All the big winners at the 21st Sunday Times Top Brands Awards

Big winners on the night were Samsung and Koo which were announced as South Africa’s Overall Favourite Brands, winning the Grand Prix Awards in the respective Business and Consumer sectors. Other Grand Prix winners included Vodacom, Nedbank and Coca-Cola. Shoprite was awarded as the first winner of the Proudly South African Brand Award in the consumer sector. The survey, conducted by Kantar on behalf of Tiso Blackstar Group and the Sunday Times, is considered the leading barometer of consumer sentiment towards brands in the country.

Eben Gewers, head of advertising aales at Tiso Blackstar says:

With twenty-one years of the Sunday Times Top Brands Survey under the belt, we’re proud of the contribution the results make in assisting brand strategists and marketers in refining their approach to the market. Understanding how consumers perceive a brand can have a significant impact in directing ad campaigns and messaging to optimise effectiveness, as well as resource and budget efficiencies.

Kantar conducted face-to-face interviews with 3,500 adults in the metro and non-metro areas of South Africa in the Consumer sample. The Business sample represents businesses of all sizes, with 382 C-level decision-makers participating in online self-complete interviews. The final consumer results have been weighted to represent the population according to StatsSA 2018 mid-year population estimates. The methodology used to establish brand ranking and category winners is based on the concept of relative advantage. This takes brand familiarity and awareness, the perceptions of users and non-users, as well as the size of brand presence in the market into account.

Samu Makhatihni, account director at Kantar says: “Samsung and Koo being the big winners is indicative of the changing consumer goods basket, and that both heritage and relatively new brands have the ability to be relevant and meaningful to consumers, in their own way. The proliferation of digital channels has created a myriad of opportunities for a direct brand economy (DBE), which has created an opportunity for all brands to act as digital natives, to be disruptive, and carve new paths to value in a consumer economy - creating new ways of marketing, new ways of connecting and new ways of competing.”

Consumer categories

Koo is a multiple winner of the Consumer Overall Favourite Brand Grand Prix - and once again took top spot in 2019. Coca-Cola and Whatsapp came in second and third place respectively.
For the third year running, Coca-Cola received the Consumer Green Award, as well the Consumer Social Investment Award.

Shoprite received the Proudly South African Brand Award, with Vodacom placing second, and Clover third.

Eight new categories were included in the 2019 survey. The winners in the new categories are: Soweto Gold (Craft Beer); Telkom LTE (Fibre to the home Providers); Ricoffy (Hot Beverages); Handy Andy (Household Cleaning); Sunlight (Laundry Care); Capitec (Online Banking); DStv Now (Paid Streaming Service); and Whatsapp (Social Networks).

Winners in the other 26 Consumer categories include: Hennessy (Alcoholic Spirits); Nivea (Make-Up and Face Care); Heineken (Beer); Mercedes-Benz (Cars); All Gold (Condiments & Sauces); South African Airways (Domestic Airlines); Red Bull (Energy Drinks); Tastic (Essential Foods); KFC (Fast-Food Restaurants); Shoprite (Grocery Stores); Oros (Fruit-Based Drinks); Pick n Pay Smart Shopper (Loyalty Programmes); Vaseline (Personal Care); Engen (Petrol Stations); Spur (Sit-Down Restaurants); Coca-Cola (Soft Drinks); Vodacom (Telecommunications Providers); Koo (Tinned Foods); Capfin(Pep and Ackermans stores) (Micro-Lenders); Soccer Laduma (Weekly Newspapers).

Samsung was awarded as the Top Brand in three categories: Electronic Goods, Cellphones and Large Kitchen Appliances. The Long-Term Insurance and Short-Term Insurance awards went to Old Mutual Group and Old Mutual Insure respectively. In addition to its Online Banking award, Capitec was also the winner in the Retail Banks category.

Business categories

Samsung claimed the Grand Prix award as the 2019 Business Overall Favourite Brand. Emirates claimed second place, with the Apple iPhone in third.

Vodacom received the Business Social Investment Award, followed by FNB and Nedbank in second and third place respectively.

Nedbank improved on it’s third-place ranking in 2018 to take the top spot in 2019 and claim the Business Green Award for the preservation of the natural environment. Woolworths placed second, with FNB in third place.

Four new categories were surveyed in the Business sector in 2019. The winners in the new categories are: Sun International Hotels and Resorts (Hotels); DHL (Courier Companies); Vodacom Fibre (Fibre to the business Providers); and Emirates (International Airlines).

