World Branding Awards

Nominations, judging and scoring

Nominations for the awards can be made by brands owners, custodians, agencies or the general public. There are three tiers of awards: a Global Award is presented to international brands that have a presence in ten or more countries, on three or more continents, limited to the top 100 global brands in any particular year; a Regional Award is presented to brands who are top in several countries in a particular geographic region; and a National Award which is presented to the very top brands in participating countries at the awards. Brands who are global winners are not awarded again on a national level.

Winners of the awards are judged through three streams: brand valuation, consumer market research and public online voting. There are also other awards for individuals voted for by the World Branding Forum Advisory Council, which is made up of luminaries from the world of branding. Winners go through a stringent assessment process to determine the level of work put in by a brand for their branding activities. The level of trust that the brands’ customers and the general public has about the brand are also taken into account.

Trophy

The award trophies are made in Stratford-on-Avon. The initial trophies were manufactured in nickel and gold plate and accented in acrylic with a design focus on the World Branding Forum's logo. In 2016, a newly designed 24 karat gold plated trophy was introduced for all winners. This new design is a solid trophy with no acrylic, and highlights the "Brand of the Year" registered trademark logo. The The trophy is 245mm in height and 76mm in diameter with an angled top, and weighs 1.8Kg.

The trophy is on display at the Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising in London.

2016–2017 Awards

This edition of the awards saw over 120,000 consumers from around the world voting for more than 2,800 brands from 35 countries. 210 brands from 30 countries were declared winners. The ceremony was held in Kensington Palace in London. Among the attendees was the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Sulaiman Almazroui, and the Philippines Ambassador, Evan Garcia. The event was hosted by David Croft of Sky Sports.

2015–2016 Awards

For the 2015–2016 period, more than 65,000 consumers voted for 2,600 nominated brands from 35 countries. 118 brands from 30 countries were eventually declared winners. The awards ceremony took place on 24 September 2015 at the State Apartments of Kensington Palace. It was hosted by Olivia Wayne of Sky Sports.

2014–2015 Awards

For the 2014–2015 period, over 2,500 brands from 35 countries were nominated for the Awards. Out of these, a total of 119 brands were awarded for the period.

London ceremony

The London awards ceremony was held on 26 October 2014, at One Whitehall Place, the events building of the Royal Horseguards Hotel. The event was hosted by David Croft. The format of the ceremony is a cocktail reception followed by a gala dinner.

Paris ceremony

The Paris awards ceremony took place on 25 March 2015, at the iconic fr:Hilton Paris Opéra in France. This second instalment of the 2014–2015 awards had an emphasis on food, beverage, luxury, fashion, lifestyle, hospitality, and service brands, where 50 brands from 22 countries were awarded.

The awards show was presented by French TV and movie actress, Sara Verhagen. Entertainment was provided by magician, Ben Hanlin, star of ITV2’s hidden camera magic show, Tricked, and Discovery Channel's Breaking Magic.

2016 Winners

The 2016–2017 awards ceremony took place in Kensington Palace in London, where 210 brands from 30 countries were awarded. Apple, BMW, the British Council, Cartier, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Google, Lego, L'Oréal, Louis Vuitton, McDonald's, Nescafé, Nike, Oral-B, Pampers, Rolex, Samsung, Starbucks, Schwarzkopf and VISA were announced as global winners.

National tier winners included ICBC (China), Bang & Olufsen (Denmark), Hermès (France), Nivea (Germany), Chow Tai Fook (Hong Kong), State Bank of India, Indomilk (Indonesia), Prada (Italy), Sukiya (Japan), Maybank (Malaysia), Dulux (Netherlands), SM Supermalls (Philippines), Sberbank (Russia), Nando's (South Africa), AmorePacific (South Korea), Santander (Spain), King Power (Thailand), Zurich (Switzerland), Dubai Duty Free (UAE), and Prudential (UK), among others.

