Leveraging through Putra Brand Awards

THE Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) is looking to collaborate with SME Corp to promote home-grown brands through the former's annual Putra Brand Awards.

Source from (The Star Online): http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/5/4/business/13063019&sec=business
Published: May 05, 2013

4As looking to collaborate with SME Corp to promote home-grown brands

“The function of SME Corp is to help grow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and we'd like to work with them,” 4As president Datuk Johnny Mun tells StarBizWeek.

He adds that the Putra Brand Awards would serve as a good platform to fast-track Malaysian brands locally as well as abroad.

“We'd like SME Corp to recognise the synergies it can have with us. We're here volunteering our service, know-how and people to help better local brands.”

When contacted, SME Corp chief executive officer Datuk Hafsah Hashim says both parties had already met and discussed a potential “consolidation.”

“We have discussed on how to consolidate. I have discussed at length on how to fine-tune the methodology of selecting winners for the awards,” she says.

Mun says winners of the Putra Brand Awards undergo a stringent evaluation and judging process before they are announced.

Introduced in 2010 as an extension of the Malaysia's Most Valuable Brands (MMVB) programme, the Putra Brand Awards is organised by the 4As and supported by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) as well as other industry associations.

“Under the Putra Brand Awards, we look at the Nielsen advertising expenditure report before selecting the top 10 to 15 brands. Then we shortlist them and send them to the Pulse Group (a research agency) for research,” says Mun.

“We also invite the Branding Association of Malaysia for additional input to facilitate the research. Then we present the shortlisted winners to our board of governors, which comprise various industry captains,” he says, adding that Matrade also sits in on the evaluation process.

According to Mun, for the recent Putra Brand Awards, some 6,000 consumers were polled to determine Malaysia's favourite brands in 21 product/service categories - arguably making it the largest survey of its kind in the country.

“It's important to know the methodology of how the winners are chosen. I'm not sure whether other awards go through such evaluation,” he says, adding that winners at the Putra Brand Awards are also not obligated to pay money to be recognised.

“Of course, we would like the winners to buy a table at the awards because we want them to come and celebrate the victory. If you choose not to buy a table, we would still give you a ticket to attend the event anyway.”