Other category winners include: British Airways (Domestic Airlines); Avis (Car Hire Companies); Discovery Life (Long-Term Insurance); Santam (Short-Term Insurance); FNB (Corporate Banks); Samsung (Cellphones); Vodacom (Telecommunications Providers); Business Day (Business Print Media); Allan Gray (Investment Companies); Discovery Health Medical Scheme (Medical Aid Companies); and Jameson (Whiskey, Brandy, Vodka and Gin Brands).

Samsung and Vodacom were the only brands to win across both Consumer and Business categories.

The 2019 Robyn Putter Award for creative agencies

The Robyn Putter Award recognises the contributions made by creative agencies in support of winning brands, with the winner decided on a points system, based on the performance of its clients in the Sunday Times Top Brands survey. The 2019 recipient is Ogilvy South Africa.

The complete results of the 2019 Sunday Times Top Brands survey will be published in a supplement that accompanies the Sunday Times newspaper on 22 September. The Sunday Times Top Brands Awards event is managed by Tiso Blackstar Events.

Herewith the Top 10 results in each category of the 2019 Sunday Times Top Brands survey:

2019 Consumer Categories

Grand Prix - Overall Favourite Brand Index score

1. Koo 93.00
2. Coca-Cola 91.59
3. WhatsApp 89.31
4. Samsung 83.21
5. KFC 83.05
6. Tastic 82.59
7. Lucky Star 81.00
8. All Gold 79.85
9. Shoprite 79.70
10. Handy Andy 79.27

Consumer Green Award Index score

1. Coca-Cola 14
2. Shoprite 9.01
3. Eskom 7.05
4. Pick 'n Pay 6.06
5. Unilever/Lever Brothers 4.99
6. Tiger Brands 4.53
7. Vodacom 4.52
8. Woolworths 4
9. South African Breweries (SAB) 3.46
10. Sasol 3.13

Consumer Social investment Award Index score

1. Coca-Cola 10.81
2. Shoprite 8.91
3. Vodacom 3.73
4. Eskom 3.25
5. Pick 'n Pay 3.21
6. Telkom 2.98
7. Tiger Brands 2.62
8. South African Breweries (SAB) 2.6
9. Unilever/Lever Brothers 2.53
10. Sasol 2.11

Proudly South African Brand Award Index score

1. Shoprite 6.90
2. Vodacom 3.06
3. Clover 2.24
4. Pick 'n Pay 2.11
5. Woolworths 1.79
6. MTN 1.57
7. Telkom 1.48
8. Sasol 1.31
9. Koo 0.92
10. Sasko 0.91

Alcoholic Spirits Index score

1. Hennessy 63.17
2. Johnnie Walker 61.97
3. Jameson 59.40
4. Amarula 56.96
5. Skyy Vodka 56.32
6. Tanqueray 55.97
7. Jack Daniels 55.60
8. Smirnoff 52.70
9. Glenmorangie 52.21
10. Chivas Regal 51.98

Make-Up and Face Care Index score

1. Nivea 72.02
2. Pond's 63.76
3. Johnson & Johnson 59.27
4. Revlon 59.09
5. Avon 57.53
6. Woolworths 56.79
7. Yardley 55.66
8. Lux 55.56
9. Maybelline 55.10
10. Dawn 54.36

Beer Index score

1. Heineken 64.40
2. Castle Lite 62.55
3. Carling Black Label 58.98
4. Flying Fish 58.01
5. Corona 53.42
6. Castle Lager 53.28
7. Windhoek Lager 52.23
8. Windhoek Draught 48.93
9. Amstel Lager 48.88
10. Hansa 48.77

Cars Index score

1. Mercedes-Benz 67.75
2. Toyota 65.90
3. BMW 65.31
4. Volkswagen 63.70
5. Audi 59.60
6. Isuzu 49.54
7. Ford 49.24
8. Kia 47.54
9. Hyundai 46.79
10. Mazda 46.18

Cellphones Index score

1. Samsung 83.21
2. Apple iPhone 68.30
3. Huawei 67.78
4. Nokia 56.55
5. Sony 52.30
6. LG 49.27
7. Microsoft 48.87
8. Hisense 48.50
9. Mobicel 45.32
10. Blackberry 40.91

Condiments & Sauces Index score

1. All Gold 79.85
2. Crosse & Blackwell Mayonnaise 77.08
3. Nola Mayonnaise 67.32
4. Mrs Balls 64.66
5. Nando’s sauces 57.24
6. Wellingtons 52.64
7. Woolworths Mayonnaise 52.30
8. Maggi/Lazenby Worcestershire Sauce 52.16
9. Veri Peri sauces 51.47
10. Tabasco sauce 50.94

