The FINANCIAL -- The 7th annual Golden Brand ceremony was held last week.

28 leading companies from the local market were awarded in different categories at the ceremony.

Golden Brand 2011 was organized by Global Idea, the marketing research company and The FINANCIAL. The awards ceremony was held with the support of the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham). The project is supported by Tbilisi City Hall.

Each year experts evaluate and appraise the key companies which have the biggest public awareness and highest level of brand popularization. The radio partners of the ceremony were Fortuna and Fortuna Plus. Special gifts for guests were made by Flowers.Ge .

“Golden Brand is the most important business award recognized in Georgia. Each year we try to put new elements in to it, making it more modern and dynamic. While choosing the winners experts mainly evaluate the company brand and the activities they have conducted for the popularization of their brand over the year. As we have observed, each year Georgian companies are paying more attention to branding and coming up with completely new and creative ideas concerning their popularization,” said Natia Jintcharadze, Director of Global Idea.

“Golden Brand is a good initiative, already a tradition and many companies participate in it. Companies as well as the population need recognition of such kinds of golden brands,” said Jemal Inaishvili, President of GCCI.

“It’s very important for us to take part in the Golden Brand ceremony. Brands are getting stronger and stronger in Georgia so it’s important for them to be awarded. It’s a wonderful idea and AmCham is delighted to be involved in it. I am a big fan of this ceremony as branding is very important for both Georgian and international companies,” said David Lee, President of AmCham.

“Arranging such a high level business awarding ceremony is really valuable for the country as well as for the companies that are present on the market. We received a Golden Brand award for the 7th time this year. This year Geocell is celebrating its 15th birthday and each of the awards are important to us. We received two awards. Being winners of such nominations is a motivating factor for us,” said Osman Turhan, General Manager of Geocell.

“This awarding ceremony proves to us that consumers are content with our products. Being named a successful company by experts is a stimulating factor for keeping up our work and offering better quality products all the time,” said Aleko Stroganov from Barambo.

According to Jean-Michel Charles, co-founder of the Entrée chain, becoming a winner of Golden Brand stimulates them in offering the highest quality products. Entrée will continue to bring new assortments to its customers.

“Being named a Golden Brand company is a big pleasure for us. With the help of this event people can recognize the quality of our brand. Becoming a winner of one of the nominations means that people can see the work we are doing, the service we offer them, in order to bring a part of France to Georgia,” Mr. Charles said.

“Golden Brand is one of the most unbiased competitions in Georgia. The ceremony presents the winning companies to society as the most successful brands in their field. It is the 7th time that we have received this award. Ici Paris has about 110 brands in its network and we will add even more in the future,” said Levan Margvelashvili, Ici Paris.

“Golden Brand is the most prestigious and transparent contest. Otherwise it could not have existed for seven years,” Samson Pkhakadze, Chairman of the Wissol Board of Directors, addressed the audience.

As Ivane Goglidze, General Director of Kula, says, being named a Golden Brand company increases the number of loyal customers. “We often report on this prize to our foreign partners as it increases the prestige of our company and foreigners become more interested in us as a result,” he added.

“Our company appeared on the Georgian market not long ago but since then we have been the recipient of Golden Brand awards. Such events support businesses present on the Georgian market. The award influences not just the company but the consumers therefore,” said Nino Makhviladze, General Director of InterContinental .

The winners of Golden Brand 2011

1.    577  by Geocell - Mobile Communications - Favourite Brand

2.    Toyota Center Tbilisi - Auto Salon - Favourite Brand

3.    ICI PARIS  - Perfumery - Favourite Brand

4.    Tbilvino - Favourite Wine Brands

5.    PSP - Pharmaceutical Company - Favourite Brand

6.    Tsiskvili - Restaurant - Favourite Brand

7.    Unicard - Bonus Card - Favourite Brand

8.    InterContinental - Tourist Company - Favourite Brand

9.    DHL - Express Shipping and Logistic - Favourite Brand

10.    Entrée - Bakery Chain - Favourite Brand

11.    Nabeghlavi - Mineral Water - Favourite Brand

12.    Marneuli - Tinned Products - Favourite Brand

13.    Bruno Banani  & Cervin    - Women’s and Men’s Clothing and Accessories

14.    Geocell - Platinum Brand Of The Year

15.    Soplis Nobati - Dairy products - Favourite Brand

16.    David Erisatvi Law Group    - Juridical Company - Favourite Brand

17.    Gurieli Export - Georgian tea - Favourite Brand

18.    Kula - Georgian juice - Favourite Brand

19.    Airzena  Georgian Airways - Airlines - Favourite Georgian Brand

20.    TGL GROUP - Giordano, Adidas, Nike, Reebok Network of sports and casual accessories brand stores - Favourite Brand

21.    TBC PAY - Fast Payment System - Favourite Brand

22.    GPI Holding - Insurance Company - Favourite Brand

23.    Orbi Group - Developer Company - Favourite Brand

24.    Wissol Petroleum Georgia - Oil Company - Favourite Brand

25.    Tegeta Motors - Auto Products and Services - Favourite Brand

26.    Barambo - Chocolate - Favourite Brand

27.    08 - Information Centre - Favourite Brand

28.    Kopala - Hotel - Favourite Georgian Brand