SLIM-KANTAR People’s Awards 2022 concluded on a successful note on 21 March 2022, celebrating the voice and choice of the Sri Lankan people. The awards ceremony was graced by Minister of Sports and Youth, Development Co-ordination, and Monitoring and State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development Namal Rajapaksa as the Chief Guest, SLIM Past President Upul Adikari as the Guest of Honour, and distinguished invitees.
Singer Sri Lanka emerged victorious as the “People’s Brand of the Year”. The consumer durables retailer also secured the “People’s Youth Choice Brand of the Year” award and the “People’s Durables Brand of the Year” award.
Addressing the gathering, SLIM President Ms. Thilanka Abeywardena noted: “Today we witness the presence of corporate brands as well as personalities that have created their own brands. The impact of all these brands coming together is immense. SLIM People’s Awards is very special because you have enormous power through the people’s vote to encourage the next generation for positive change. As the President of SLIM, I humbly request you to put this power to good use to change mindsets and inspire our country. With that being said, I congratulate all nominees – you are already winners because you have won the people’s hearts.”
Themed “heart share”, the 16th edition of the awards recognized and celebrated the share of hearts won by brands, personalities, organizations, artists, and programmes. Winners were selected through a scientific methodology carried out by globally known research company Kantar, under 37 main categories and 9 youth categories through a nationwide survey.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kantar Managing Director Himalee Madurusinghe shared: “Kantar Sri Lanka conducted over 6,000 computer-aided telephonic interviews (CATI) using the Kantar Access Panel. The respondents were carefully selected to represent Sri Lanka’s population and these respondents were given a structured questionnaire in Sinhala and Tamil. We saw that some of the same brands and personalities were picked by the people. This shows just how much of heart share of the Sri Lankan people these brands and personalities have won, which is inspiring.”
The SLIM President also presented the Chief Guest with “Ethical Marketing Guideline – Volume 1” launched by the SLIM Research Bureau, which provides timely, underlying insights into how brands and organizations can incorporate ethical marketing practices into day-to-day business operations.
Chief Guest Minister Rajapaksa shared his thoughts on People’s Awards, stating: “First of all, I congratulate everyone because not only have you been chosen for People’s Awards, but your brands are being appreciated and celebrated. Earning the people’s share of heart is not an easy feat, but you have been able to establish your brands as ones that are close to the hearts of the Sri Lankan people. Today, we’ve been compelled to think laterally and unconventionally to make our way through a global crisis. As brands that have made a mark on the hearts of the people, I believe all of you are the brand ambassadors who can take the Sri Lankan brand to the global horizon.”
As the national body for marketing, SLIM has been committed to promoting marketing excellence and best practices among corporates since 1970.
