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CONTENT

Introduction 1SLIM Executive Committee 2017/2018 2Message from the SLIM President 3Message from the SLIM Vice President 4Message from the Project Chairman 5Advisory Panel 6Message from the Head - Panel of Judges 7Panel of Judges 8Project Committee 10The Awards 11Eligibility Criteria and Entry Process 15Judging Process 19Dates and Payments 20

Introduction

From the finest Da Vinci brush stroke to the melody of mater crafted Beethoven symphony, Excellence is an art that requires the very same effort and determination needed to create your

brand, Your Masterpiece.

Seize the opportunity to exhibit your masterpiece at the SLIM Brand Excellence 2017

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SLIM Council & Executive Committee - 2017/2018

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Year after year SLIM Brand Excellence has continued to grow in quality and popularity, and now we have come to the beginning of the 16th SLIM Brand Excellence Awards Campaign. This nationally acclaimed initiative itself is a represen-tation of the power and influence of the country’s marketing industry.

SLIM Brand Excellence is the only award ceremony in the country which rewards brands and brandcustodians who excel in the arena of brand marketing. The performance of a brand is thoroughly evaluated based on a well-thought and defined criterion developed by a renowned marketing expert, late Professor Uditha Liyanage. Over the years, this criterion has been further improved, making it a well- crafted framework to be used in real life situations.

SLIM has always taken the initiative to encourage the development of strategic and result-orientedthinking in the fields of brand development, sales, advertising and research through events such as, the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards, NASCO, the Effies and the People’s Awards. Every year SLIM raises the standard of each of these events.

It is my firm belief that 2017 will be an amazing year for SLIM Brand Excellence. I encourage allorganizations and brand custodians to take part in the campaign and showcase the fascinating storiesbehind their respective brands. We value the magnitude of hard work put in by brand marketers in the building of a brand, thus each entry will be given a fair and thorough evaluation by the panel of judges.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our generous sponsors, late Professor Uditha Liyanage who is etched in our hearts for his valuable advice, the advisory committee, the panel of judges and the project team for their tireless work towards launching the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2017. I believe that this year’s event will be full of excitement and I wish all the organizers and participants the very best of luck!

Message from the President of SLIM

Elangovan KarthikPresident

Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing

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Dear Fellow Marketers,A new era has emerged as a result of unprecedented technological advancement where similar products can be manufac-tured by several manufactures misleading the consumer of their authenticity. In addition to this the landscape continues to evolve in marketing communication due to unprecedented development in the digital marketing frontier where consumers are bombarded with various products which are capable of fulfilling the same need.

Thus the biggest challenge a manufacturer or the product owner faces is how to build a long lasting relationship with their consumer by allowing them to buy the same product on a regular basis by maintaining their confidence in the product. As we know, the solution for this challenge is branding. Al Ries & Jack Trout stated, “Marketing is not a battle of Product, It’s a battle of Positioning”, which highlights the importance of the branding process.

As members of the marketing fraternity, we are well aware of the pivotal role played by branding in today’s volatile market place. Businesses need to build iconic brands that are loved by consumers, now more than ever, to ensure their survival andcontinued success in the longer run.

SLIM as the national body for marketers continues to recognize and reward the brand marketer’s efforts by presenting once again this event for the 16 th consecutive year. SLIM Brand Excellence measures the level of excellence in the brand develop-ment process which will ensure an organization’s long term sustainability.

Message from the Vice President of SLIM

Suranjith SwarisVice President

Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing

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Make Each Day Your Masterpiece - Jone Wooden.

The focus of the 16th SLIM brand Excellence is to let brand custodians showcase their masterpiece with utmost pride and respect. After 15 ceremonies and the growing recognition of branding in product positioning, today, SLIM brand excellence has become the national brand recognition award in Sri Lanka.

As the National body of Marketing in Sri Lanka, we drive our mission of identifying potential upcoming brands and making those brands recognized. Therefore, we especially invite SME brands to be a part of SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2017 to exhibit their masterpiece and discover new opportunities in the market. At the same time SLIM will continue to create the right platform for other top brands to raise the level of excellence that they have already gained.

We firmly believe that our exercise will help make global brands from Sri Lanka that will conquer the world with greater brand equity and contribute to the national economy.

