uperbrands Romania announced the Top 15 leading brands in Romania in 2015

Cristina Blanaru Branding, Business

Superbrands Romania has concluded the judging and market research phase, as the first stage of the 2015 edition which is currently being carried out. About 300 brands in 48 product and service categories have qualified for Superbrand status in Romania, in the 7th edition of the Superbrands program.

Procter & Gamble is the company that provided the top two brands in the top 15 leading brands in the 2015 edition of Superbrands Romania. Ariel (clothes washing brand) rises four places over last year’s ranking and surpasses Pampers, also a P&G brands, which ranks 2nd this year. Ariel and Pampers are two of the 10 P&G brands eligible for Superbrands status this year.

Banca Transilvania is the Romanian brand ranking in the top five most admired and appreciated brands in Romania this year, and is leading the financial-banking segment, followed by BRD, ranked 10th in Top Superbrands Romania 2015. The brands which have remained in the top 15 Superbrands Romania this year include: Mercedes-Benz, Gillette, Facebook, Dr. Oetker.

Overall, the top 15 leading brands in the 2015 Superbrands programme include: Ariel, Pampers, Mercedes-Benz, Banca Transilvania, Gillette, Facebook, Dr. Oetker, Persil, Milka, BRD Groupe Societe Generale, BMW, H&M, Dedeman, eMAG and Coca Cola.

The Superbrands survey, conducted nationwide with the support of Ipsos, has identified a series of trends, challenges and opportunities of the Romanian market at present, including:

  •  Changing consumer behaviour in favour of priorities

Consumer behavior has changed dramatically as a result of the recession we have been experiencing in recent years and purchasing priorities reflect the climate of economic uncertainty. The focus is now to respond to family needs and daily agenda. The fact that consumer products brands, such as Ariel, Pampers, Gillette, Dr. Oetker, Persil, Milka, H&M and Coca Cola, have remained leading brands in recent years confirms the consumers’ preference for consumer products brands. In 2015, the best represented economic categories in the brands list validated by Superbrands in Romania include: personal care products, dairy products, confectionery, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics and home appliances, technology, clothing, beverages. The economic categories least represented in the list of brands with Superbrand status are oil and gas, the hospitality and travel industry, and furniture manufacturing.

  •  The digital trend is changing the retail landscape in Romania and educates Romanians to a new type of experience in their relationship with brands

Online gamers are looking with growing interest to the colonization of new categories of business so that e-commerce continues to change the landscape of retail in Romania. E-commerce brands build a new reality for the Romanian consumer, giving consumers much closer and more personalized experiences in their relationship with brands. This increasingly visible trend in Romania has propelled to the Top 15 Superbrands brands such as H&M – by launching the possibility of online shopping, eMag – the famous Romanian player and initiator of Black Friday in Romania, and Dedeman – already “the household name” in the Do-It-Yourself sector in Romania.

  •  Tradition, to the next level: innovation is the strategic stakes of brands with history

As in previous years, the Superbrands survey certifies Romanians’ appreciation for traditional brands with excellent reputation, aspirational brands which speak about high quality and respect for the consumer. Mercedes-Benz and BMW are among the brands with tradition, which have understood and perfectly adapted themselves to economic trends based on the personalized customer experience. Innovation is one of the main attributes that Romanians associate with Superbrand status in Romania. Consumers’ attention to innovation is expressed in Superbrands Romania 2015 programme by an increased number of brands eligible for Superbrand status in Romania in 2015 in the categories of electronic products, automotive and high technology.

The final results of the Superbrands research in Romania reflect the Romanian consumers’ choice for the 300 brands eligible for Superbrand status in Romania in 2015. The survey results confirm that the Romanians are ready to support brands that inspire them, make them happy and stand by them in everyday life, brands that give them respect and genuine communication.

In line with this trend, the Romanian brands considered Superbrands by Romanians include: Banca Transilvania, BRD, Dedeman, eMAG, Borsec, Catena, Dona, Napolact, PRO TV, Timisoreana, Poiana, Flanco, Radio Zu. Romanian brands represent approximately 28% of the brands validated as Superbrand 2015 in Romania, a new performance for Romanian creativity.

Just as the previous edition, the 2015 Superbrands survey also brings an interpretation of the results from a cultural perspective, in addition to validating makes that qualify for the Superbrand status. The main dimensions that influence the way Romanians perceive the performance of a brand are: reliability, leadership, dynamism, the latter two being characteristic. Leadership is the main differentiating feature for brands, as Romanians are a culture in constant search of successful, inspiring role models, and dynamism is the novelty at cultural level – as Romanians appreciate the brands which have the courage to innovate and progress.

The list of brands eligible for Superbrand status was obtained based on the Superbrands international methodology comprising two important phases. In the first stage, the Superbrands Council, consisting of 24 management, marketing, communication and branding experts provided a qualitative selection of the brands list, evaluating 1,546 brands in 54 categories. The criteria considered in the selection process were quality, reliability and market distinction. Following this selection, 593 qualified brands were included in the market research, conducted by Superbrands Romania with the support of Ipsos, on a representative sample of 1,500 Romanian consumers at urban level. The complete list of brands designated as eligible for Superbrand status in Romania in 2015, will be presented in the book Superbrands for Romania, 7th edition.

Superbrands is currently carrying out programs for 2015 in over 80 markets, including Australia, Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, China, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, UK and USA. The international Superbrands organisation operates in over 150 countries, boosting proactively, for over 20 years, the development of local markets by means of specialized branding programs and by publishing the Superbrands volumes that pay tribute to well performing brands and their reputation in relation to the market, earning the consumers’ respect and trust. In Romania, the program entered the market in 2005, via the strategic communication and public relations agency BDR Associates.