Dear Colleagues! Dear Customers!

National annual contest BRAND of the year enters its most crucial stage. The contest is not just trusted — it has received, hopefully, its deserved popularity and support both from the brand manufacturers and consumers. BRAND of the year is recognized by the public bodies active in strategic competitiveness development. According to the participants, experts and observers, the contest contributes greatly to increasing home trademarks competitiveness and dynamics of the Belarusian consumers» brand awareness. Therefore, we believe the contest to become even more serious promotion and testing point for the participants» brands.

BRAND of the year is an exclusively professional contest arranged in accordance with the International EFFIE standards. It is being accredited by this most trustworthy organization for the brand makers worldwide. Only the strongest take part in the contest. The participation itself is already a serious recognition and an application for success submitted to the principal judge — the Consumer. This is the only national contest where such a strict judging standard is applied. The last year contest»s results show that some of the brand participants did not gain victory. It does always bring grief to participants; however, it does always stimulate company»s brand management development and brand moment increase within the business, better understanding of brand investment needs and of competence increase necessity. We notice with the greatest pleasure that the percentage of the brands recognized by the International Jury experts is growing annually as the domestic brand makers» professionalism is growing increasingly too.

Steering Committee has prepared a number of interesting novelties for the participants, consumers and observers at the Contest»04.

BRAND MANAGEMENT SCHOOL will be arranged among the activities of the BRAND for the third time already in Belarus — an integrated program on full cycle competence development in this domain. The scientists-experts and specialists-practitioners from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and International Jury will take part in the programme.

The Second International Conference «International experience in brand development: problems and prospects» will also take place here. BRAND»04 has launched the projects «Brand Evaluation» and «Brand Protection», which ensured that the first Belarusian electronic trade mark shop opened.

We express our highest gratitude to everyone who immediately takes part in the project: organizers and sponsors, International Jury members, Contest participants and representatives of the Consumers» Jury, to everyone who is going to participate in the public opinion poll.

We are in the firm belief that this year the most deserved trade marks of the Belarusian market will join the group of the last year contest participants, finalists and winners.

I wish you every success and victories in the consumers» hearts!

Yours Faithfully,
Chairwoman of the National Contest BRAND of the year Steering Committee,
Director of the Centre of System Business Technologies SATIO,
Janna Grinyuk