Domestic Airlines Index score

1. South Africa Airways 61.23
2. British Airways 56.92
3. Mango 54.49
4. South African Express 47.56
5. Safair 46.71
6. Kulula.com 46.13
7. SA Airlink 45.94

Electronic Goods Index score

1. Samsung 82.42
2. LG 71.04
3. Sony 64.97
4. Apple 57.22
5. Hisense 57.11
6. Telefunken 55.90
7. Panasonic 55.64
8. Huawei 54.55
9. Sansui 53.81
10. Pioneer 53.22

Energy Drinks Index score

1. Red Bull 68.61
2. Powerade 67.37
3. Power Play 63.95
4. Energade 62.06
5. Monster 55.96
6. Lucozade 54.28
7. Dragon 51.10
8. Bioplus 49.79
9. Reboost 49.52
10. Switch 49.27

Essential Foods Index score

1. Tastic 82.59
2. Albany 77.49
3. Fattis & Monis 73.45
4. White Star 69.42
5. Spekko 67.20
6. Sasko 64.39
7. ACE 60.82
8. Blue Ribbon 57.98
9. Aunt Caroline 54.42
10. SuperSun 51.46

Fast-Food Restaurants Index score

1. KFC 83.05
2. Debonairs Pizza 64.71
3. Nando's 64.53
4. McDonalds/McCafe 64.10
5. Chicken Licken 62.84
6. Steers 60.44
7. Wimpy 58.71
8. Romans Pizza 55.17
9. Burger King 53.01
10. The Fish & Chip Co. 50.84

Grocery Stores Index score

1. Shoprite 79.70
2. Pick n Pay (Supermarket/Hypermarket/Family store) 77.38
3. Spar/ Kwik Spar/ Super Spar 69.87
4. Checkers/ Checkers Hyper 66.59
5. Woolworths 63.40
6. Makro 56.23
7. Fruit & Veg City 54.83
8. Boxer 50.80
9. Game (Foodco) 49.62
10. Cambridge Foods 45.73

Fruit Based Drinks Index score

1. Oros 64.42
2. Tropika 62.91
3. Liqui-Fruit 61.69
4. Clover 60.95
5. Halls 58.14
6. Magalies 57.85
7. Fruitree 55.96
8. Wild Island 49.99
9. Sir Juice 49.88
10. Ceres 47.86

Large Kitchen Appliances Index score

1. Samsung 76.96
2. Defy 74.02
3. LG 68.41
4. Kelvinator 58.03
5. KIC 54.55
6. Whirlpool 54.01
7. Hisense 53.15
8. Bosch 46.18
9. Smeg 44.20
10. Panasonic 41.03

Long-Term Insurance Index score

1. Old Mutual Group 59.84
2. Avbob 57.19
3. Sanlam 57.09
4. Standard Bank 54.48
5. Hollard 54.28
6. Metropolitan Life 54.27
7. Alexander Forbes 54.19
8. FNB 54.04
9. Clientele 53.05
10. OUTsurance Life 50.91

Loyalty Programmes Index score

1. Pick n Pay Smart Shopper 67.45
2. Clicks ClubCard 62.98
3. Nedbank Greenbacks 57.12
4. Edgars Thank U 56.99
5. Absa Rewards 55.78
6. Standard Bank UCount 55.40
7. Jet Thank U 53.57
8. Woolworths WRewards 53.34
9. Spur Family Card 52.94
10. FNB ebucks 52.55

Personal Care Index score

1. Vaseline 72.02
2. Nivea 71.70
3. Protex 66.99
4. Sunlight 66.16
5. Dettol 60.59
6. Ingrams 58.61
7. Johnson & Johnson 57.08
8. Lux 57.06
9. Dawn 54.99
10. Dove 54.36

Petrol Stations Index score

1. Engen 68.01
2. BP 60.68
3. Sasol 57.97
4. Total 56.63
5. Shell 56.24
6. Caltex 53.61
7. Puma 41.26
8. Exel 39.03
9. Zenex 31.77

Retail Banks

1. Capitec 75.18
2. FNB 61.04
3. Nedbank 60.58
4. Standard Bank 60.56
5. Absa 58.54
6. Post Bank 39.75
7. African Bank 31.35

Short-Term Insurance Index score

1. Old Mutual Insure 60.46
2. OUTsurance 57.48
3. Discovery Insure 56.88
4. AA Insurance 56.16
5. Momentum 55.77
6. Absa Direct 55.68
7. Clientele 55.03
8. Auto & General 54.94
9. Hollard 53.64
10. FNB 52.50