I would like to invite all the brand custodians across the country to join us as we showcase their master-pieces at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2017.

Message from the Project Chairman

Nuwan Gamage Project Chairman

SLIM Brand Excellence 2017

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Advisory Committee - SLIM Brand Excellence 2017

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Bimal SilvaFormer Director/Chief Executive OfficerHayleys Consumer Products Ltd.Head - Panel of Judges 2014

Ravi LiyanageChief Executive OfficerTVS Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.Head - Panel of Judges 2012

Asanga RanasingheSector Managing Director – Consumer & RetailGroup Marketing DirectorLAUGFS Holdings.Head - Panel of Judges 2011

Graham MarshellGeneral Manager-Vehicle RefinishesAkzoNobel Paints Lanka.Head - Panel of Judges 2013

Nasser MajeedChief Executive OfficerSoftlogic Retail (Pvt) Ltd.Head - Panel of Judges 2015/2016

Dinesh Nalliah Chief Operating OfficerRichlife Dairies LimitedHead - Panel of Judges 2017

“Change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy.” – Rudy Giuliani

With today’s ever changing and evolving consumer and technology, adapting to change timely is a critical success factor for businesses. As achieving projected sales and market share goals drive the profitability of organizations, it is only well strategized brands that can deliver the organizational objectives. Therefore, it is my opinion that Brand Custodians will have to drive organizations towards high performance through building high performance brands.

Given this scenario, SLIM must be congratulated for successfully conducting the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards for the 16 th year and thus inculcating the value of brand building in business. The panel of judges is all eminent marketers and come from different industries as well as different disciplines within marketing, which will no doubt add significant value to the judging process. Whilst thanking everyone behind SLIM Brand Excellence 2017, I extend my best wishes to all participants.May the good brands become better brands, and may the great brands win!!!!!

Message from the Head of the Judging Panel

Dinesh Nalliah Head of the Judging Panel

SLIM Brand Excellence 2017

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Panel of Judges

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Dinesh Nalliah Chief Operating OfficerRichlife Dairies Limited

Dileep MudadeniyaHead of Brand MarketingCinnamon Hotels and ResortsVice President-John Keells Group

Sharang PantManaging Director Nielsen Sri Lanka

Mangala PereraGroup Director - C. W. Mackie PLC

Rohan Somawansa Head of Sales and Marketing DSI Samson Group

Deepal Abeysekera Chief Executive Officer People’s Insurance PLC

Ruwan WelikalaVice President – DairyNestle Lanka PLC

Hasrath MunasingheDeputy General Manager - Marketing Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC

Roshan KaluarachchiChief Executive Officer -SLT Human Capital Solutions(Pvt) Ltd.Chief Business Strategies Officer

Renuka MarshallManaging DirectorTBWA\TAL Sri Lanka

Panel of Judges

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Thayalan BartlettChief Executive OfficerMULLENLOWE - Sri Lanka

Santhush Weeraman Singer, Composer and Musician Director of SGM IntegratedShowtown Entertainment

Mihirani DissanayakeCountry Head, Senior Business DirectorKantar TNS, Sri Lanka

Sajith GunaratneDeputy General ManagerCeylon Agro Industries(Prima Group Sri Lanka)

Dilshan WirasekaraDirector/Group Chief Executive Officer First Capital Holdings PLC

Madhushanka RanatungaDirector/General Manager Luxury Brands

Makshoodh Meerasaibu Marketing Director (Home Care,Food / Refreshment and Pureit)Unilever Sri Lanka.

Nadi Dharmasiri Head of Marketing Sampath Bank PLC

Nalin Perera Chief Executive OfficerMobitel (Pvt) Ltd.

