daniel chigunwe
Sandra Maziwisa and Panashe Nyamudeza
THE Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) will today host the annual Superbrand awards to recognise brands that excelled beyond others in their markets at a ceremony to be graced by Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa.
The awards are being held under the theme “Super Brands-Towards National Pride and Business Growth”, which speaks towards economic growth through the improvement and growth of Zimbabwean brands.
To be held at Harare International Conference Centre (HICC), this year’s Superbrand awards theme focuses on the impact of domestic products and services locally and beyond the national borders.
In a statement MAZ executive secretary, Gillian Rusike said, “the event is about brands that have established the finest reputation and significant customer emotional or tangible advantage.”
He indicated that the theme emphasises the importance of taking branding seriously as well as the importance of brands to national economic growth.
“We have brands that have grown and are exported to several countries, hence our theme for the awards seeks to push more of our brands to not only confine themselves to the local market but push further to be on the global shelves,” said Mr Rusike. He further added that there was a need for local brands to penetrate the global market hence the invitation of Mrs Jessie Mwale-Simukoko the president of the Zambia Institute of Marketing as a guest speaker at the awards ceremony.
According to Mr Rusike the Superbrand awards which seek to celebrate brand excellence, are the only audited awards in the country.
“Zimbabwe is not a closed country but we have become borderless because we do a lot of trading with different countries and we do not need to keep pampering ourselves but to hear from other countries who also have interfaces with our local brands and get their view on how to develop.
“These are the only authentic awards in the country by virtue of them being audited and we are proud that we run authentic genuine research-based awards that follow a criterion that is research-based and has been endorsed by a team of professionals and much experienced adjudicators drawn from across the industry,” said Mr Rusike.
The Superbrand concept is an international concept that was adopted in Zimbabwe by the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe, in 2010 which aims at identifying brands that are performing above and beyond others within the market.
Online Reporter