The 20th SLIM Brand Excellence Awards press conference was held online recently.
Under the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards, five main awards and eight special awards will be presented. The five main award categories include Product Brand, Service Brand, Global Brand, Local Brand and Export Brand of the Year.
The eight special awards include, Innovative Brand, Turnaround Brand, Best New Entrant, B2B Brand, CSR Brand, Online Brand, SME Local Brand and SME Export Brand of the Year. There will be awards awaiting the brands that have persevered towards their goals for this year, whatever they may be. The most coveted Ultimate Brand of the Year Award awaits a brand that has outshone the others, proving that they have a position of excellence within the Sri Lankan economy.
President of SLIM, Thilanka Abeywardena said, “Sri Lanka is in a time where we need more and more brands to be created, to help take products and services to the world. We focus too much on raw material exports and white goods but having dedicated brands will continue to put us on the global stage. It will also help us earn much needed FDIs and achieve local market growth. Despite current challenges, Brand Excellence was scheduled for this year to encourage marketers to showcase their best as they strive towards recognition.”
Vice President of SLIM, Chinthaka Perera said, “It is owing to a great team effort that we were able to continue SLIM brand excellence amid these challenging times. We had great support from the event committee and SLIM staff to make this year’s virtual event a great success. I believe all the brand custodians have done their part to keep their brands alive. They have done well, without a doubt.”
CEO of SLIM, Sanath Senanayake said, “Brand excellence is an attempt to evaluate and impart knowledge in enhancing the brand value proposition, to compete locally as well as raise it to the global level. This is an opportunity for an organisation to comprehend the status of its brands.The process of applying itself is training for brand custodians to assess the brand in a more strategic perspective.”
Project Chairperson of SLIM Brand Excellence 2021, Manthika Ranasinghen said, “I learnt there are some misconceptions about Brand Excellence, but we will address this through communication to advocate for the corporate sector.”
Unlike any other year, this year will separate professional outfits from cowboys, visionaries from opportunists, and the exceptional from the mediocre.With the Coronavirus pandemic continuing to send shockwaves throughout the business community, marketers from all industries have faced the same question: “How do we respond?”
SLIM is committed to working towards a ‘Future-Ready Sri Lanka’ and, as such, has developed a three-pronged strategy. The goals include making SLIM a ‘future ready’ association, formulating initiatives to produce ‘future ready’ marketers and finally, as a national body, working towards a ‘future ready’ society through upskilling, SME empowerment, entrepreneurship and innovation. SLIM serves as a platform that promotes initiatives to encourage strategic and result-oriented thinking in brand development, commending excellence through the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards. By empowering brands to rise to the challenge and explore the extent of their capabilities, SLIM hopes to fulfill their goals of a Future-Ready Sri Lanka.