Sit-Down Restaurants Index score

1. Spur 68.52
2. Nando's 66.62
3. Wimpy 60.85
4. Mugg & Bean 56.46
5. Ocean Basket 55.84
6. RocoMamas 55.07
7. News Café 49.33
8. John Dorys 48.20
9. Turn n Tender 46.83
10. Dros 46.32

Soft Drinks Index score

1. Coca-Cola 91.59
2. Stoney Ginger Beer 67.03
3. Sprite 64.32
4. Fanta 62.32
5. Sparletta 61.05
6. Appletiser 59.05
7. Grapetiser 53.80
8. Twist 53.00
9. Schweppes 51.29
10. Lipton Ice Tea 50.64

Telecommunications Providers Index score

1. Vodacom 71.47
2. MTN 69.52
3. Cell C 56.47
4. Telkom Mobile 54.59
5. Telkom 52.45

Tinned Foods Index score

1. Koo 93.00
2. Lucky Star 81.00
3. All Gold 72.32
4. Bull Brand 63.74
5. Glenryck 54.71
6. Enterprise 52.41
7. John West 52.12
8. Hugos 49.60
9. Saldanha 48.31
10. Rhodes 46.76

Micro-Lenders Index score

1. Capfin (Pep and Ackermans stores) 61.29
2. Wonga 49.59

Weekly Newspapers Index score

1. Soccer Laduma 60.24
2. City Press 60.18
3. Sunday Times 59.08
4. Sunday Sun 57.31
5. Daily Dispatch Weekend Edition 56.62
6. Sunday World 56.31
7. Ilanga langeSonto 53.35
8. Sunday Tribune 51.30
9. Mail & Guardian 50.85
10. Son op Sondag 49.45

New in 2019

Craft Beer Index score

1. Soweto Gold 57.46
2. Darling Brew 50.02
3. Jack Black 49.60

Fibre-to-the-Home Providers Index score

1. Telkom LTE 58.75
2. ADSL 56.43
3. Vodacom Fibre 56.11
4. Mweb 54.98
5. MTN Smart Village Fibre 50.39

Hot Beverages Index score

1. Ricoffy 70.84
2. Freshpak 65.12
3. Joko 62.96
4. Five Roses 61.62
5. Jacobs 59.30
6. Nescafe 55.85
7. Glen 54.21
8. Frisco 53.05
9. Milo 52.88
10. Cadburys Hot Chocolate 51.96

Household Cleaning Index score

1. Handy Andy 79.27
2. Sunlight 78.33
3. Domestos 70.31
4. Jik 65.74
5. Dettol 57.91
6. Mr Min 56.52
7. Mr Muscle 53.09
8. Vanish 47.85
9. Harpic 47.51
10. Jeyes 46.43

Laundry Care Index score

1. Sunlight 77.30
2. Sta-Soft 75.31
3. Omo 69.04
4. Ariel 61.04
5. Comfort 58.81
6. Maq 58.73
7. Jik 58.47
8. Surf 52.98
9. Skip 49.72
10. Vanish 48.63

Online Banking Index score

1. Capitec 74.07
2. Nedbank 61.47
3. FNB 61.47
4. Standard Bank 60.25
5. Absa 58.17
6. Post Bank 33.70
7. African Bank 29.77

Paid Streaming Services Index score

1. DStv Now 61.18
2. Showmax 53.00
3. Netflix 52.00
4. YouTube Premium 49.99
5. Cell C Black 49.01
6. Vodacom VideoPlay/OnDemand 47.98

Social Networks Index score

1. WhatsApp 89.31
2. Facebook 72.17
3. Google+ 60.07
4. YouTube 59.44
5. Instagram 52.93
6. Twitter 50.52
7. LinkedIn 43.89
8. Pinterest 43.01
9. Snapchat 42.60
10. WeChat 41.94

2019 Business Categories

Grand Prix – Overall Favourite Brand Index score

1. Samsung 86.82
2. Emirates 85.33
3. Apple iPhone 83.43
4. Vodacom 82.21
5. FNB 81.68
6. Avis 80.94
7. British Airways 80.11
8. Discovery Health 79.50
9. Jameson 76.52
10. Allan Gray 76.51

Social Investment Score

1. Vodacom 4.45
2. FNB 3.14
3. Nedbank 3.14
4. MTN 3.14
5. Coca-Cola/Coke 3.14
6. Woolworths 2.09
7. Discovery 1.83
8. Outsurance 1.57
9. Pick 'n Pay 1.31
10. SAB (South African Breweries) 1.31

