Brands felicitated at Reader's Digest awards

More than 30 brands were conferred awards at the 2013 edition of Reader's Digest Trusted Brand awards.

The 2013 edition of the Reader's Digest Trusted Brand Awards recently concluded at a formal ceremony at Radisson Blu Plaza hotel in Delhi. More than 30 brands were awarded in different categories, received by officials from the respective brands. The awards were conferred for both 2012 and 2013.

The ceremonies began with Manoj Sharma, group business head, India Today making a introductory speech and mentioning that the awards has become a signature event for the publication and the brands/products/services are being chosen on several criteria such as credibility, service, quality, safety, design, ease of use, value for money, social responsibility, innovation and others.

The chief guest for the event was Shriprakash Jaiswal, union minister for coal. Some of the dignitaries were Rahul Singh, first editor for the Reader's Digest; and Mohan Shivanand, editor, Reader's Digest.

The sponsors for the event were Maruti Suzuki (associate sponsor), afaqs! (media partner), and Mail Today (powered by sponsor).

Speaking about the process, Sharma mentioned that an independent marketing agency carried out a research across the country and the winners are chosen on the basis of their report. He added that neither the brands nor Reader's Digest have any say in the process.

In the first round, brands winning the Platinum awards were felicitated in categories such as Insurance Company, Water Purifier, Vacuum Cleaner, Car/SUV, Mattress and Airfreight/Courier Service. The winning brands were Life Insurance Corporation, Eureka Forbes - Aquaguard, Euroclean, Maruti Suzuki, Sleepwell and Blue Dart.

In the next round of awards, brands winning gold awards were recognised in varied categories such as Petrol Station, Bank & Home Loan, Credit Card Issuing Bank, Airfreight/Courier Service, Cooking Oil, Pest Control, Airline, Personal Computer (Desktop/Notebook /Tablet), Refrigerator, Sanitary Ware, Floor & Wall Tiles, Water Purifier, Juice, Rice, Vitamins / Health Supplements, Pain Relief Ointment / Balm, Cosmetics, Pen, Kitchen Appliances, Lightings and Paint.

The winning brands for the gold category were Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, State Bank of India, DHL, Fortune, Pest Control of India (PCI), Air India, Jet Airways, Dell, Godrej Appliances, Parryware, Hindware, Johnson Tiles, Kent RO, Pureit, Réal, India Gate, Daawat, Revital, Amway Nutrilite, Iodex, L'Oréal Paris, Parker, Prestige, Bajaj Appliances, Anchor and Dulux.

To make the evening more enjoyable, the organisers had also roped in RJ Lucky from Oye 104.8 FM who played some games with the guests and distributed awards.

The publication has 46 editions and comes out in 18 languages. The awards have been in the Asian region for over 15 years and were started in India in 2006.