on the global stage.

Today, the Putra Brand Awards stands apart from all other awards as “money-can’t-buy” recognition in honouring Malaysia’s best, as voted upon by – I am happy to announce – a record 7000 consumers nationwide.

We talk a lot about the pressures on brands to perform and about the difficulties of staying competitive in huge and rapidly changing markets.

As we all know, enhancing brand value is vital to long-term success as it helps grow our companies and makes it easier to navigate the economic challenges faced by our industry.

Consumer behaviour has evolved. Today, around half of us are making an effort to buy more products that support good causes.

Forty three percent of millennials say they often buy or refuse to buy a product based on the company’s expressed values or socio-political activities.

The majority of consumers are convinced they can have more influence on society as consumers than as voters, and that they can use that power to influence anything, from the life of an individual along the supply chain to the policies of a major corporation.

So, it is critical in today’s highly competitive marketplace for brands to have a greater sense of purpose – to build meaningful and emotional connections with consumers and to make tangible improvements to their lives.

Consumers want to connect with brands and companies that are aligned with their values and aspirations, whilst playing a bigger role in communities through sustainable corporate social responsibility initiatives for their collective well-being.

Brands therefore have a choice: Maintain the status quo and continue to add to the economic and ecological issues that keep us up at night, or focus on creating products, services and communications that help people feel good about the things they buy.

In short, to gain a competitive advantage, we need to disrupt and deliver value, build trust, meet real needs and focus on long-term customer relationships.

I believe these are the key differentiators that are needed to innovate and blaze new trails in today’s hyperactive environment.

Tonight’s winners are brands that have demonstrated exceptional mastery across multiple platforms, including advertising, promotions, retail presence, social media dominance and consumer-centricity.

They represent the pinnacle in terms of ranking and recognition, and have succeeded in creating an experience and personal connection, not only capturing their share of heart and wallet, but also their share of life.

Finally, on behalf of the 4As, I would like to wish the best of luck to all the finalists and convey our heartiest congratulations to all the winners.