SLIM Brand Excellence 2021 concluded in a grand gala event on 9th February at Monarch Imperial, seeing the participation of over 400 corporates in the marketing fraternity of Sri Lanka. The esteemed national-level awards ceremony was graced by Spa Ceylon Co-Founder Mr. Shalin Balasuriya as the Chief Guest and Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) Past President Mr. Dehan Seneviratne as the Guest of Honour.
Welcoming guests to SLIM Brand Excellence 2021, SLIM President Ms. Thilanka Abeywardena shared: “For two decades, SLIM Brand Excellence has taken the lead in recognizing visionary, progressive marketers of the future. Brands play a key role in the country’s economy. With the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020 we launched ‘Restart Sri Lanka’ and in 2021 we launched the ‘Future-Ready Sri Lanka’ campaign to create smart, future-ready marketers in our country through upskilling, innovation, and education. As I always say, while it is a great achievement to win at SLIM Brand Excellence, I believe applying for this scientific process itself is a win for any brand.”
A total of 39 brands were awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze under five main categories (Product Brand, Service Brand, Global Brand, Local Brand, and Export Brand of the Year) and eight special categories (Innovative Brand, Turnaround Brand, Best New Entrant, B2B Brand, CSR Brand, Online Brand, SME Local Brand, and SME Export Brand of the Year).
Munchee of Ceylon Biscuits Ltd. (CBL) emerged victorious as the “Brand of the Year”, chalking up the highest points among all winning brands under 05 main categories.
Brands this year were judged by an elite 22-member Panel of Jury headed by Imal Fonseka. Commenting on this year’s SLIM Brand Excellence, Fonseka noted: “I was pleasantly surprised as we looked at the cases and saw how company after company, brand after brand had taken on this challenge head-on. I’ve been involved in Brand Excellence since 2012, but I’ve never been in a jury where case after case, both the content and presentation, were of such exceptional value.”
Themed “Beyond the Next Frontier” to reflect the commendable resilience of brands and companies, the 20th edition of SLIM Brand Excellence marked the highest number of entries and brand participation in the history of the awards, recording 121 entries from 82 brands.
SLIM Brand Excellence 2021 Project Chairman Manthika Ranasinghe shared: “I feel honoured and privileged to have received the opportunity to lead the 20th edition of SLIM Brand Excellence project this year. We kick-started the 20th edition nine months ago by changing the blueprint of this programme. This year, we encouraged a lot of brands to take part, and as a result, we were able to achieve the highest brand participation ever in the 20 years of SLIM Brand Excellence. I invite all brand custodians here today to join us for next year’s Brand Excellence.”
