Sunday Times Top Brands Survey adds 12 new categories

Last year’s winners at the 2018 Sunday Times Top Brands Awards. Image supplied.

Conducted by research firm Kantar on behalf of the Sunday Times, the survey is considered the leading barometer of consumer sentiment towards brands in South Africa.

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The new categories are in response to industry demands for such measurements and reflect the increased integration of technology-based services in the lives of South Africans, says Eben Gewers, head of advertising at Tiso Blackstar Group.

“Technology is an important feature of our lives and has resulted in a boon of paid-for technology services and products available to the public. Reliable data that can measure consumer sentiment in these highly competitive sectors holds significant value for strategists and marketers.”

Samu Makhatini, account director at Kantar, says: “The most notable additions this year are technology and digital services brands, proving that access to digital platforms and the technology that enables this no longer hums in the background of consumers' daily lives, but is fast becoming the loud soundtrack.”

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“This year, the results demonstrate the ability of both the relatively young brands and heritage brands to be relevant and meaningful to consumers in their way. This also indicates that brands (even heritage brands) have the opportunity to act as digital natives, be disruptive and carve new paths to value in a consumer economy – creating new ways of marketing, new ways of selling and new ways of competing."

The new categories included in the 21st Sunday Times Top Brands Survey are:

Business:

• Hotels
• Courier Companies
• Fibre-to-the-Business Providers
• International Airlines

Consumer:

• Craft Beer
• Fibre-to-the-Home Providers
• Hot Beverages
• Household Cleaning
• Laundry Care
• Online Banking
• Paid Streaming Service
• Social Networks

The results of the survey will be announced at the Sunday Times Top Brands Awards, which take place in Johannesburg on 19 September. The results will also be published in the Sunday Times Top Brands supplement on 22 September 2019.