Another Filipino brand has made it to the global stage.
This year, SM Supermalls was given the prestigious Brand of the Year Award under the National Tier 2016-2017, during the World Branding Awards ceremonies held in an exclusive black tie gala dinner at the iconic Kensington Palace in London.
The award, given by The World Branding Forum, was the only one conferred to a local brand from the Philippines in the Shopping Mall category.
Aside from SM, other winning brands include ICBC (China), Bang & Olufsen (Denmark), Hermes (Frances), Nivea (Germany), Chow Tai Food (Hong Kong), Prada (Italy), Sukiya (Japan), Safaricom (Kenya), Maybank (Malaysia), Dulux (Netherlands), Sagres (Portugal), QNB (Qatar), Sberbank (Russia), Raffles Education (Singapore), Amore Pacific (South Korea), Santander (Spain), Zurich(Switzerland), Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan), King Power (Thailand), Dubai Duty Free (UAE), and Prudential (UK), among others.
SM’s SVP for Operations Steven Tan was present during the ceremony to receive the award.
“We are proud to be recognized in the global stage,” Tan said during his acceptance speech. “SM is a brand that reflects the Filipino people’s indomitable spirit of excellence. We resonate because we celebrate people’s hopes and aspirations, and we bring these a step closer to reality. Through our malls, we strive to create memorable destinations that broaden our shoppers’ experiences, and allow them to participate in a greater, global world.”
World Branding Forum Global Chairman Richard Rowles emphasized that the objectives of the Forum “are to advance the standards, skills and education of the branding community for the good of the industry and consumers.”
“The Awards celebrate the achievements of some of the greatest brands around the globe. With 70 percent of the scoring process coming from consumer votes, winning brands have managed to build a good trust score with their consumers,” said Richard Rowles, Chairman of the World Branding Forum.
The selection of winners is determined through brand valuation (30%), public online voting (30%), and consumer market research (40%). The latter was conducted through one-on-one phone interviews in each country. SM Supermalls came out as the most exceptional brand in the Philippines to merit recognition under the National Tier – Shopping Mall category, affirming the brand’s position as a household name in the country.
World Branding Forum Chief Executive Peter Pek emphasized on brands’ ability to provide customers with memorable experiences more than just good products and services.
“The quality of brands competing for the awards is very high. Winners set the standards of what brands need to be in order to win,” Pek added.
The World Branding Forum (WBF) is a global, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing branding standards for the good of the branding community as well as consumers. Its premier recognition program, has so far recognized some of the world’s largest and best-known brands such as Apple (US), British Airways (UK), Louis Vuitton (France), and Mercedez-Benz (Germany).
The World Branding Awards is the premier awards of the World Branding Forum. It recognizes the achievements of some of the best brands in the world.