These sought-after awards, which are presented each year, are particularly unique: instead of a jury, consumers themselves decide on the winners by means of a representative study conducted by market research company GfK. In addition to a glass best brands trophy, prizewinners also received a cheque totalling more than EUR 1 million for publicity and media services.
More than 600 invited guests from business, retail and media listened with anticipation to the keynote speech delivered by Dr Jean-Claude Juncker, who opened the best brands gala after a short greeting from the Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria, Ilse Aigner. Toni Garrn – Victoria’s Secret model and special guest – gave an elegant performance during her presentation of the special category “Best premium beauty brand” alongside the evening’s host, Steven Gätjen. This year’s musical highlight for the evening took the form of German pop group Frida Gold, who proved a hit with the audience.
Among the audience were the evening’s glorious victors: BMW, Nivea, Captain Morgan and Chanel received a cheque totalling more than EUR 1 million for publicity and media services. China, the first guest country to take part in the prospective “best brands international” category, was represented on stage by Master Kong, the winner of “Best product brand in China”. Florian Haller, CEO of the Serviceplan Group, says: “As a partner of best brands, we look forward to this wonderful evening every year. It’s the perfect combination of exciting prizewinners, interesting speakers, a spectacular show, and of course some great conversations with our guests!”
The best brands awards are unique in the sense that consumers, rather than a jury, decide on the winners – the prize-winning candidates are assessed on the basis of two key criteria in a representative GfK study: their actual market success and the popularity of their brand among consumers. No other brand ranking assessment incorporates both aspects of brand strength – the rational and emotional.
The German best brands brand rankings were launched in 2004 by the Serviceplan Group, the GfK Group, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, WirtschaftsWoche, Markenverband and iq media marketing GmbH. These were joined by another partner Ströer Media AG in 2013. The aim of the awards ceremony and the associated conference “best brands college” is to promote successful brand management in Germany. The best brands awards are presented each year in February.
The winners
BMW was yet again able to secure the top place internationally as “Best corporate brand”. Just two years before (the category alternates between national and international brands), the Munich-based company won first place in the category “Best corporate brand” – ahead of Volkswagen (2nd place) and Audi (3rd place), both companies from the automotive sector.
Nivea claimed the title of “Best product brand”. Over the past ten years, the brand has managed to constantly work its way up through the best brands rankings, claiming the first spot last year. Nivea was followed by Lego (2nd place) and Bose (3rd place). Lego has been among the top ten best in this category for many years now, while this represents Bose’s first appearance in the best brands rankings. Siegfried Högl, CEO of GfK’s Consumer Experiences sector in Germany, introduced this winner in his laudation speech.
Iain Holding, General Manager of the Management Unit for Germany and Switzerland, says: “We are very proud that the consumers surveyed have chosen Nivea as the winner of the prestigious 2014 best brand award in the product brand category for two years running. Our consumer’s trust is our utmost asset and we are aware that this is something that we must constantly earn every day through quality and innovation. We would like to thank our consumers, our trading partners and above all our employees, who made this success possible.”
The journey to the top has been a rapid one for Captain Morgan, who won first place as this year’s fastest growing brand. The iconic rum brand with the pirates from Diageo raced straight to the top of the podium. Jan Pörksen, Customer Marketing & Innovation Director at Diageo Germany: “We are absolutely delighted to have received this prestigious award!” We would like to extend a special thank you to the millions of Captain Morgan fans, who have made Captain Morgan Spiced Gold into the fastest growing rum brand in Germany over the past years – without their loyalty to the brand, this remarkable success story in the German spirits industry would never have happened in the first place. Captain Morgan has the potential to gain even more fans in Germany.”
This year’s special category “Best premium beauty brand” went to Chanel, who were followed by Christian Dior (2nd place) and Sisley in third place.
This year saw the addition of the categories “Best product brand” and “Best corporate brand” from a guest country (to be changed each year), in which national and international brands will be assessed. This was kicked off by China this year. The audience in Munich gave a warm welcome to the Chinese Consul General Zhu Wanjin as he stepped on stage to talk about the brand scene in China. Apple claimed the “Best product brand” title, followed by Microsoft and Coca-Cola. The Chinese company Master Kong came out on top in the product brand category.
Chen Kungju, Head of Public Relations and Brand Management CEO Office, TingYi Holding Corp.: “It is a great honour to receive this special award as the first best brand in the category. Master Kong originated in Taiwan and was introduced to the market in 1992 with instant noodle and ready-to-drink tea which has become one of the best well known brands in China. At Master Kong, we always do our best to strike the balance between product mix and customer needs by offering value-for-money products and services. We also heavily invest in food safety to meet with international standards. As a trusted brand, Master Kong will continuously bring Chinese delicacies to the customer with state-of-the-art approaches.”
Safeguard was not far behind in second place, with Dove (Mars) coming third.
best brands is also going on tour for the first time: on 20 March 2014, the first best brands international event will take place at the BMW Brand Experience Center in Shanghai.
About best brands
The German “best brands” brand rankings were launched in 2004 with the aim of promoting successful brand management in Germany: since then, the award has been presented in four categories during a celebratory gala held in February each year at Munich’s Bayerischer Hof hotel. The winners are not decided by means of the subjective verdict of a jury, but by consumers themselves, as the best brands rankings represent the only marketing award to be based on a representative study, conducted by GfK. The strengths of each brand are assessed according to two criteria: its actual economic market success and its attractiveness in the eyes of the consumer – no other brand rankings have ever incorporated both aspects of brand strength. The partners of “best brands” are the Serviceplan Group, the GfK Group, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, WirtschaftsWoche, Markenverband, iq media marketing and, since 2013, Ströer Media AG.
