ED 52 (Nov-Dec 2013)

COMMENTARY
COMMENTARY
The Importance
of Branding
Familiar and wellknown
local brands
walked away with
the biggest hauls
during the Award
Presentation
Ceremony of the
Singapore Prestige
Brand Award 2013
Branding has truly become an
integral part of doing business,
the tool many enterprises use to
successfully differentiate their own
products and services from their
competitors. It takes time and
painstaking effort to cultivate and
build up a truly prosperous brand,
like how Switzerland nurtured
their own “Swiss-made” branding
over decades and even centuries,
now commanding a premium
and comfortable market share in
international arenas, as described
by Mr S Iswaran, Minister, Prime
Minister’s Ofce, Second Minister for
Trade & Industry, Second Minister for
Home Affairs.
Mr Iswaran was speaking at the
Award Presentation Ceremony of the
Singapore Prestige Brand Awards
2013 (SPBA 2013) on 4 October
2013, and he also highlighted that
Singapore too has been able to
establish itself as a strong brand
despite its relative infancy, “Over the
years, we have earned a reputation for
trust and quality, and as a key trading
partner in Asian and global markets.
This positive brand association puts
Singapore-based companies in good
stead when they venture abroad to
seek new opportunities and strike
business deals with willing overseas
partners.”
Mr Iswaran was the guest-of-honour
for the glamorous Award Presentation
Ceremony of the annual branding
accolade jointly organised by the
Association of Small and Medium
Enterprises (ASME) and Chinese daily
Lianhe Zaobao. The evening saw
all 43 deserving Winners receiving
trophies of their achievements from
Mr Iswaran, and also unveiled the
coveted Overall Winners and Most
Popular Brand Winners for four of the
Award Categories.
Interior furnishings rm Scanteak
was the biggest winner that evening,
bagging both the Overall Winner
and Most Popular Brand Winner
for the Regional Brands Award
Category. Scanteak had previously
won accolades in previous iterations
of the SPBA, namely SPBA 2003,
SPBA 2004, SPBA 2005 as well as
SPBA 2006, and these two additional
honors in SPBA 2013 is a testament
to the ongoing and continuous nature
of branding.
Neo Garden Catering was also
another big winner, clinching the
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NOV DEC 2013
ENTREPRENEURS’ DIGEST