Global Idea is getting ready to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the Golden Brand award – the most influential and prestigious business awards ceremony in Georgia and is often referred to as “the Oscars of the Business World”.
This year the ceremony will award 45 companies that were particularly successful in their business activities throughout 2019. Of this number of winning companies, 20 of them are newcomers.
For the first time this year, the Golden Brand awards will be held at the Underwheel Club, which is located at the highest point of Tbilisi, on Mtatsminda Mount.
Director of Global Idea NatiaJincharadze promised an unforgettable night for guests on July 17:
“We are getting ready for this big event and promising lots of surprises and interesting activities at the jubilee event. We plan to make it a memorable and festive event. It is a big day for us. We started the Golden Brand awards in 2006 just only with 15 nominations and over the years we grew to cover all fields of business. Our project has gained popularity even at the international level. Major international brands use our trademark in several foreign countries as the number one Golden Brand in Georgia”, said Jincharadze.
Since the day of the establishment of award ceremony, the Golden Brand awards have been supported by the Ministry of Economy of Georgia, the Georgian Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Businessmen, the International Chamber of Commerce, Tbilisi City Hall, Georgia, Switzerland, the Business Council and the Women’s Council of Industry in Georgia.
None of the business award ceremonies in Georgia have such a long history as Golden Brand. How have you managed to run an awards ceremony which has lasted for so many years and is always interesting and important for businesses as well as for the public?
We have been on the market for 15 years and popularity is constantly growing because it is based on our openness and transparency. This is the secret to our successful business. The trust of companies is the secret that has given us the possibility to remain in this business for so many years.
We try not to leave any questions unanswered and to be as open as possible when dealing with partners.
It is very prestigious for companies to receive our award. When our symbol or inscription ‘Golden Brand-No.1’ is labeled on a product, this means the product is reliable in terms of both quality and popularity.
Please describe the process by which winners are selected.
The first stage involves a complete study of the market, which includes studying companies’ advertising and PR activities, as well as the introduction of modern management systems, quality management and improvement of the company. We pay great attention to social responsibility and activities carried out in this direction.
Then we create a questionnaire, which is divided into two parts. The first part is distributed to customers where they choose their favorite brand in each nomination online, while the second part is given to economy experts. As these nominations are very specific, customers alone would not be able to select the best companies, hence the involvement of experts in this process is very important.
To note, in the process of selecting what companies receive the Golden Brand award, we cooperate with a group of people composed of professors, business administration specialists, independent experts, consulting groups, and state and non-governmental sector representatives.
What must a brand achieve to be successful?
A brand should be more than a logo and a trademark, in simple words it is an intangible asset for a business and a reputation for a customer. In many cases, the value of a brand and trademark far exceeds the material value of the company.
How quickly are the Golden Brand award ceremonies growing year after year? The awards are always notable for their high-ranking guests.
It is a great honor for us to have guests attending our event, and we keep it interesting by including a lot of show elements.
The number of guests grows every year. In the first years we had about 200 guests, in recent years the number of guests has reached 400-500 people. Nevertheless, unfortunately, we are not able to receive all the guests physically. However, we are trying to increase the list of guests for next year and satisfy all who want to attend the awards ceremony.
What is your impression of how the coronavirus pandemic has affected Georgian businesses and has it had an influence on the award ceremony?
The coronavirus has caused serious damage to the world economy and, of course, has had a negative impact on our country. As you know, we have a very close relationship with business and we know what problems have arisen, especially in tourism and related businesses. The hotel, restaurant, travel businesses have been hit hard, the malls and exporters are in a difficult situation, but everyone is ready to regain their positions with redoubled energy.
Moreover, the measures taken by the government have given us the opportunity to overcome the first stage of the epidemic with just small losses, and as a result we have created an image of a safe country in the world. So I expect tourism will return to normal soon and may even increase the number of visitors next year. This, on the other hand, will give the opportunity to the companies which were damaged this year to get back on track and regain what they lost.
As for us,I think the crisis management of our company has been carried out at a fairly high level, we have been able to solve the problems with minimal losses. If the country is able to cope with the so-called second wave, the country’s economy will soon regain its previous position in all directions.
Finally, I would like to end my interview with a good note and once again congratulate the winning companies on their success. I am sure that the Georgian economy will be strengthened through such companies.