Green Score

1. Nedbank 8.9
2. Woolworths 8.38
3. FNB 4.97
4. Pick 'n Pay 3.93
5. Sasol 3.66
6. Coca-Cola 3.14
7. Old Mutual 2.62
8. Discovery 2.36
9. Shoprite/Checkers 2.36
10. Unilever 2.36

Domestic Airlines Index score

1. British Airways 80.11
2. Kulula.com 74.17
3. Safair 71.78
4. Mango 60.35
5. South African Airways 55.67
6. SA Airlink 50.89
7. South African Express 41.48

Car Hire Companies Index score

1. Avis 80.94
2. Europcar 68.65
3. Bidvest 59.66
4. Budget 58.64
5. Hertz 56.12
6. First Car Rental 53.76
7. Tempest Car Hire 49.44

Long-Term Insurance Index score

1. Discovery Life 67.92
2. Sanlam 64.13
3. Old Mutual Group 63.47
4. FNB 62.26
5. Liberty 61.78
6. Alexander Forbes 60.19
7. OUTsurance Life 57.84
8. Investec 57.56
9. Momentum Myriad 54.15

Short-Term Insurance Index score

1. Santam 70.61
2. Discovery Insure 70.27
3. OUTsurance 64.82
4. FNB 62.82
5. Hollard 58.84
6. Old Mutual Insure 56.63
7. Alexander Forbes 56.62
8. Auto & General 54.23
9. Sasria 37.01

Corporate Banks Index score

1. FNB 81.68
2. Investec 70.10
3. Capitec 67.38
4. Standard Bank 59.24
5. Nedbank 58.08
6. Absa 51.12

Cellphones Index score

1. Samsung 86.82
2. Apple iPhone 83.43
3. Huawei 68.57

Telecoms Providers Index score

1. Vodacom 82.21
2. MTN 66.02
3. Telkom Mobile 65.92
4. Telkom 59.70
5. Cell C 51.35
6. Neotel 47.63

Business Print Media Index score

1. Business Day 73.49
2. Financial Mail 72.30
3. Sunday Times - Business Times 69.25
4. Mail & Guardian - Business 68.22
5. Finweek 64.04
6. City Press Business 55.89
7. Business Report (daily supplement in The Star/Pretoria News/Mercury/Cape Times) 48.63
8. Citizen Business 48.43
9. Sowetan Business 47.35
10. Sake 24 (daily supplement in Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad) 44.27

Investment Companies Index score

1. Allan Gray 76.51
2. Investec 70.66
3. Old Mutual 63.87
4. Sanlam 59.12
5. Liberty 57.61
6. Momentum 57.44
7. Alexander Forbes 56.64
8. Coronation 53.85
9. Discovery Invest 53.33
10. STANLIB 51.77

Medical Aid Companies Index score

1. Discovery Health 79.50
2. Bonitas 63.42
3. Momentum 56.27

Whiskey, Brandy, Vodka and Gin Brands Index score

1. Jameson 76.52
2. Johnnie Walker 75.94
3. Glenfiddich 75.39
4. Chivas Regal 75.36
5. The Glenlivet 72.19
6. Glenmorangie 70.44
7. Tanqueray 66.75
8. Bombay Sapphire 63.84
9. Hennessy 63.40
10. Jack Daniel's 63.11

New in 2019

Hotels Index score

1. Sun International Hotels and Resorts 67.42
2. Tsogo Sun Hotels (Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza/Garden Court/ Southern Sun) 65.82
3. Protea Hotels 63.42
4. Hilton 60.79
5. Radisson 58.66
6. Marriott 54.97
7. City Lodge 53.77

Courier Companies Index score

1. DHL 76.36
2. FedEx 62.06
3. The Courier Guy 61.53
4. RAM 59.95
5. PostNet 58.46
6. DSV 58.39
7. Globe Flight 55.02
8. Dawn Wing 52.84
9. Courier It 51.57
10. XPS 37.43

Fibre-to-the-Business Providers Index score

1. Vodacom 66.70
2. MTN 66.07
3. MWEB 65.21
4. Openserve 62.81
5. Afrihost 61.92
6. Telkom 57.18
7. Vox 54.65
8. Vumatel 48.53
9. Neotel 33.80

International Airlines Index score

1. Emirates 85.33
2. British Airways 73.63
3. Qatar Airways 69.20
4. Singapore Airlines 63.02
5. KLM 52.56
6. Turkish Airlines 49.71
7. South African Airways 46.16