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Project committee

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Nuwan Gamage - Project Chairmen Head of International Business Kindai Kagaku Lanka (Pvt) LtdDreamron Group of Companies

Dilanjan Perera Senior Account Executive Mullenlowe - Sri Lanka

Asanka Abyekoon Senior Lecturer Parth Academy

Chinthaka Wanasinghe AGM Event - SLIM

Gangani Liyamage Event Coordinator - SLIM

Dimithra SilvaExecutive - Events - SLIM

Thiwanka WijesingheEvent Coordinator - SLIM

Arjuna Manawapriya General Manager Marketing 4ever Skin Naturals (Pvt ) Ltd

Manujith Wijesuriya Assistant Manager Digital Banking Unit Peoples Brank

Rushlan AllangSenior Sales Manager, Aniwa.lk

Enoch Perera - Co -Project Chairmen Senior Manager MarketingPiramal Glass Ceylon PLC

Govinna VijithaBrand ManagerPlenty Foods (Pvt) Ltd

Udara Hemachnadra Regional Manager Dialog Axiata

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Award Categories and DefinitionsThere are 13 categories under which entries could be submitted. You may enter under the main categories of “Product Brand of the Year” or “Service Brand of the Year”, and / or under one of the 11 special categories. You may enter under multiple categories.

Product Brand of the YearEntries should be submitted by tangible product brands such as FMCGs, consumer durables, commercial / industrial products etc. The organiza-tion submitting the entry should be involved in marketing the brand locally while the product could be manufactured or sourced from abroad.

Service Brand of the YearEntries should be submitted by intangible service brands such as banking, insurance, telecommunication, entertainment, education, leisure, investment, real estate, travel, transport etc. These entries could be local brands or international brands marketed locally.

Innovative Brand of the YearThe brand that shows outstanding innovation in terms of new product development/introduction, packaging, service methods, promotional methods distribution methods etc. This award recognizes the brand that has shown remarkable innovation in the past year.

Turnaround Brand of the YearThis award recognizes the brand that has most successfully overcome a downturn or a crisis. The brand should have faced a crisis or a predicamentin the preceding year (2016) and the improvement should have happened / is happening in the current year (2017).

Main Awards

Special Awards

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The AwardsThe top three brands that obtained the highest score in each of the six main categories (Product Brand of the Year, Service Brand of the Year, Innovative Brand of the Year, Turnaround Brand of the Year, Local Brand of the Year, Export Brand of the Year) will be recognized with Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be selected in each of the special awards categories. Awards may not be presented in a category if there are no entries of a suitable standard to merit an award. The brand managers who are custodians of winning brands will also be awarded a special certificate, recognizing their significant contribution towards the brands’ success. Decision of the judge panel will be final.

Brand of The Year Brand of The Year The highest scores of the six main categories will be evaluated by the judges in awarding the brand of the year. No separate entry is required for the brand of the year award.

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Best New Entrant of the YearThis award recognizes the most successful new entrant of the year. This category requires entries from brands that were introduced to the marketwithin the last two years (i.e. 2015 and 2016), and have sustained more than one year till the present time.

B2B Brand of the YearThese are product or service brands that cater to other businesses or organizations. These brands can also be taken as a support service or as aningredient to produce another product. This award recognizes the best among the Business to Business brands marketed locally.

CSR Brand of the YearCSR brands are identified as brands conducting strategic activities related to people and/or environment which is an integral part of the said brand’s strategy.

Export Brand of the YearThis award is given for the most promising export brand of the year. Entries should be submitted by Sri Lankan brands who are engaged in exportmarketing. This would showcase Sri Lankan brands that have shown excellence and great success in the international market.

International Brand of the YearThis category calls for entries from International brands (headquartered and originating overseas).These brands can be produced, sourced andmarketed internationally as well as locally, and the award will be given to the brand that has been most successfully established in the country.

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SME Brand of the YearOrganizations with an annual turnover up to a maximum of Rs. 250 million can apply under this category. These can be categorized as small and mediumsized organizations engaged in providing a product or a service. They should have been in the market during the last three years (I.e. 2014 - 2016).

Local Brand of the YearThis award is given for the best among home-grown (locally headquartered and local origin) brands. Brands that are sourced /produced and marketed locally will be considered for this category. This would showcase how a home-grown brand would successfully perform in the market place.

Online Brand of the yearThis category is for brands originated on internet, mobile platform or virtual space. These brands can be marketing goods, services or online properties such as online advertising, web development etc. Such brands can have a physical presence. However, 80% or more from the overall business revenue should be able to be attributed to the online / mobile platform related revenues. The online brand should be able to operate independently.

