Powerful brand names honoured with awards at dinner galaMDIS in the News

THE brand name is one of the key driving factors of successful companies in Singapore, said Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung at the 17th annual Singapore Prestige Brand Awards (SPBA) held at the Ritz-Carlton on Thursday.

"All of our successful companies have built good brand names, which are anchored on capabilities and what your products and services stand for," he told the audience of over 500 business leaders.

But behind the company brand, is also the Singapore brand, which has been built up over five decades, he added.

"That is one reason why many foreign firms value our market - not because it is a huge market, but because if the product or service works in Singapore, it gives confidence to other markets around the world."

Homegrown brands that helped lift the Singapore brand were honoured with awards at the event, jointly organised by the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) and Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao.

Among them was food and beverage player Toast Box, which was named the Overall Winner of the SPBA for the Established Brands category.

Another big winner was B9 Dental Centre, which won the Overall Winner title in the Promising Brands category, meant for businesses established in the last three to eight years. It was also inducted into the SPBA - Hall of Fame, which is reserved for outstanding local brands that have won over a period of time.

The other two companies that bagged the main prizes include the Management Development Institute of Singapore, which was Overall Winner of the SPBA in the Heritage Brands category, and Novu which was Overall Winner of SPBA among Regional Brands.

Awards were also conferred on brands that picked up the most votes from the public in their respective categories. The winners were Toast Box, Natureland, Chin Lee Restaurant and Avalon.

Gardens by the Bay was honoured with a Special Merit award. Participation in this award category is by invitation only and reserved for government agencies and not-for-profit organisations.

Kurt Wee, president of the ASME, said: "Branding is at the core of a business, as a strong brand allows business owners to build on trust that transcends geography and time."

Goh Sin Teck, editor of Lianhe Zaobao and Lianhe Wanbao, noted that branding can also help enterprises expand abroad.

"With many of these brands achieving international acclaim, it is a testament that local brands can also soar far and wide, beyond the shores of Singapore," he added.

Source: The Business Times, 2 November 2018 © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission. Click here to read the article.