Regional winners included Eu Yan Sang, Giordano, Lee Kum Kee, Mandarin Oriental and Watsons from Hong Kong; Indomie (Indonesia); Ajinomoto, Isetan, Kikkoman and Uniqlo from Japan; MTN from South Africa; Zara (Spain); and RAK Ceramics (UAE).

2015 Winners

The 2015–2016 awards ceremony took place in Kensington Palace in London, where 118 brands from 30 countries were awarded. Global winners included Apple, Cartier, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Google, Guinness, HSBC, IKEA, Johnnie Walker, Kleenex, Lego, Louis Vuitton, McDonald's, Mercedes Benz, Nescafé, Nike, Rolex, Shell, Starbucks and VISA. National tier winners from around the world include ANZ Bank from Australia, Sinopec from China, Hugo Boss from Germany, Airtel from India, Prada from Italy, Seiko from Japan, Samsung from Korea, Gulf Insurance Group from Kuwait, Maybank from Malaysia, KLM from the Netherlands, Babcock University from Nigeria, HBL Bank from Pakistan, Tanduay Rum from the Philippines, Chunghwa Telecom from Taiwan, MTN from South Africa, Santander from Spain, Singha Beer from Thailand, Dubai Duty Free from the UAE, and Royal Mail from the United Kingdom. RAK Ceramics won a regional award for being one of the largest brands in its category in the Middle East.

2014 Winners

The London awards ceremony in 2014 saw 69 brands from 25 countries awarded. Global winners included Apple, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, Heinz, HSBC, Louis Vuitton, McDonald’s, Samsung, Sony PlayStation and VISA. National tier winners include Barclays, the BBC, British Airways, Thomas Cook, the University of Oxford, Lego, Ferrari, Shell, Silentnight, and Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. Each brand is named "Brand of the Year" in their respective categories. The awards gave special recognition to Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia, naming him "Brand Builder of the Year" for his outstanding work in building the airline brand.

At the 2014–2015 Paris awards ceremony, 50 brands from 22 countries were awarded. Global winners included Cartier, Club Med, Evian, Gillette, Gucci, Hermès, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, IKEA, L’Oréal, Moët & Chandon, Nike, Prada and UPS. National tier winners included Penfolds (Australia); China Telecom; Media Markt (Germany); Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces (India); Indosat (Indonesia); NTT Docomo (Japan); SK Telecom (Korea); Pos Malaysia; Campina (Netherlands); SMRT (Singapore); Telkom (South Africa); Roche (Switzerland); Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan); and Eurostar (UK). Each brand was named “Brand of the Year” in their respective categories.

Presenters

For the 2014 awards, the London ceremony at One Whitehall Place was presented by David Croft from Sky Sports, while the Paris ceremony was presented by French actress Sara Verhagen. Magician Ben Hanlin from ITV2's Tricked and Discovery Channel's Breaking Magic also performed at the Paris event.

The 2015 awards ceremony at Kensington Palace was presented by Olivia Wayne from Sky Sports, and David Croft presented the 2016 awards.

World Branding Forum

The awards are organised by the World Branding Forum, a global non-profit organisation. Its aims and activities are to raise the standards of branding for the good of consumers as well as the industry, including those who work in the branding, design, marketing, advertising, public relations and communications disciplines worldwide. Its chairman is Richard Rowles, and the brand strategist Peter Pek, is its chief executive.

In 2014, it sponsored The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) conference in Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. One of the Asia’s largest business and youth leadership gathering organized by students, the conference has featured speakers such as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, director of the Earth Institute Professor Jeffrey Sachs, former President of the Republic of South Korea and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kim Dae Jung, and the Asia director of the World Economic Forum Frank Jurgen Richter.

In 2015, the World Branding Forum sponsored the education programme at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising, enabling the museum to provide quality learning experiences to students attending education sessions in the museum each year. In 2014, the museum had over 10,000 students attending sessions. It also provides a sponsorship grant to the Oxford Union.

In 2016, it sponsored the HPAIR conference that was held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.