Regional Brand Recognition AwardAny brand from the Asian region will be provided with the opportunity to submit their entries highlighting their performance. These brands will be recognized as the Regional Brand of the year, based on their performance in that particular region within the year 2016/17.

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OriginEntries could be by local or international brands that are currently marketed in Sri Lanka. The export brand of the year is open to Sri Lankan brands marketed internationally.

Completing the Entry FormConcise and CompleteEntries must be submitted in the form made available on the official website ( www.slimbe.lk), concisely within the given space. Additional information can be submitted as appendix, but conciseness will be seen as a virtue by the judges. Completeness, however is important and some points may be lost if information is not supplied in any section.

Supporting Evidence and Auditor VerificationSince the thrust of the awards is to measure effectiveness, it is strongly recommended that you provide information on results achieved quoting inde-pendently verified research or other sources, wherever possible. Supporting documentation may be attached highlighting the research findings. Published information from government or private research sources may be attached to substantiate market sizes etc. highlighting the relevant aspects. All internal information to show achievement should be verified by the company auditors and the quoted research agencies on the last page of the entry. Entries without such verification will be rejected. With the understanding of the nature of SME business in Sri Lanka, research is made non-compulsory for this category. However SME applicants are encouraged to provide research information wherever possible to better showcase your results.

Age The brand should have been marketed in Sri Lanka for at least 3 years as of 31st March 2017 (Financial Year). However if the brand has been introduced to the market only within the last 2 years (ie. 2015 or 2016), it could be entered in the “Best New Entrant of the Year” category. The last 3 years performance of any brand is considered for judging. The weight-age of judging will be placed on the 3rd year’s performance of the brand (2016).

Eligibility Criteria and Entry Process

* The above Origin and Age does not apply to the “ Regional Brand Recognition Award”.

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Visual MaterialVisual material (such as ads, TVC’s, packs, POSM, brochures etc.) Should not be submitted with the entry, but maybe presented by successful finalistsin the stage 2 presentation. However, it is highly recommended that you attach (on a single A4 page printout) a photo or composite image that will conveya visual feel of your brand (e.g. logo, pack shot, ad, brand ‘in use’ photo etc.) to the entry.

ConfidentialityAll information provided to SLIM for SLIM Brand Excellence 2017 will be provided to the panel of judges only and the judges will be strictly bound bycommitment to confidentiality.EvaluationThe status of the brand will be judged initially through the written submission under Brand Intent. Brand Content, Brand Process & Brand Performanceand there will be additional category specific questions with respect to the to the Special Awards. Finalists will then be asked to make presentations ontheir brand’s success story. Presentations must include market and competitive structures within which the brand is placed. (eg: 5 Force Analysis, MarketShare, Status and Performance)

Section 1: Brand Intent (15%)In this section the applicants will describe the strategic intent of the brand in order to help the judges to appreciate the overall direction in which the brandis intended to move.1.1 Brand Purpose - What would consumers miss if the brand did not exist?1.2 Brand Target (Market) - What is the profile of the typical consumer?1.3 Brand Vision - What are the brand’s long-term and medium-term objectives?1.4 Brand Mission - What are the principle tasks it intends to perform in order to realize its vision?1.5 Brand Life cycle - Where is the brand placed in the life cycle? And what are its related strategies?

Section 2: Brand Content (15%)This section will deal with what the brand is about, in terms of its values and imagery.2.1 Brand Values - What are the core values, the brand upholds and how they are being promoted within the company?2.2 Brand Personality - How is the brand perceived in terms of personality attributes?2.3 Brand Reflection - What image does it want to project of the user / clients of the brand?

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Section 3: Brand Process (40%)This section will address specific branding strategies that have been adopted by the applicants, in order to make the target consumers value andinternalize the brand and its key elements. Apart from below, category specific questions will be mentioned in this selection of the entry form.3.1 What is the brand’s value proposition vis a vis competition and why? (eg: “more value for a higher price)3.2 In what category is the brand located and why?3.3 What is/are the point(s) of difference between the brand and those in the category and how credible is it? How does the POD create value for the consum-er?3.4 How distinctive, defensible and deliverable is the POD?3.5 How is the brand’s aforesaid strategic positioning operationalized through the elements of the marketing mix?3.6 What was the consumer insight, which drove the execution strategy of the MARCOM strategy?3.7 How is the brand recalled in the consumer’s mind? And why is this strategic (Names and distinctive marks)?3.8 What is the brand’s naming strategy and why?3.9 What was the consumer insight, which drove the execution strategy of the MARCOM strategySection 4: Brand Performance (30%)In this section, the actual performance of the brand in the market place will be assessed through the information provided in the application, which should be endorsed by independent auditors and research companies.

4.1 Provide information with regard to loyalty/customer satisfaction, brand awareness and recognition; brand reputation etc. endorsed by research companies.

Note: Wherever research data is presented to show a particular brand’s performance it should be substantiated by clearly stating the source duly verified by the researcher and performance should be compared against industry. For research data, please follow the research guidelines mentioned in the website/ handout provided.

4.2 Business Performance of the Brand Sales value growth, sales volume growth, market share growth, profit/ contribution over the last 3 years (Please use only space given in the box) Data has to be supported by audit confirmation and seal placement on each submission.3.9 What was the consumer insight, which drove the execution strategy of the MARCOM strategy

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Category Specific QuestionsThe following category specific questions shall be answered in addition to those in section 1, 2, 3 and 4.

4.1 Provide information with regard to loyalty/customer satisfaction, brand awareness and recognition; brand reputation etc. endorsed by research companies.

Innovative Brand of the YearInnovative Brand of the Year• What specific market opportunity did you identify for innovation?• Describe the exceptional and unconventional methods / approaches you used in NPD, packaging,marketing communications, distribution and service delivery

Turnaround Brand of the Year• Describe the crisis or the downturn you experienced and its reasons.• Describe strategies adopted to overcome the crisis and reverse the downturn. Adequate evidence and information must be provided to substantiate the above

New Entrant Brand of the Year• What specific market opportunity did you identify?• What were your key objectives at the point of market entry?• What was your market entry strategy?• What were the specific challenges you faced at market entry stage and thereafter?• Describe the rationale of the above strategy?

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Judging Process

First RoundAll entries will be screened by the pre-screening panel. At this juncture, the panel will evaluate each entry for the following.

• Suitability of entry for the category.• Eligibility of the entry.• Conformity to entry submission criteria.• Completeness of the entry form and the information contained in it.• Authenticity of the submission.If any issues arise at this stage, the entry in question and the issue will be notified in writing to the applicant, who would be required to revert in writing with a response within 48 hours of receipt of the letter.

Second RoundThe written submission must be limited to a standard form where the entry can be evaluated on criteria related to Brand Intent and Brand Performance.The judges will evaluate the submission independent of each other and give an overall score out of 100. The score will not be taken into the final round.

Final RoundEach presenter will be given 15 minutes to present, on all 4 evaluation criteria’s (ie: Brand Intent, Brand Content, Brand Process and BrandPerformance). The judges will ask questions for 10 minutes and individual scores will be entered. Finally the totaled scores will be presented to thejudges for final consent. Total scores will be presented for each category and the winners discussed and agreed by the judges. Decision of the judgingpanel will be final.

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Dates and Payments

DeadlinesEntry Deadline: 25th of August 2017

Place for Submission of EntriesSLIM Brand Excellence SecretariatSri Lanka Institute of Marketing94, Ananda Rajakaruna Mawatha, Colombo10.

Fees and PaymentsThe entry fee for each entry will be Rs. 30,000/- + Taxes . If it’s more than one entry each entry will be Rs. 25,000/- + Taxes. The entry fee for‘SME Brand of the Year’ will be Rs. 15,000/- + Taxes

A brand entering in more than one category should be accompanied by additional entry fees for each category entered. A company may submit onecheque for all its entries along with a cover letter listing the entries and categories entered. The payment must accompany the entry. Cheques should bedrawn in favour of “Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing”. Cash will not be accepted.

Late Submission feeA brand failing to meet the entry deadline will be offered an extended deadline at a late submission feeSME - Rs. 2,500 + TaxesOther - Rs. 5,000 + Taxes

Contact PersonChinthaka Wanasinghe -

TicketsTickets for the awards ceremony will be made available at the SLIM office from 1st October 2016.Tickets priced atRs. 10,000/- + Taxes

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Colombo10.

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